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Order at table send to kitchen app

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    Order at table send to kitchen app

    Hi, my local cafe has expanded outside in the weather and is doing a roaring trade. The only problem is outside is a bit of a walk and kitchen is upstairs and they are doing it all by paper and service is suffering. It's only a little set up so throwing staff at it won't work.

    Anyone aware of a simple app for the staff to take orders at table and it appearing in the kitchen and possibly at (but not on the till) the payment station. Not bothered about customers ordering or anything daft. Just to try save walking distance with staff backwards and forwards with bits of paper and shouting up to the kitchen etc

    I'm sure you could probably use something like Teams or One Note as a very simple solution but surely someone has produced an app for this. I've had a hunt and I can only find stuff that includes PoS as well and although the app is free it starts unravelling as you try to start up so far too complex.

    Anyone seen anything like this in action or know of one that suits?
    'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

    #2
    Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter? It's just a messaging task. Create a whatsapp group for the waiter and the kitchen staff.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by PartOfTheUnion View Post
      Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter? It's just a messaging task. Create a whatsapp group for the waiter and the kitchen staff.
      I can see that getting quite messy when its busy. You want to be able to select options quickly, not be typing lots of text.

      I wonder if a form in Google would do the trick?

      I had a quick look for apps but I doubt I found anything different to you, I certainly didn't find anything for your use case.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by PartOfTheUnion View Post
        Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter? It's just a messaging task. Create a whatsapp group for the waiter and the kitchen staff.
        It's more complicated than that, it needs to be a workflow process so they know what they are working on in which order, what's been done and be able to refer back in case of incorrect orders. it also needs to work on devices that can be readily used in the kitchen or print out the orders in the kitchen to feed the existing paper based process.
        "Being nice costs nothing and sometimes gets you extra bacon" - Pondlife.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by DaveB View Post

          It's more complicated than that, it needs to be a workflow process so they know what they are working on in which order, what's been done and be able to refer back in case of incorrect orders. it also needs to work on devices that can be readily used in the kitchen or print out the orders in the kitchen to feed the existing paper based process.
          Yep - it's the perfect example of something that looks really, really simple but rapidly becomes very complex as you start to look at edge user stories (item not available, person can't spell / autocorrect makes things worse)... And at that point the cost of implementing it is such that no cafe would buy it.

          merely at clientco for the entertainment

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by ladymuck View Post

            I can see that getting quite messy when its busy. You want to be able to select options quickly, not be typing lots of text.
            Have you watched people use a system where everything is pre-setup and they're unfamiliar? Fumbling around under pressure "how do I add chips?"

            Writing down orders has historically worked quite well and allows customisation and annotation. KISS.
            Originally posted by MaryPoppins
            I'd still not breastfeed a nazi
            Originally posted by vetran
            Urine is quite nourishing

            Comment


              #7
              In the absence of an alternative app, couldn't they use something like Trello creating a workspace & using kanban?
              Orders received, orders in progress, orders completed, bill paid, kinda thing.
              Clarity is everything

              Comment


                #8
                It seems the problem is people having to traipse upstairs/downstairs with tickets.
                So could we find a simpler way to remove that step like an intercom/couple of walkie-talkies? Keep the same low-tech process they already know...
                Originally posted by MaryPoppins
                I'd still not breastfeed a nazi
                Originally posted by vetran
                Urine is quite nourishing

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by d000hg View Post
                  It seems the problem is people having to traipse upstairs/downstairs with tickets.
                  So could we find a simpler way to remove that step like an intercom/couple of walkie-talkies? Keep the same low-tech process they already know...
                  Vacuum tubes!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by ladymuck View Post

                    Vacuum tubes!
                    Two cups and a bit of string?
                    Originally posted by MaryPoppins
                    I'd still not breastfeed a nazi
                    Originally posted by vetran
                    Urine is quite nourishing

                    Comment

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