Restaurant Monitoring

Check out: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/2 ... t_20130829


In brief, massive study (630K transactions per week for many weeks involving 392 restaurants). By telling servers about the monitoring, revenue went up 7%/week (average of $3K) as workers channeled energy into upselling (and increasing tips) rather than theft, underselling, et al. All restaurants were studied before and after equipment was installed (and all employees notified).

I knew what this was as soon as I read the Headline. I know longer work for the local reseller that sells Aloha (amicable departure, of course - I will always love them ), so I feel comfortable that I won't sound like an advertisement when I say this. This is about Restaurant Guard, which is an NCR product, which is generated through Aloha point of sale systems, and I've seen a lot of these reports and can testify to the high number of servers, bartenders, and mgrs that have been busted by this feature. It's pretty genius.

I have a lot of experience with this particular NCR/Aloha product. I think the claims of 7% increase in revenue might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the product is very beneficial. I would say it highest benefit is just as a deterrent. But I've also seen it catch theft on a huge level.

As a former restaurant manager, it was very interesting to hear the feedback on this product. Overwhelmingly often, it was the most trusted employees and managers that were caught running these "scams" and when questioned, had so many different methods of justifying their actions.