Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
We have a long list of restaurant customers who offer private dining space to their patrons. These restaurants have found a way to take full advantage of the unique opportunity private dining brings to expand their customer base and boost their bottom line.
How do they do it? In addition to automating their processes and centralizing their customer and booking information with our software, they’ve mastered the art of exceptional customer service. While our products do things like help them manage their group reservations and repeat customers; control their seating inventory; or coordinate and manage labor resources, these restaurants have carefully selected customer-oriented employees that know exactly how to create unique dining experiences that include the perfect combination of service and personal attention.
While we provide an efficient way for them to manage operations, gather valuable customer data and market to their customer base, these restaurateurs have figured out how to combine the comprehensive functionality of our software with their superior customer service offering to build a profitable and growing private dining business.
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
Just last week, I was talking to a restaurant manager who had heard from one of his customer’s that when he tried to make a reservation online, the website said the restaurant was booked solid. Taking a chance, the customer drove over to the restaurant and found out there were actually several tables available. The manager was concerned. How often had he lost out on patrons and revenue because his reservation software had given the wrong information? He was frustrated and wanted a better way to manage his online reservations.
Sadly, I’ve had this same conversation more than once.
Part of my job is educating customers on ways to improve operations so that they can see an immediate impact on their bottom line. The manager I was speaking to needed a way to manage reservations so that he could take advantage of his entire table inventory. He needed reassurance that when his customers go online, they find accurate information and can book a reservation easily. He also needed a way to keep customers in his restaurant when they did find their requested dining time to be unavailable.
Could he rely on the dining reservation software tool he was currently using? That depends. How many times had this happened before? How much business was he losing? Why was there a disconnect between the software and his dining room?
I ended up walking him through the features of our dining reservation software. I focused on our Smart Reservation Technology. It’s different from the static slot system that many restaurant reservation books and other software systems use. We take into account the specifics of the dining room and manage reservations based on the actual table inventory, real time! Regardless if those reservations are booked over the phone or with ReServe’s online dining reservation software. I also informed him that, with our software, he can manage all of his locations in one database, so he can report on the information he gathers, cross reference reservations and data across locations, and cross market to customers all from one place. Also, if a customer’s requested reservation time is unavailable, our software offers up alternative times so that the customer stays in his dining room. We talked for quite a while that day and he seemed to feel better by the time the call was finished.
I love these types of conversations. Sometimes they turn into a sale. However, for me, the payoff is knowing that I’ve given a hard working restaurateur some peace of mind and a solution that will make a real difference to his business.
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
When the idea for our software first came about, I was working for Wente Vineyards in Livermore, California, managing retail operations, which included restaurant sales and marketing, catering services, as well as visitor center and golf course events, and the vineyard’s concert series. My desk was overflowing with file folders and sticky notes, pads of paper and pink phone message slips. It was overwhelming, to say the least.
When I couldn’t take it anymore, I began researching different software products to help us automate our processes. At the time, most of the products available were expensive and geared toward the hotel market, so it was hard finding the right fit. When I finally selected a product that I thought was one of the better solutions available at the time, I found it difficult to use and time consuming. After endless hours of struggling to make the software work for us, I ended up picking up the phone and calling my sister in Wisconsin who was running her own consulting business specializing in the design and development of effective user interfaces for high-tech products. I explained my frustration and ended with “There’s got to be a better way.”
So, Lynn flew out to California and together we analyzed the different facets of my job and the roles of the various departments responsible for managing on-site dining and events. I explained how I would prefer for things to work, what would make the most sense for the staff, and what elements of our day-to-day operations needed to be made more efficient. We put our heads together, and with my hospitality experience and her technology experience, we began developing the earliest versions of ReServe Interactive software.
In 1996, we formally launched Efficient Frontiers, Inc. and began selling ReServe Interactive Catering, Event Management, Dining Reservations and Table Management software. Our first customer was Wente Vineyards.
I can’t believe it’s been more than 13 years since that fated phone call, and so much has happened since. Our product offering has grown to include a web-based solution; we interface with more than 10 industry-leading applications; and we service more than 1,000 customers. And it all started with a single phone call. We couldn’t be happier with the way our idea has grown. Most of all, it feels really good to know that every day, we are making someone’s life just a little bit easier.
Beth Goodell
