In this podcast episode, I offer restaurant technology tips for independent operators, especially those who are interested in and are learning about or are using restaurant systems. This podcast episode but really restaurant technology and what some of the pitfalls restaurant owners fall into when going down this path and how to get the most out of it.

I'm going to cover the pitfalls restaurant owners fall into when using restaurant software and how to get the most out of any restaurant technology.

First, there are so many reasons restaurant owners sign up for a variety of different restaurant software and restaurant technology options. They deal with pressure from their managers, social media, the pandemic that forced them to opt into the third-party delivery apps, consultants promising miracles with software and sales people who swear the software will be a magic pill. 

For example, here are some of the things I hear from independent restaurant owners all the time: 

• My managers said we absolutely need scheduling software
• I needed recipe costing cards
• I just don’t understand the social media landscape and feel pressure to be on it.
• With COVID we had to add online ordering.
• With COVID we had to go with these freaking 3rd party delivery apps.
• OMG! I have been so screwed by consultants.
• The sales person said my sales would go up 5 - 10% if I used their reservation app.
• I get this software to make checklists easier and has a great food safety component, but nobody is using them.
• I give up. I’m cancelling this crap today. I am spending over $30,000 a year on these software packages and no one is using them. 

It's true that a lot of restaurant technology is going unused, wasting not only monthly fees and subscription costs but the loss of potential savings that is possible to reap from these tools. Instead of costing you $30,000 per year, it’s costing a typical restaurant that does $1,000,000 in annual sales $230,000 a year in lost efficiencies because you're not using the tools to cut costs they way they're intended. 

Here’s what I find:

• Owners jump in too early - before they understand the systems
• Owners are looking for a magic pill
• Owners don’t hold managers accountable
• Owners need to operate on a budget
• Owners need to check the numbers

Listen to this episode of my podcast, The Restaurant Prosperity Formula, for a breakdown on these challenges and examples of how to take advantage of any restaurant technology you invest in. 

If you’re struggling with software and want results and time off, email me at [email protected] and say you want to jump on a discovery call and I’ll send you a link to my calendar.

Sponsor

This episode is being brought to you by The Catering Coach. If you are a restaurant owner now more than ever, you need catering as a profitable, proven multiple revenue stream. But right now, who has the time to establish all the checklists, systems, packing lists and proven methods to grow your catering business? And who are your catering customers when there are very few catering events? You need The Catering Coach. Sandy Korem, the catering coach, and her team will show you the path to immediate catering profits by taking out all the guesswork of what works right now in this ever-changing world. Catering is not what it was last year, but catering is still profits, profits, profits. Learn the systems, learn the checklists, learn the out of the box methods that successful restaurateurs are using right now to be catering profitable. Click here to see if The Catering Coach is right for you.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

• Free Restaurant Evaluation
• The Catering Coach