New POS Helps Restaurant Improve Volume of Online Orders by 17% While Reducing Data Entry Mistakes

5/17/2017
Masala Box is an Indian fusion restaurant located in Bayside, Queens, New York – one of the hottest but most competitive restaurant locations in the country. We run a full-service restaurant and a full bar, and – in order to stay competitive – we expanded our offering outside the restaurant’s doors to include take out, delivery and catering. In such a large market, Masala Box uses multiple online ordering systems: Grubhub, Eat24 by Yelp, Delivery.com, and the newly launched Uber Eats. Online deliveries are an important and steady source of revenue for us. After our second year in business, the percentage of takeout and online deliveries increased substantially, totaling about 40% of our overall revenue.
 
However, takeout and online deliveries came at a high price: the technology systems for each online ordering system we were using were not compatible with our POS system, meaning each order was costing us considerable time to process. The standard workflow for an online order went like this: an employee would accept the order online, through the delivery company’s system, and then print it out. The employee would take this information over to the POS system and open a new tab to enter all the details of the order: from name to address to phone number. Masala Box has a fairly complex menu, as there is a lot of customization – the level of spice; which sides you want to go with your entrÉe, etc. – so even the fastest typist took between one and a half to two minutes to enter. Finally, management would have to accept the order before the kitchen could begin preparing it.
 
It wasn’t just a time suck, though: this belabored process introduced many opportunities for human error. Because employees had to enter each order manually, it was very easy to make a tiny mistake, like messing up the spice level or adding the wrong ingredient. Of course, once it was out for delivery, if there was a mistake, the kitchen couldn’t make any adjustments. This resulted in a customer that didn’t get what they wanted, was unhappy, and might never order from us again.
 
Finally, this wasn’t why I hired my employees: they were there to serve food and engage customers – not enter data. This process was taking time away from their regular jobs – and when a rush hit and my team was forced to handle their regular duties and all the online orders, it was too much. We all felt there had to be a simpler and more efficient method to handle takeout orders.
 
After evaluating other systems, we decided to implement Breadcrumb POS by Upserve to manage our orders. We like it because it is reliable, easy to use and easy to understand. When Upserve announced an integration with GrubHub, we jumped at the chance to streamline and simplify the online ordering process. The Breadcrumb and GrubHub integration solved all the major challenges we had been battling: it offered a single place – Breadcrumb – to manage Masala Box’s online menus, receive orders, fulfill orders and track payments. Online orders flow right into Breadcrumb – no more printing and manually reentering orders – so my team can manage everything in one place.
 
Right away, we noticed a huge change in the way we were processing takeout and delivery orders. The integration improved delivery time. The orders were precise and correct, and the smoother process bled over into the onsite restaurant operations, making the kitchen and serving process easier. Masala Box customers complimented the restaurant on faster delivery times and order precision. The volume of customers after the integration also increased: even on days when the front of the house was slow, the kitchen stayed busy fulfilling orders for customers who wanted to eat at home.  
 
The reaction from the staff has also been incredibly positive. It’s easier for the kitchen staff to get the exact detail of the orders, and, for the front-of-house staff, their role is as simple as pushing a button. 50 to 55 percent of Masala Box’s orders come from Grubhub, and the integration made the process so smooth and saved so much time that that – even having to manually input for the other systems – it’s no longer such an issue for the staff.
 
Ultimately, the Breadcrumb and GrubHub integration has made an impact on Masala Box’s bottom line:
  • The volume of deliveries and takeout increased by 17 percent
  • The amount of time my staff has saved from manually entering orders to accepting orders went from an average time of one and a half minute to two seconds


I see this as a win-win for our business: we’re more profitable, my employees can focus on their jobs, and the customers are happier.

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