Top 5 ways to tackle the Christmas rush

News article

Top 5 ways to tackle the Christmas rush

The festive season is just around the corner so both hospitality and retail businesses will hopefully soon see a spike in footfall. As we approach the magical holiday season, everyone’s preparing with special menus, promotions and extended hours in order to capitalise on the increased traffic.

Here’s our top 5 ways to help you prepare for the festive season.

1. Effortlessly sell out events with robust digital ticketing

Hosting and selling out events has never been easier. The ICRTouch Ticketing solution seamlessly integrates with TouchPoint tills, ByTable order-to-table apps, TouchTakeaway webshops and SelfService kiosks. Whether it’s Christmas party bookings with set menu choices, Santa’s Grotto or even a New Year Party, with Ticketing you can sell tickets across multiple channels and increase revenue. Better still, all tickets can be fully customised to match your branding and represent the type of event your hosting so selling tickets for multiple events at the same time is easy.

2. Automate table bookings and take reservations around the clock

Gain a bird’s eye view of your reservations with an intelligent online booking system. Customers can make their own reservations online, reducing the amount of time your staff spend on admin duties this festive season. The system will automatically determine the most suitable table allocation based on the number of guests, fully optimising your available space. Use TouchReservation to avoid last minute cancellations and no shows with the ability to secure deposits; either per person or per table. TouchReservation will help you fully map out your footfall during the Christmas season, so you can prepare staff and stock in advance.

3. Keep the kitchen teams calm with intelligent kitchen display systems

Avoid overwhelming your kitchen staff and maximise efficiency during the busy holiday season with intuitive kitchen display software, TouchKitchen, to transform the way orders are processed. When you’ve got every table full with large group bookings, TouchKitchen provides chef teams with clear and legible order descriptions, eliminating the chance of miscommunication that comes with handwritten paper tickets. Orders can be partially or fully completed, and front of house staff can be notified at the click of a button, speeding up your service and improving communication throughout your business. Operate the solution in the mode that suits your business the best; touchscreen, keyboard, bump bar or hybrid.

4. Give customers freedom to place their own orders

ByTable is the robust order-to-table solution that allows customers to browse your menu and place orders from their own personal device. Downloadable from the Google Play and Apple App Stores, or accessible via your website, ByTable frees up your staff from taking orders, letting them focus on providing excellent customer service. Customers aren’t rushed into making a decision and as a result, end up spending on average 40% more. With easy access to all nutritional and allergen information, customers can personalise their choices and leave notes for the kitchen.

5. Reduce mistakes and accelerate service speed

If an order-to-table app doesn’t suit your venue, then PocketTouch digital order taking tablet software is the perfect option. The intuitive hand-held solution means staff have the most up to date menu, allergen and promotional information in the palm of their hands. The software instantly sends concise and legible orders to the bar and kitchen teams, which accelerates service and reduces mistakes. The festive rush can be managed effectively with PocketTouch, as the intuitive software allows your business to turn over tables quicker and provide improved customer service.

We all hope that the festive period brings increased footfall and full capacity at venues. These solutions are able to massively enhance operational efficiency and help you handle the festive rush more effectively. Seamless integration between systems results in instant communication, always providing you with the most up to date reports available.