No matter how seasoned your staff is, there is always room for improvement and additional training.  It is often difficult to find ways to implement this training in your regular restaurant operations.  Committing resources to training, choosing employees to do training, and making sure that training is a regular part of your restaurant operation takes a lot of effort, but is a key component to the success of your restaurant.  Here are 4 great tips for implementing additional, effective training for your restaurant staff.

4 Ways to Improve Restaurant Training

Here at Business Software Solutions, we understand how important it is that you, as a business owner, keep tabs on your daily sales figures. To assist you and your business partners in this process we have added additional functionality for you to keep track of you sales even when you are away from your business. Now the daily sales report can be automatically e-mailed to you and your business partners every day. The report can be scheduled to send directly from the Misc. Definitions screen. You can also configure the report to include or exclude certain portions of data that may or may not apply to your business. We have also updated the daily sales report. We now allow it to be printed on your receipt printer or a full size document printer as well as giving the option to run the report for multiple days.

If you are interested in using this functionality please call our technical support department at 801-336-3303. We can assist you in updating your software and configuring this new functionality. Please note that to use the e-mail functionality you must have a compatible e-mail provider. Please contact technical support for more information.

As a small business owner, you know what it’s like to be pulled in a thousand different directions.  Maybe you have never taken the time to sit down with your team and nail down what you want the culture of your business to be. Do you and your team of employees know what your core values are?  Whether you run a restaurant or a retail store, knowing what your core values are can have a huge impact on how your employees see the company and their jobs as well as how your customers feel about your business.  For some great ideas on defining your business culture check out this great article.

Nick's Pizza: A Slice of Core Values

What do Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Texas Roadhouse all have in common? If your taste buds reminded you of the very first bite of fresh bread you can experience at each of these locations, you answered correctly.  In this economic downturn many restaurants have shied away from complimentary bread to start a meal.  Maybe the real questions should be can you afford not to offer a fresh baked complimentary introduction to dinner?  Read more at Restaurant Management Magazine and you may change your mind.

Breaking Bread (Traditions)

In any restaurant it takes teamwork to make a great dining experience.  A breakdown in this teamwork can have a negative impact on customers and employees alike.  Check out this article for some great suggestions on helping your staff function effectively as a team.

5 Ways to Turn Your Staff into a High Performing Team

One of the great features of our restaurant software has been the built in customer loyalty function.  We are excited to announce that this customer loyalty functionality is now available in our Touch POS software. Whether your business is a grocery store, yogurt shop, or a retail location, we have a customer loyalty program that will fit your needs.  The software has a purchase discount program, a loyalty credits program, and a punch card program.  Customer loyalty cards can be printed and customized for your business.

This software update is available to all BPA customers and is a regular program update included in your license and support fees.  For more information on this update or for pricing on loyalty cards please contact us at (801)336-3303.

Touch POS Loyalty Setup Guide

As a restaurant owner, most of your time is probably spent making sure the kitchen is running smoothly and making sure your servers are going their job effectively. This can make it difficult to make time to create an effective online marketing campaign. Here is a great article with 5 ideas to create an effective online marketing campaign for your restaurant.

5 Online Marketing Strategies Every Restaurateur Should Know About

With tighter budgets, consumers are eating out less and expecting more from their dining experience.  Restaurant Management had provided 10 great suggestions for making your guests’ dining experience a special one.

The Devil Is In The Details

Looking for ideas to boost business on days that are typically slow?  Check out what this restaurant is doing to keep their business up.

Making the Best of Snow Days

No matter what type of restaurant you have, chances are that more than half of your customers have searched for your restaurant online. In this digital age, your online presents effects your business in a huge way. The question is what can you do to make sure the people who are finding your business online are actually walking through your door? Here are 4 ways you can convert online traffic to offline customers.

1) Include “A Call To Action” On Your Website

Customers may be looking for your website to find out information. But simply offering information doesn’t prompt them to act on it. A call to action is simply something that causes a consumer to act. You may have a downloadable coupon or “Like us on Facebook to receive special offers”. If you offer takeout, it could be something as simple as an “Order Now” button with your phone number. You need to have something that causes a customer to act on the information that they have received.

2) Make Sure Online Business Listings Are Claimed and Complete

Some potential customers may be looking for your restaurant while most are just looking for any restaurant. Many sites such as Google Places, Yelp, and Citysearch offer free online business listings. Most sites such as these offer the option to “claim” your business. They will verify that you are the owner or employee of the restaurant and then allow you to make changes to that business listing. Making sure your online business listings are claimed by you and have complete information is an important part of drawing in customers. Add photos and descriptions to your listings that will appeal to potential customers.

3) Test Online Offers

While you may not have a huge list of customer contacts, Groupon, Living Social, and Foursquare will. Test out different offers on these sites. They can be a great way to get new customers through the door. However, make sure you monitor these offers carefully. While they can create a lot of customer traffic, they can also be very costly.

4) Encourage Your Existing Customers To Leave Feedback

A huge part of what people look at when evaluating a restaurant is customer reviews. Unfortunately, many times people that have had a negative experience are the ones that leave reviews online. So how can you get your customers to share their positive experiences? You can start by printing something on the bottom of your receipt along the lines of “Please Review Us Online!” but that alone will not do it. Here is where you need to get your staff involved. If a customer is going to take the time to set up an account and review your restaurant online they need to know you really care. Have your staff point this out to a loyal customer. Explain how much it helps your business and advertising cost and that it will only take a few minutes of their time. Make the invitation personal.

Remember that when it comes to engaging your customers online or offline your imagination is the limit. Be creative. You know your business better than anyone else. So ask yourself; what ways would be most effective to convert your online traffic into loyal customers?