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.

Does your venue have a banquet facility or a small private room in the back of the restaurant? How are you using that area? Restaurants with private dining rooms and banquet facilities can boost sales by catering private parties and functions such as weddings, holiday parties and business meetings. Maximizing that space can have a positive effect on your bottom line.

If you have private dining space, do you actively promote and/or provide details and contact information for guests regarding hosting an event at your venue?  If not, there’s no better time to start. Use your website, social media outlets and even table tents, menus and stand alone signage to advertise private dining space availability. Combine this with listings on sites like www.PrivateDining.com for further reach and you have another option to drive more business.

Here are some additional ideas. Offer restaurant-hosted events. For example, throw a Super Bowl party with appetizer and drink specials. Or, try a Valentine’s Day mystery dinner. Is your chef exceptional? Host a cooking demonstration or cooking classes for a small registration fee. This will expose guests to your space and boost your reputation in the community. Plus, a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association says 64 percent of adults would attend chef’s table dinners and private tastings. What about a guest loyalty celebration? Invite your most loyal return guests for a special dinner thanking them for their patronage. Making guests feel special
gets them talking and Word of Mouth advertising is the greatest form of advertising. Plus, it’s free!

What better way to maximize revenue than by maximizing space.

Are you in a stalemate? Your existing customer base is loyal. Revenue is steady. The problem is you’re not growing. What are you doing
to generate new income? Besides every day specials, food and drink promotions, what else have you offered to boost that bottom line?

Here are just a couple of ideas to consider when deciding how to bring in new customers and additional revenue. I’ll be covering each of
these ideas in more details over the coming weeks.

• Private dining
• Catering
• Your website
• Social media tools like Twitter and Facebook

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.

Check this out….

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

We are so excited! We are just a month or so away from launching our latest product – ReServe Q™ online restaurant reservation software. ReServe Q lets restaurants and other dining venues accept reservations and manage call ahead or waitlists, 24 hours a day, seven days a week through their own website without the excessive per seat transaction fees, costly set-up and maintenance fees, additional hardware expenses and miscellaneous surcharges that come with other systems on the market today.

So many restaurateurs have shared their frustrations with us regarding the reservation systems that are currently available. They’re struggling with the expenses associated and feeling stuck without an alternative. So, we developed ReServe Q as a cost effective solution for those restaurants that want to be able to accept reservations online and increase guest traffic without compromising their bottom line.

ReServe Q is straightforward and customer friendly. Restaurateurs are only charged 99 cents per reservation. There are no set up charges or monthly subscription fees. We also want to help restaurants market to their guests, so, in addition to marketing resources, ReServe Q will let users create a guest database that they own and can use for communication with or marketing to guests at no charge. We are giving back control to the restaurants.

ReServe Q easily integrates with a restaurant’s website and allows for embedding into third party sites, e-mail promotions and social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. And, ReServe Q’s mobile friendly platform allows guests to book restaurant reservations from any mobile device at any time.

We are experts in developing software that caters to the unique needs of the hospitality industry. And, ReServe Q provides users with the same ease of use and efficiency as our other software products while offering a cost effective alternative to other reservation management systems on the market.

So, when you’re investigating online reservation systems – look for the Q.

We’ve always prided ourselves on our ability to offer superior technical and product support to our customers. Our employees have proven over and over again that they are among the best of the best, and our customers say the same. From training to product support, development to sales, absolutely everyone in our organization is critical to our overall success and each and every person has gone above and beyond to make a difference.

“Lynn is very knowledgeable and understanding of the experiences we face with customers.  Once I started working with her I was completely put at ease about having made the right choice with the ReServe’s software.  She is an asset to your company!  Thank you Lynn!”

“Joe and Keith are 1st class employees. You should feel blessed to have them on your team. It is because of the type of service I receive from them that we continue using ReServe and recommending it to people. Another job well done!”

“Beth was very helpful. One question required some more info on her part, so she opted to call me back rather than have me hold. Very prompt in her return call. Super great customer service! Thanks!!!!”

“Leslie is the epitome of both great service and professionalism and I wanted to let you know that as long as she is representing your company I have no doubts that your business will continue to grow and grow.”

“Melanie is a rock star! She is incredibly responsive and an expert at her job. We can’t thank you enough for the great support!”

“Our trainer was very knowledgeable and really took the time to make sure we understood each step in the event life cycle. All our employees have given me positive feedback about their training session and about the capabilities of the ReServe software.”

“The representative I worked with was so helpful and kind. I so appreciated his ability to quickly resolve the issue so that I could get back to my work. I was working for a few hours at home on some things that HAD to be done right away. Thanks again!”

I was watching TV the other night and heard the word ‘intuitive’ used in reference to a computer, a car and a healthcare system, all within a matter of 15 minutes. It’s a word that bubbles up more and more frequently. The companies in these commercials can more than likely back up their claims – their reputations are built on them. However, there are some companies that make the claim, but fall very short.

For example, other hospitality management software products on the market today offer to collect tons of information, as well as interfaces that look like other well-known software products, and tout their ease of use. Many of our customers have used these products in the past and have willingly shared their experiences with us. After listening to their evaluations, intuitive wasn’t a word they used to describe the products. Functional? Yes. Easy-to-use? Sometimes. But just because a product looks like Outlook, doesn’t necessarily make it easy to use.  More importantly, it doesn’t make it intuitive.

At ReServe Interactive, intuitive means that we understand our customers’ businesses inside and out, top to bottom, and with that knowledge we’ve created a smart software system that is designed to become an integral part of a company’s day-to-day processes. It means we’ve built our software on a proprietary platform that was developed by professionals with years of experience in the design and development of effective user interfaces for high-tech products in a variety of industries. These individuals have an instinctive knowledge of user-centered design processes and, partnered with people that have extensive hospitality experience, were able to design a product that incorporates human interface technologies with the specific, real world needs of the hospitality industry. Our software was created by people who have stood in the customer’s shoes. We know what our customers need because we know what we needed when we were standing at the hostess desk or taking calls in the sales office. Our software speaks their language, understands what they need moment by moment, and anticipates what they will need down the road.

We know that when we say intuitive, we mean it, and we can prove it.

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.

At ReServe Interactive, our product services and technical support staff members notoriously go above and beyond to help our customers. I’d like to share just a few of the latest comments we’ve received from our customers about our team.

“Thank you! It’s especially nice to call the help desk and get a live person without having to wait or press a bunch of buttons on the phone!”  Holly Young, Event Sales Manager. Butte Creek Country Club

“Of all of the companies I’ve worked with, I’m most impressed with ReServe’s customer service. They quickly understand my needs and deal with my concerns right away. They work hard to correct core issues, not just slap band-aids on them. They are a well-trained organization. I always know what I’m getting and where I stand with ReServe. I wish everyone’s support was like yours.”  Mark Chapman, Owner. The Melting Pot – Tulsa

“The representative I worked with was so helpful and kind. I so appreciated his ability to quickly resolve the issue so that I could get back to my work. I was working for a few hours at home on some things that HAD to be done right away. Thanks again!!” Saundra Tidswell, Sales Manager. The Aerie at Eagle Landing Golf Course

Since the beginning, we have been lucky to have dedicated, hard working employees who have gone above and beyond any job description to service our customers and represent ReServe Interactive. Each individual has committed themselves to our mission of creating and supporting best-in-class technology solutions that significantly improve our customers’ everyday lives.

We hope you have the chance to work with our team at some point. They’ve elevated customer service to true customer care.