siliconindia | | August 201819easily overshadow conventional solutions like offline ad-vertising, as these digital representations of a restaurant can reach more people, are more customizable, and can be more persuasive at a much lower price point than large billboards in a popular part of town.The Menu: A digital menu offers restaurants the ability to change what they're offering to customers in real-time. No longer will waiters and order takers have to apologize to customers and say that a specific item isn't available. If a particular item can't be made on that day, it can be made to disappear off the menu in mere seconds, ensuring that customers don't miss what they never saw in the first place. Digital menus have the added advantage of being widely available across all different order sources ­ over the phone, over the internet, or at the restaurant itself ­ making it far less likely that a customer will call a conti-nental cuisine restaurant and ask for butter chicken.Placing an Order: One of the common complaints that customers have had in the past is receiving the wrong or-der because of miscommunication between them and the restaurant personnel, while taking the order down. Not only is this incredibly frustrating, it is a major source of waste and inefficiency, causing needless confusion, re-turned orders, and unhappy customers. Orders collected digitally are less likely to have errors, as customers will be able to see precisely what they select before they con-firm the order. Even when the order is taken via a phone call, a quick e-mail or message confirming what the outlet got from the phone call would be immensely beneficial. Digital systems that curate orders offer greater accuracy, transparency, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.Payment: Paying digitally has been a massive boon to customers, and has helped India shift away from being a cash-heavy economy. Digital payments are also a boon to restaurants, as it helps them keep digital records that are useful both from an accounting and a data point of view. Digital payment solutions can keep track of all receipts and expenses, while also reducing the possibility of un-scrupulous employees skimming-off the top.Above & Below ­ Getting the Whole PictureTaken in isolation, technology has the potential to revo-lutionize the customer experience across these different contact points, while facilitating the smooth operation of the restaurant. But this is barely scratching the surface. In the same way that sonar can help ships get a complete pic-ture of the full iceberg, technological solutions are offer-ing restaurant managers and owners an ability to centrally manage all restaurant functions today.Technology companies are providing owners with the ability to monitor and evaluate the restaurant's operations from top to bottom, in real-time, through convenient and easy-to-use dashboards on web and mobile-based dash-boards. In addition to aiding the restaurant across the ba-sic contact points, technology also enables restaurants to communicate and engage with their customers in a variety of new ways, which can add immense value to their busi-ness. They can help owners manage the inventory, alerting them when produce has gotten old. These solutions can even automate the entire process of ordering inventory, even using data to predict demand and reducing waste or organic produce. Further, they can help in curating orders to reduce inaccuracy, help manage and monitor restaurant staff, and communicate orders to the kitchen in an auto-mated fashion, reducing the risk of the restaurant getting the order wrong greatly.Perhaps most importantly, technology can enable restaurants to have a one-on-one relationship with their customers. Today's data-driven advanced systems can review a customer's history and suggest targeted pro-motions, curate customer satisfaction, and help restau-rants make sure that their customers get the best possi-ble experience. Restaurant owners, particularly in India, need to use technology to make sure that their business grows with their customers, bringing the kind of hap-piness and satisfaction that is guaranteed to make their business a success. Technology has the potential to revolutionize the customer experience across these different contact points, while facilitating the smooth operation of the restaurant
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