Implementing technology: How to purchase technology and convince employees to embrace — not sabotage — new systems and equipment

Nation's Restaurant News,  Oct 28, 2002  

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Aaron Kennedy, founder and president of the 13-unit Noodles & Co. in Boulder, Cob., uses new POS systems as an example of how technology can enhance customer service. "The waitress used to take the order down on a pad--say, two eggs over easy and pancakes--taking her eyes away from the customer to write it down," Kennedy says. "Now, with a few keystrokes, a staff member can take the order while retaining a connection to the customer through eye contact and rapport.

"But sometimes employees trip over the technology and put a barrier between themselves and the customer," he says. With foodservice such a "high-touch" industry, technology should not stand in the way of customer service.

"You want technology to help you get out from the back of the house and in front of the customer more,"

In other words, she says, you don't want to make it easy for employees or managers to stay away from the customer because they have a highly technical piece of equipment, system or program to use or manage. "Understand the technology you are using and know how to manage it," Shockey advises. "Otherwise, the technology will manage you, and its benefits will be minimized."

Shockey says. "If the technology you are considering can increase efficiency and therefore give more time to the customer, then it can enhance the relationship with each customer."

RELATED ARTICLE: A nine-Step Program for Purchasing Technology

"The 90-percent/10-percent rule of system use is alive and well," says Mark Hamilton, director of the Technology Research and Education Center at the University of Houston's Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management in Houston. "We purchase systems and historically utilize only a small percentage of the systems' capabilities."

And technology systems certainly are not cheap. Take a typical point-of-sale system that costs between $15,000 and $35,000 to implement. If operations use 10 percent of a POS system's capability, that's only $1,500 to $3,500 of their total investment.

Taking control of the purchasing process--questioning how much technology really is needed and ensuring a tight fit in your foodservice operation--is one of the best ways to maximize your technology investment. Hamilton suggests the following steps:

1. Put together a systems team. "Multiple heads are better than one," he says. To make sure the new system is a good fit, a team representing all areas throughout the operation should be involved during the entire selection and implementation process. Hamilton suggests the team include representatives from management, accounting, service and the kitchen.

2. Analyze the current needs of your operation. Begin with a profile of your operation, and then determine what you need from a system to provide adequate service.

3. Collect sales information. Attending technology conferences like Nation's Restaurant News' FS/TEC conference, the National Restaurant Association Show and regional restaurant shows, says Hamilton, is one of the most efficient ways to determine what's available from different vendors.