Happy New Year!

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

The end of 2011 was an exciting time for us. We were busy launching ReServe Q™ online dining reservation software and gearing up for a busy New Year. We have quite a bit planned for 2012.

We will be expanding our technology platform through new and enhanced catering, event management, dining reservation and table management products, new systems and new platforms. We have hired new employees and built new partnerships. We are focused on enhancing the user experience with increasing product and support performance. And that’s just the beginning!

We have so much to do in 2012 and we look forward to sharing it all with you. Keep an eye out for upcoming posts, announcements and news throughout the year.

It’s the little things…

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

Here’s an interesting thought. Our customers thrive on, and, at the same time, are often overwhelmed by details. It’s the minutia involved
in their everyday responsibilities that can make our users’ lives crazy. From last minute reservation cancellations to unexpected walk-ins, wine preferences for a birthday celebration to a frantic bride’s fourth menu change in two weeks –  all of these things are important, and when overlooked or forgotten, can throw everything out of whack.

When I get a phone call from a prospective customer, it’s usually because they are drowning in Post-it Notes and file folders, lost in a
sea of scratched up and wrinkled reservation book pages, or simply tired of bouncing between three or four computer programs to get one report printed. They are exhausted and looking for a better way to do business.

We know that, as a true solutions provider, we can’t make sweeping generalizations about that individual’s business. We can’t assume they
follow the same processes as other establishments, subscribe to similar business models as industry peers, or service the same demographic as a local counterpart. We treat them as individuals and pay attention to the details they share – the very same, very specific details they pay attention to every single day.

But that’s just the beginning. Once we talk with them and learn more about their needs, it’s time to share how our software can help them
more successfully manage those details. With ReServe, our customers can capture important bits of information to create an exceptional guest experience. And when our customers are too busy to ask for the details, we remind them. We want them to be able to treat all of their guests like VIPs from the get go because when our customers are successful, we’re successful.

ReServe Interactive to Launch ReServe Q Online Restaurant Reservation Software

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

Check this out….

http://www.reserveinteractive.com/press-releases/2011-05-25-ReServe-Interactive-to-Launch-ReServe-Q-Online-Restaurant-Reservation-Software.php

Impressions…

Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

Who doesn’t want to make a good impression? I think it’s innate to who we are as human beings. We want to be liked. In business, it’s all about making a good impression. Good impressions lead to customer satisfaction which leads to repeat business which leads to long-term customer loyalty. The result is recurring revenue and business growth. The challenge is in continuing to make good impressions on your new customers while still wowing your existing customer base.

Ask yourself this – do you offer your guests a meal or a complete experience? Do your customers feel special each and every time they visit? What do you know about your customers? Is it more than their name? Do you gather enough information to make each visit a special event?

Ask yourselves these questions:

1. Does my customer request the same table for every visit?
2. Does my customer request the same reservation time on the same day of every week?
3. Do they always order a specific dish or bottle of wine?
4. Does my customer routinely request the same server?
5. Does my customer celebrate special events like birthdays and anniversaries at my establishment? What special requests are made for those events?

Excellent customer service is a cornerstone for restaurant success. Our customers know this and pride themselves on the service standards they set for themselves. They have the right people in place and they use our Dining Reservation & Table Management software to gather the right guest information at each visit. Then they use that data to provide the level of service that only they can – the service they’re customers have come to expect.

“The ReServe system has improved everything from sales to guest relationships.” – Mike Frampton, The Melting Pot, Sacramento.

The Gateway

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

Check out our latest press release:

ReServe Interactive Launches ReServe Gateway - Web Services Enabling Third-Party System Integration and Aggregated Data Analysis

ReServe Interactive, an industry leader in hospitality management solutions, has launched  ReServe Gateway™, a robust web services platform enabling enterprise customers to integrate and share operational and financial data stored in their ReServe Interactive software with third-party software applications to streamline operations, improve productivity and enhance guest services.

“Many of our customers require our software to share information with other systems that help them manage their business such as POS systems, CRM programs and financial applications,” explains Mike Edmeyer, Vice President of Sales for ReServe Interactive. “ReServe Gateway is a reliable, responsive and cost-effective engine that enables on-demand communication with any of these services and is seamless in even the most PCI compliant environments.”

ReServe Gateway supports ReServe’s entire software suite including Reservation Management functions such as the facilitation of checking dining availability, making and cancelling reservations, and reporting reservation activity; Table Management services including the checking of wait times, changing table status, recording dining preferences, and reporting turn rates; Event Management services that facilitate the reporting of event scheduling activity and financial details, and checking availability and booking events, as well as Contact Management services that facilitate account and contact detail management.

“Web services is a standard communication protocol used across a variety of industries which means it’s proven, efficient and effective. And it’s easy to integrate with any desktop or hosted application,” explains Lynn Carter, Chief Technology Officer. “It enables us to focus on our core competency, which is designing productivity software for restaurants and catering operations, and efficiently sharing important data that our systems accumulate with other business functions. ReServe Gateway transforms how our software is used within an organization, and we expect the resulting links between ReServe and other systems to expand rapidly, providing great value to our customers.”

Do you have what it takes?

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

There’s a general consensus that customer service makes or breaks a restaurant. Industry professionals, insiders and outside consultants agree that exceptional customer service can result in the following:

• trust, confidence and a solid reputation – all can lead to long-term customer loyalty
• happy customers who spend more with less consideration of cost – and they keep coming back
• happy employees who enjoy their jobs and have positive things to say about their place of employment. They tend to stick around longer which means you can decrease the costs associated with hiring and training
• an advantage over your competitors who may not provide the same level of service in the same way
• a better bottom line – it’s less expensive to keep a customer than it is to get a new one. In addition, excellent customer service creates buzz and nothing costs less and means more than word-of-mouth marketing. And, most companies that offer exceptional service are often more profitable overall

We provide our restaurant customers with all of the tools they need to provide incomparable customer service – with the exception of good employees and the drive to stand above the rest. That’s up to them.

Do you have the drive and the staff to take your service to the next level? What about the right dining reservation and table management software?

On my honor…

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

When you make a commitment, you stick to it, right? We’d like to think that everyone follows that mantra, but the truth is, life gets in the way sometimes. Or, sometimes it’s as simple as completely forgetting about something you’ve committed to.

Take restaurant reservations, for example. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there that have made a reservation at a restaurant and then completely forgotten about it. Some people are even known to book a reservation at a couple of restaurants to ensure themselves a table, but then forget or decide not to call and cancel one of the reservations.  Sometimes it’s as simple as an inconsideration and the guest doesn’t think about the impact their no show will have on the restaurant.

To guarantee the maximum level of business in a given night, it’s important to take steps to make sure your guests honor their reservations.

Start with a “call-ahead” or “wait-list” system in addition to or instead of taking reservations. Guests can call twenty to thirty minutes ahead of their desired wait time and leave their name. Your reservationist can let the guest know the anticipated wait time.

If no shows are a recurring and troublesome problem, consider asking guests for a credit-card when making a reservation. Establish a deposit policy that lets guests know they will forfeit their deposit or be charged a fixed amount if they do not show up for their reservation. If you are not comfortable asking for a deposit on a regular basis, consider implementing the policy on holidays or other high-volume occasions. Remember, if you request a deposit on a reservation, make sure you seat guests as soon as they arrive so you honor the guest relationship and avoid losing future business.  Consider holding a table for 10 to fifteen minutes before declaring a guest a no-show. If a guest shows you the courtesy of calling to let you know they will be late, hold the table for 30 minutes to acknowledge their consideration.

If you are dealing with a VIP guests, waive their deposit fee or credit card charge to show them you appreciate their loyalty. Consider developing a frequent diner program to help you keep track of your VIP guests.

In addition, follow up with guests who lost their deposit or were charged on their credit card with a phone call or email restating the no show policy and informing them that they were charged because they violated the agreement.

Taking some of these steps can drastically reduce the number of no-shows that occur on any given night and guarantee that you maximize your entire table inventory.

Will you Q?

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Part of my job is educating customers about ways to improve operations so that they can see an immediate impact on their bottom line. Our customers need to run leaner, manage operations successfully and build business consistently. Without the right tools, these tasks are challenging to say the least.

Take, for example, dining reservations for restaurants. Restaurant staff needs a way to manage reservations so that they can take advantage of their entire table inventory. They need the assurance that when their guests go online to make a reservation, they find accurate information and can book a reservation easily. They also need a way to keep guests in their restaurant when they find their requested dining time to be unavailable.

When I’m speaking to prospective customers about reservation management, I ask the following: “Can you rely on the reservation software you are currently using?” The answer is usually “That depends.” For a variety of reasons, customers are unsure. They are spending quite a bit of money on some of the systems out there. There is some benefit to the marketing tools these systems provide, but it’s hard to gauge how much business is lost because guests have been redirected to other area restaurants that may have availability. In some case, there is no benefit at all; rather the restaurant feels it’s something that they need to do because they’ve been told it is good business sense to have some sort of system in place.

We end up discussing things like functionality, integration, marketing, and estimated ROI. Ultimately, I end up walking through the features of our software. What’s exciting is that we’ll soon be able to offer more dining reservation tools for restaurateurs. We will launch ReServe Q, a platform that will allow restaurant guests to make dining reservations or add themselves to a wait list using a restaurant’s website or a mobile device such as an iPhone, Android or Blackberry. As part of the ReServe Q offering, we’re forging strategic partnerships with mobile application aggregators and online dining guides to expand marketing reach for restaurants.

Most importantly, we’ve created a tool that will benefit our customers to the fullest with increased business and a better bottom line.

Will you Q?

Case Studies in Success

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Since 1996, thousands of users across more than 1,000 businesses and venues have successfully implemented our Catering, Event Management, Dining Reservation and Table Management Software across their locations. Check out the links below to see how these customers are working smarter, faster and better by taking advantage of the unique, efficiency enhancing features of our software.

McCormick & Schmick’s

Melting Pot

Harry Caray’s

Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge

Sega GameWorks USA

Georgia Aquarium

Round Hill Country Club

Chicago Yacht Club

Hyatt Regency

Landry & Kling

Hilton Waikoloa Village

Treasure Island Hotel & Casino

Gaylord Entertainment

Icon Estates

Rubicon Estate

Our 15th Year

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

It’s almost hard to believe that we are in our 15^th year of business. So much has changed since we introduced ourselves to the industry in 1996.  What started as an idea to help ourselves has become a force within the hospitality industry. We are literally changing the way our customers are doing business.

Since 1996, our catering, event management, dining reservation and table management product offering has grown to include a web-based solution; we interface with more than 10 industry-leading applications; and we service more than 8,000 users.

And now, in our 15^th year of business, we’re going to take our offering even further by introducing several new features and products including easily implemented web services designed for sharing data between different applications. We are also developing a system designed for publishing restaurant wait times on reader boards throughout a hotel property, as well as features for sharing customer data with a centralized CRM database. Most importantly, we will soon launch a dining reservation focused mobile platform to support iPhone, Android and Blackberry devices.

As time has gone on, we’ve continued to progress and remain a valuable tool for our customers. We’ve helped our customers increase efficiency, enhance productivity and boost revenue. Our platform remains current, ensuring users are able to use the most updated technology solutions to manage their businesses.

This year is a milestone in many respects and we are so grateful for the many customers, industry partners and loyal employees that have brought us to this day. We look forward to making 2011 an unforgettable year.