Line Busting BY: Jennifer Jones ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// WAiT LiST APPS Waiting in line is never fun. Especially not when you're hungry and trying to get a table at the latest dining hotspot. But today’s technology can make the process less painful for patrons and restaurateurs alike. DineTime from QSR Automations, Inc., offers an iOS and Android app that lets customers view and compare current wait times and reserve their place in line. It uses smartphone GPS to detect their location and list nearby dining establishments. Restaurateurs can use the system to create a paperless waitlist. Instead of costly pagers, the restaurant can notify guests that a table is ready via SMS text. It can also track valuable data like wait time estimates and customer profi le information. Plus it integrates with third-party loyalty programs. The company also offers full restaurant management software, including an enterprise version that allows users to manage several locations from one spot. If you're looking for an app to manage walk-in and call-in requests, Waitlist Me could be the answer. It can show you who’s at your door, how long they've been in line and what wait time you quoted them. Guests can check a public waitlist view, either via their mobile device (no app required) or on a screen in the restaurant. The app tracks historic wait-time averages by group size to prevent over-quoting and walkaways. Hosts can use custom, color-coded statuses to defi ne different types of guests. Waitlist Me’s proprietary text and call notifi cation infrastructure eliminates the need for third-party providers. Guests receive phone calls or texts when their table is ready. They can reply to postpone or cancel their spot, which immediately updates the app. The standard service plan includes 100 free notifi cations a month. A premium subscrip-tion unlocks more features, including powerful analytics. An API can integrate with your branded experience. CAKE Guest Manager, from Sysco, brings a unique fl avor to wait-list management. Like many applications, if offers a table manage-ment module. CAKE runs on iPad and iPad Mini and is supported on Chrome and Safari. Standard functions include two-way messaging and an app for your guests to add themselves to a queue. Its integra-tion with Cake point of sale provides an all-in-one experience. If of-fers a record 99.99 percent uptime as well as a failsafe offl ine mode to access data if your Wi-Fi goes out. Nowait, which was recently acquired by Yelp, lets guests down-load an iOS or Android app that gets them in line before they arrive. It’s the engine behind the “Add to Waitlist” button that began to appear on Yelp restaurant reviews a few months ago. As an added bonus, the app lets guests provide private, verifi ed feedback after their visit. It’s even time stamped to specifi c tables. The product’s analytics suite provides daily metrics that include longest waitlist and longest wait time. Whether you're looking to increase table turn times, quote wait times more accurately or improve the guest experience, a waitlist management tool is a simple addition to your existing technology suite that can instantly add value to your restaurant. ORACLE SIMPHONY INTEGRATES WAITLIST FUNCTIONALITY Simphony offers waitlist functionality via its integrated Table Management System (TMS). Because the wait list links with other Oracle products like Simphony Loyalty (iCare) as well as other third-party loyalty applications, requests can be tied to a guest's profi le to help identify preferences, past reservations and provide preferential placement in the waiting queue. When a guest is added to the wait list, the wait quote fi eld automatically updates the estimated quote time. This is based on variables like targeted turn times, availability and guest preferences. It can even use current service levels, which include speed of service alerts in case tables are moving slower (or faster) than expected. Your hosts can quote this time to the guest, or they can increase or decrease it based on the app’s recommendation. Simphony can apply the same logic as airline waitlists to give guests with higher loyalty or VIP status premium placement in line. Hosts also can capture specifi c table requests, or special information like birthdays or anniversaries and allergies from guests to personal-ize the dining experience. Resorts with multiple dining options can confi gure Simphony for multiple revenue centers. Say there’s a long line at one dining location and a guest wants to try another place on the property. Hosts can make reservation and waitlist requests for that guest at the other outlet. 132 Fall 2017 HOSPITALITY UPGRADE www.hospitalityupgrade.com