Based in Dublin on the corner of Wiliam Street South and Chatham Row, Metro Café is a long established and bustling venue.

With both indoor and outdoor seating areas, an EPoS Solution that could help manage these busy and sometimes ‘hard to see’ tables was essential.

Maitre’D Table Management was the answer with its multi-layer floor planning and active status feedback. This has allowed Metro to easily review not only free and occupied tables, but also at what stage of the meal the customer is at.

Opening from 8am-9pm seven days a week, Metro were aware that they had to keep tight control of staffing costs. The Maitre’D Time & Attendance module has been used along with the Biometric Reader to allow secure staff login and assist Metro with easy to follow but indepth employee time reporting.

The owners, in discussion with Hospitality I.T., enquired as to whether it would be possible to provide sales and trading condition feedback online. Hospitality I.T. designed a secure online form that is completed by Duty Management on a daily basis and which submits total sales, covers, void detail and time & attendance costs, along with general trading condition information to the owners via email. This allows them to be aware of all aspects of their business on any given day.

“By investing in such technology the company is now ‘future proof’ and has control over all facets of our business. We are now limitless in terms of where we can go, with the exposure we now have to key information” stated Conor Kavanagh, Manager Metro Café.

Hospitality I.T. with their Maitre’D EPoS solution have been selected as the point of sale technology partner for the new and exciting Coffee Republic franchise chain throughout Ireland.

The first Coffee Republic Deli in Northern Ireland opened recently at the Abbeycentre in Newtownabbey, representing a £200,000 investment.

The unique Deli format combines the same great coffee that is Coffee Republic’s heritage with a serious hot and cold fresh food range, served in a quick service environment.

Behind the concept are local entrepreneurs Siobhan and Robert Mooney, Coffee Republic’s Master Franchisees for Northern & Southern Ireland. The duo, no strangers to the service sector, are responsible for bringing the premium, international brand initially to Northern Ireland and plan to sub-franchise five additional Coffee Republic Delis over the next twelve months.

Maitre’D EPoS is perfectly suited to chain-syle businesses with it’s e-Global Head Office solution. Maitre’D is available across 20 countries with 40,000 installations in all styles of food and beverage business from cafés to nightclubs, fast service to fine dining, and from single sites to chains spread right across the globe.

The requirements for Coffee Republic were extensive and highly specific. The system had to be very end-user friendly yet have the depth of data required for a chain business to analyse and develop trading strategies.

Each store would typically have either one or two tills, with all stores having Stock Control, Time & Attendance and Accounts Receivable modules to assist with the day-to-day management reporting.

The Head Office e-Global server is updated nightly with sales and all module data to allow the Head Office to review performance across the group and maintain an up-to-date picture of business throughout the chain.

The stores can be grouped by geographical region, franchisee or menu-level. This allows the Head Office to simply update individual stores or appropriate groups with any menu data changes with ease

“Coffee Republic, Ireland, chose Hospitality I.T. because we believed that in light of our expansion plans for Ireland, they could cater for our need for: excellent immediate support; accurate and timely information; an established and proven system; most importantly a positive approach to meeting our needs as the business develops. We haven’t been disappointed... crucial to our choice were the skills, knowledge and professional approach of the Hospitality I.T. team in building a business relationship.”

Siobhan Mooney (Master Franchisee for Ireland)

Hospitality I.T. were proud to recently complete an installation in the long established Dormans Bar & Grill, Coalisland.

This busy bar & restaurant complex needed a system that could fulfil the varied needs of a business with public bar, lounge & restaurant, and at the same be highly user-friendly.

The owners and management needed to install a system with the minimum of fuss and disruption to trade.

Having previously used another touchscreen system, the owners were clear about their desired functionality and requirements in a new system. Stability was high up the list of essential criteria along with in-depth reporting, employee management, stock control, profit analysis and customer loyalty.

Cathy Dorman, (owner) said:

“We spoke to 6 or 7 till companies but Hospitality I.T. were the only supplier that actually knew and understood the requirements of a bar and restaurant. I had decided to buy their product almost immediately!

With the transfer from one system to another complete within a morning, staff had next to no problems with the new system. I found the support brilliant, with Hospitality I.T. being able to access our tills in seconds. The service hours are excellent and the product is brilliant. I have since purchased the Time and Attendance module which has assisted the business financially and operationally. I would recommend Hospitality I.T. to anyone”

Maitre’D has a secret.... Included in the core application, Maitre’D has Customer Loyalty built right in! No additional modules are required to be purchased, and what’s even better - it’s simple to set up and maintain!

Maitre’D allows any business to have an advantage over its competitors by attracting and rewarding repeat custom.

Imagine your customers gaining points you have designated against specific items or product groups, receiving details of these points on their receipts and using points as part-payment against future transactions. Create a scheme as varied as your imagination allows, and Maitre’D can manage it.

With Maitre’D EPoS, you can collect your customers’ information and create a loyalty profile for them.

You can also create groups of customers for ease of promotion management. Every time the customer makes a purchase, Maitre’D will prompt the till operator to award loyalty points for the transaction. This can be done by either using a branded magnetic swipe card or a barcode token.

Points awarded can differ according to the items purchased and can be multiplied by key trigger products or promotions. At every stage, the customer receives a receipt indicating current points, points awarded for this transaction and new points total.

With points having a financial value, redemption is a breeze. Once a customer has built sufficient points, they can use these points as either part or full payment of a future transaction. Maitre’D automatically checks if the point value is sufficient and accepts or declines the payment accordingly.

Benefits to your Business

• Build your customer repeat business

• Promote slow items with high point values

• Know your customers’ spending patterns

• Reward loyal customers

• Keep in touch with your customers

• Differentiate your business with added value

Why not contact us to discuss how customer loyalty can add extra revenue to your business and start benefiting from repeat business today!