IRVINE Calif. Forty-five-unit casual-dining restaurant operator Claim Jumper Restaurants, based here, is rolling out table-management and supporting applications from QSR Automations of Louisville, Ky.
The chain also installed at two sites VeriFone Holdings Inc.'s CarsidePAY wireless, card-payment-transaction terminals for curbside-pickup business, and plans to deploy that technology systemwide by yearend, according to San Jose, Calif.-based VeriFone. Representatives of VeriFone said Claim Jumper also intends to use in its restaurants the vendor's dining room transaction settlement terminal, TablePAY, but has not yet established a timeline for that action.
Claim Jumper is working at some restaurants with QSR's ConnectSmart Hospitality Automation Solution, including ConnectSmart Hostess for seating and wait-list management, ConnectSmart WebAhead to enable guests to enter the wait list via the internet, ConnectSmart Reservations and ConnectSmart WebReserve for online reservations. Known for wait times of 30 to 90 minutes, Claim Jumper plans to have all locations installed with ConnectSmart Hostess and ConnectSmart Reservations by the end of the year, and is in the process of adding the online applications, representatives of QSR Automations said.
"We are seeing so many benefits from using QSR's ConnectSmart to help us care for all of our guests - whether the guest walks in to the restaurant, calls ahead for that night or a future date, or even automatically puts themselves on the wait list or in our reservations book via the internet," said Ted Stathakis, Claim Jumper vice president of technology. He said the technology provides "much more accurate wait times" than even seasoned employees, permitting the chain to use entry-level employees at the hostess stand when necessary; has a "highly intuitive graphical display" of the status of all tables in the dining room; and through its capture of guest information, such as table preferences and history of visits, offers "enormous" potential as a business intelligence tool and means to personalize service.
VeriFone said its payment terminals are designed to put consumers at ease about possible card fraud because their cards never leave their sight, and to accelerate table turns by permitting servers to settle tabs without leaving their stations. Referring to those capabilities, Stathakis said, "Great service is paramount at all of our locations, so we are pleased to offer technology that can guarantee fast, efficient and secure transactions to our [curbside] pick up and dine-in customers."
