Tips for effective table management in restaurants
When speaking with our clients about common problems faced in their venue (which often affect revenue, customer satisfaction or ease of service) there are a few key things that you can be sure will crop up. Combatting costly no-shows, battling with tricky booking systems or a lack of functional table management can all impact the efficiency of your restaurant.
We often find that when looking at how to solve these problems with our clients, there can be some hesitance in moving away from their usual way of doing things and putting their trust in technology to give them a helping hand. It can be difficult to know which system will work best for you, with so many options to choose from.
As leaders in hospitality software, when developing our table management system we, Access Collins, worked with industry professionals to build a solution which would take the stress out of service in response to the problems we knew our clients faced. In this article, we will look at how different table management solutions tackle these problems, their benefits and how to work out which best suits your business.
What is table management in restaurants?
Table management is, in its simplest form, a way of managing tables in your restaurant to keep track of bookings and ensure a simplified check-in for guests. The most effective table management will allow you to maximise bookings, streamline operations and boost customer satisfaction.
From your local pizza place to a nationwide chain, each restaurant will have its own form of table management - whether it be a trusted old diary with the pages falling out, or a more advanced software solution. Different systems allow for different levels of functionality, from more simple floor plans to in-depth customer tracking.
In this article we will look at the different methods of table management and the benefits of each.
Restaurant table management: digital vs manual methods
I’m sure we can all remember arriving at a restaurant and the host frantically looking around the venue to see where they can seat your party. In some venues, manual methods of table management may still work, but as digital solutions have become available, an easier and more efficient method of table management is on offer. By being able to map out your tables, not only will you be able to seat a higher number of covers, but seat them in a far more organised way, putting your customer at ease.
Many operators will be apprehensive to move away from their current method, whether it be due to cost, tech-phobia or set-up time. But there are easy-to-use, affordable solutions which don’t need to break the bank or take hours to painstakingly implement. Find out more about how much a restaurant reservation system costs.
When looking at whether a system is worth the investment, it’s important to look at whether the benefits will give you a return on your investment. By effectively using table management in your restaurant, you will make your space work harder, whether it’s small or large. That means fitting in more bookings, the ability to plan space in advance for busy periods and seat bigger groups when it comes to Christmas.
To help you get the best out of your table management, we’ve created our own 6 top tips:
Tips for better table management
1. Choosing a table management system that suits you
With lots of table management solutions on the market, it can often be overwhelming selecting which system will work best for you. A good table management system will make life for you, the operator, easier. When looking at your needs, here are a few benefits to consider when making your decision:
- A system that gives you the best visibility to optimise the available space
- Drag and drop functionality, enabling you to layout your venue for service
- Flexibility to seat multiple groups or larger groups in specific areas
- Having a greater understanding of your tables will allow managers to effectively schedule staff, ensuring the right number are on shift each day to offer the best service
- Integrating your POS with your table management is key, investigate systems which work together for you to best run your business
2. Combining table management with no-shows
No-shows are the thorn in every restauranteur's side. Missed revenue through customers who fail to turn up can quickly start to tot up and have a large financial impact on the venue's bottom line. There are many ways you can use your table management solution to help to avoid this.
From deposits and card authentications, to friendly SMS reminders and email prompts, an intuitive system can work to both encourage and incentivise customers to either show up or cancel bookings in advance. You can learn more about reducing no-shows in this article.
3. Understand your table turnover
Understanding the average time spent in the venue for each group size is a great way to start looking at your table turnover. By calculating your maximum capacity covers, and pulling average spends from your POS system, you’ll be able to forecast revenue in your restaurant.
This is easily worked out by looking at the following equation:
Table Turnover Rate = Number of Seatings ÷ Number of Tables
By setting up maximum sitting times for each table and group size, your table management system will allow you to best optimise your bookings and the number of covers you’re able to seat each day.
4. Design a floor plan to maximise space
An easy way to start increasing revenue is maximising the space in your venue. Most table management solutions will offer a floor plan view, allowing you to create a bird's eye view of the table layout in the space available. This allows for operators to easily configure tables in the venue to ensure they’re getting the most out of the space.
These are often web-optimised to be accessible on mobiles, tablets and laptops to best fit the operation of your venue.
Using an interactive floor plan enables you to organise your bookings faster with:
- Visual indicators show at what point in service a table is.
- If at capacity, how long a table has left for a sitting.
- Ability to put groups in one area, or one large group over multiple areas.
The automation of digital table management solutions will give you a live view of which areas are free, and which aren’t, helping to process customers faster, seating bookings more efficiently and helping maximise walk-ins.
5. Think about staff efficiency
A benefit of digital solutions is the time saved through automation, saving hundreds of hours of admin time which will in turn drive more revenue day to day. By pairing this with your floor plan, and dedicating staff to designated areas of the venue you can start to increase staff efficiency. Allocating different members of staff looking after set areas to ensure maximum customer satisfaction and optimum service.
When planning for busy periods, dedicating staff to ‘zones’ of the restaurant can help to deliver the best service as well as speed up table turnover time.
6. A consistent way to take bookings
If restaurants receive bookings through multiple platforms, it is important to make sure that both your staff and your table management system work together to manage this effectively.
Whether it’s a booking coming from your website, over the phone, email or social media or platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, it’s important staff are trained to input these bookings to avoid crossover or poor organisation.
Table management solutions can help ease this, with systems being optimised and able to input into your floor plan from all channels, which is a much more efficient option than having someone stood at the phone at all hours.
Are you ready to optimise your table management?
Moving away from your trusted table management solution can often seem an overwhelming and daunting task. In this article we have identified some of the most important considerations for a restaurant when starting to look at optimising their current table management process. We’ve explored some of the different ways a restaurant operator might manage bookings and seat tables as well as look at our top tips for maximising covers and ensuring you get bums filling seats in your venue. We’d love to talk to you about how the Access Collins system could work to alleviate some of the challenges we’ve looked at in more detail.
Find out more about our table management system and how it could work for you
