Poor service sparked Scottish entrepreneur Ron Hounsell to develop a unique device that aims to help restaurants increase food and beverage sales, enhance customer satisfaction, and maximise table occupancy.
‘Utellme’
‘Utellme’ comprises a table top device, a kitchen unit and a waiter calling system that not only allows customers but also kitchen staff and managers to communicate directly with waiters at the touch of a button.
The product, which has cost £250,000 to develop, is already helping KG Café at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum increase its revenue and Ron, who has been helped by Business Gateway Lanarkshire, is now in talks to supply the ‘intelligent’ system to restaurant chains and five star hotels.
Helping busy waiters
Ron, who is based in Bellshill and also runs Cameron Water, said: “I wanted to come up with a product that would ensure poor service didn’t kill a person’s restaurant experience as well as provide waiters with a device that would help them when they were busy. The table-top-unit speaks directly with the waiter’s own device using WiFi, allowing customers to request the bill or ask for urgent service by pressing a button. The kitchen unit communicates in exactly the same way with the waiter’s device ensuring food is picked up on time or order queries sorted out quickly.
“Thanks to the software we use, Utellme not only enhances communication between customers and waiting staff, it’s also a virtual restaurant manager that highlights if waiters are attending to tables on time, if the food is arriving quickly, and it automatically transfers tables to other waiters if one has to log off to go on a break or deal with something at a table out of the norm, thereby ensuring customers always receive the best possible service.”
Making money for businesses
He added: “Utellme doesn’t just save businesses money; it makes them money as it helps improve the speed and level of service offered while also making it easier to secure the ‘elusive’ second drink order that helps to increase the bottom line. There have been hundreds of prototypes and it has been very stressful at times but now thanks to 50 per cent funding secured with the help of Business Gateway we’ve taken on a sales manager who has already got us in front of some big players in the hospitality sector. “
How Business Gateway helps
Brian Cunningham, Business Adviser, Business Gateway said: “Ron, who initially was in contact with us while growing his other business Cameron Water, is a seasoned entrepreneur who knows how to turn a business idea into a thriving enterprise. He also knows that accessing our help will provide him with information and assistance for free. Most recently, through the Business Gateway Information Service, we’ve provided him with essential market research and also helped him apply for funding to take on an employee, whose sole aim is to raise the profile of the system. We have also helped him secure a grant through the North Lanarkshire Council Business Growth Fund for marketing and sales development.”
Tested and proved in the busy Kelvingrove Art Gallery Restaurant
Installing the Utellme system in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum’s KG Café provided Ron with the perfect way to ensure the final design, which is now being taken to market, operated flawlessly:
“Having the device in KG really helped ensure that the product that is available to buy responds exactly as it should in a busy restaurant environment. It has not only increased the average spend and the likelihood that a gratuity will be left in the Café, it has reduced customer’s waiting time for the bill from 4 minutes to 1 minute 30 seconds during busier periods, and to under 1 minute during quieter spells. It’s increased table turnover during busier periods; on one weekend 50 extra covers had been served during a combined 11 hours as a result of reduced waiting times at the end of a meal. These results help highlight to potential customers that Utellme does exactly what it says it will.”
The operator’s endorsement
Gordon Atterson, Operations Manager, Encore Hospitality Services, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum added: “The overall customer experience can, at times, be defined by the length of wait for the bill at the end of a meal. Despite the fact that the quality of food and service have been exceptional, if the attention of the waiting staff is not gained quickly, the customer can often become frustrated. Utellme lets staff know immediately what the customer wants and how they are paying – the remote card reader equipment can be taken straight to table with the bill – and stations with multiple “calls” on screen can now be assisted with additional resources instantly. Managers and supervisors now regard the system as a huge benefit in reading and managing the room.”
For more information click here
To find out more about how Business Gateway can help you set up and develop your own business visit www.bgateway.com or call 0845 609 6611. Alternatively, call your local Business Gateway office directly on 01236 702 020.