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How GoTab’s Handheld POS Helps Servers Be More Efficient

How GoTab’s Handheld POS Helps Servers Be More Efficient

The heart of any hospitality experience lies in the interaction between servers and guests. Servers are expected to balance multiple responsibilities—taking orders, ensuring accuracy, delivering exceptional service, and handling payments—all while keeping the guest experience seamless and enjoyable. For many, these demands can feel overwhelming, especially during peak hours. That’s where GoTab’s Handheld POS Systems step in, revolutionizing the way servers operate by streamlining processes, enhancing accuracy, and improving overall efficiency.

Faster Service for Happier Guests

In a fast-paced dining environment, speed is crucial. Long wait times can lead to frustration, not only for guests but also for servers juggling multiple tables. GoTab’s Handheld POS empowers servers to take orders and process payments directly at the table or wherever guests are seated. This eliminates the need to repeatedly return to a stationary terminal, shaving valuable minutes off each interaction. Guests appreciate the prompt service, while servers can manage their time more effectively, ensuring that each table receives the attention it deserves. By increasing the speed of service, venues can turn tables faster during peak times, leading to higher overall efficiency and guest satisfaction.

Real-Time Accuracy That Builds Trust

Order accuracy is a cornerstone of excellent service, but traditional methods of writing orders down or memorizing them leave room for error. GoTab’s handheld devices allow servers to input orders directly into the system, which then sends them instantly to the kitchen or bar. This real-time communication reduces the risk of errors, ensuring that guest preferences and special requests are handled correctly. When guests see that their order arrives exactly as they requested, their confidence in the service grows. For servers, this means fewer stressful situations of correcting mistakes, and for kitchens, it means more efficient workflows and reduced waste.

Upselling Opportunities Built Into Service

GoTab’s Handheld POS doesn’t just make service faster; it also makes it smarter. With instant access to the full menu, servers are equipped with the tools they need to upsell effectively. This means recommending appetizers, premium drinks, or desserts at the right moments to enhance the guest experience. For example, a server can seamlessly suggest a wine pairing for a dish or highlight a seasonal special without having to leave the table to check options. By integrating these upselling opportunities into natural interactions, servers can increase revenue without adding pressure or disrupting the flow of service. Guests feel cared for and guided, while venues see a notable boost in sales.

Flexible Payment Options to Enhance Convenience

One of the final touchpoints in a guest’s dining experience is the payment process, and it’s often where delays or confusion can detract from an otherwise enjoyable meal. With GoTab’s Handheld POS, servers can handle payments directly at the table, offering guests a variety of options, including contactless payments, card transactions, and split bills. This flexibility ensures that guests can settle their bill quickly and in their preferred manner. Servers also benefit from the streamlined process, as it allows them to move on to assisting other tables more efficiently. The result is a smoother, more professional payment experience that leaves a positive final impression.

Easy Tab: Simplifying Service for Guests and Servers

GoTab’s innovative Easy Tab feature is a standout tool for improving efficiency and elevating the guest experience. Servers can create a tab directly from their handheld device, and guests receive a text notification with a secure link to their tab. This link allows guests to view their orders, add items, and settle payments from their smartphones, without needing to download an app or scan a QR code. For guests, this creates a sense of control and convenience, enabling them to continue enjoying their time without interruptions. For servers, it reduces the need for repetitive tasks like running back and forth to add items or close tabs, freeing them up to focus on other responsibilities.

Enhanced Guest Connection Through Simplified Operations

By reducing the time spent on administrative tasks, GoTab’s Handheld POS devices give servers more opportunities to connect with guests. When servers don’t have to worry about juggling orders, payments, and logistical challenges, they can dedicate more energy to creating memorable moments. This might mean recommending a favorite dish, checking in on how guests are enjoying their experience, or simply making them feel welcome. These small touches, made possible by the efficiencies of handheld POS systems, go a long way in building loyalty and turning first-time visitors into repeat customers.

To learn more about GoTab and our Handheld POS, request a demo today.

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Situated “in the heart of it all, yet tranquil enough to make you feel away from it all too,” The Limelight Hotel Snowmass offers 99 hotel rooms and 11 residences, as well as footsteps-to-gondola access in winter and summer — right in the middle of Snowmass Base Village.

The Situation

Especially over the last few years, the Limelight Hotels IT team had witnessed a significant shift to contactless technology in the hospitality industry. After evaluating friction points in the guest journey, aligning with modern technology platforms in their restaurant was determined to be an effective way to offer elevated contactless dining experiences to their guests while also evolving their technology platforms to continue to support long-term company goals. Limelight Hotel partnered with GoTab to provide an enhanced on-demand dining experience on par with the brand’s reputation for exceptional guest service.

The Solution

Reducing Staff Touch Points Without Sacrificing Guest Experience

Guests are now able to begin a tab from their room or the property’s restaurant by scanning a QR code, texting a link to friends or family members on the ski slope to add in their orders, then meeting up together at the patio or lodge to enjoy their meal and après ski festivities without interruption. By streamlining tasks like inputting orders and processing payments, this eliminates friction for hotel staff and allows them to focus on delivering renowned guest service for a memorable experience. Since partnering with GoTab, Limelight Snowmass has consistently seen higher check averages and sales.

“We found the Point of Sale platforms we were looking at offered the guest and staff limited opportunities to further reduce touch points or improve the traditional restaurant experience. The GoTab platform enabled the guest to take an active role over the flow of their experience while simultaneously reducing touch points and further streamlining restaurant operations.”Nick Giglio, Manager of Hotel IT Operations, The Little Nell Hotel Group

According to the Limelight Hotels team, some of the other platforms that were evaluated were either missing some of the pieces they were looking for, had weak customer support models, or had little willingness to develop integrations to existing hotel platforms already in place. To that end, GoTab integrated with cloud-based platform, Infor. Together, GoTab and Infor are providing dynamic solutions to support central, efficient service across hotel amenities and deliver exceptional guest experiences.

“Previously, guests would call down to the restaurant to begin an order from their room or while they were out enjoying the ski slopes. Using GoTab, guests can now place orders from anywhere on the resort, giving them the on-demand service they want without interrupting their day. GoTab empowers us to give control to the guest, reducing touch points and streamlining overall restaurant operations, making Limelight Hotel the resort of choice for Snowmass.”Nick Giglio, Manager of Hotel IT Operations, The Little Nell Hotel Group

Since introducing GoTab, The Limelight Hotel has seen a consistent level of upsells and items sold per check resulting in additional revenue capture. They have been able to maintain service levels in their restaurants during periods when there was reduced staffing available without significantly diminishing the guest experience.

The Benefits

Eliminate Phone Orders – Take Orders from the Slopes. Guests can start a tab from their room or on the mountain without interrupting the flow of their day.

Future-Proofed Technologies – Delivering elevated contactless ordering via integration with the Infor hotel management platform.

Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.

  • Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
  • Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
  • Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
  • Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.

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