ConnectSmart from CST helps caterers maximise efficiency and increase profits
Stands 705 & 800, Hostec at Hospitality,
NEC Birmingham, January 19 – 21st 2009.
There’s a new buzz phrase in catering communications: hospitality automation. It means the seamless linking of front of house to back of house and all points in between – so that everyone knows everything they need to know to work to maximum efficiency. At Hostec 2009 Call-Systems Technology (CST) will demonstrate the very latest in hospitality automation, the ConnectSmart® system, developed by QSR Automations® in the USA.
The ConnectSmart range will be shown alongside CST’s award-winning portfolio of communications products and management software packages.
Smarter Communications
Visitors will be able to see exactly what ConnectSmart can deliver through on-stand demonstrations. For example, it tells serving staff how long before an order will be ready. It tells chefs which meals need to be prepared next. It tells front of house staff how long before tables will be free for waiting customers. And it informs management so that they know exactly what is happening, in every department, so they can tell instantly if any area of the operation requires help.
By intelligently linking table management to waiting staff management to kitchen management, ConnectSmart ensures chefs are working on the right orders at the right time, waiting staff know instantly when their order is ready to take the table – so food quality is ensured – and table turnover is optimised.
ConnectSmart even extends the communications network to include the customer. ConnectSmart Reservations manages advance reservations and features a CRM (customer relationship management) package allowing a personalised response to guests. ConnectSmart WebAhead and ConnectSmart WebReserve allow guests to enter the wait list or make a reservation via the Internet
While the ConnectSmart software will take hospitality automation to a new level of sophistication, the hardware and interfaces are easy to use, robust, practical and purpose-built for foodservice. For example, the touch screen technology has been customised so that it can withstand the grease, heat and humidity of a busy commercial kitchen. Which means chefs can use all the benefits of ConnectSmart even at the sharp end of the ‘cookface’.
"ConnectSmart will help caterers make more profits, by making their operation more efficient," says Ashley Sheppard of CST. "We would expect ConnectSmart to pay for itself within months."
CST’s award-winning communications and software suites
As a specialist in the hospitality sector CST has developed a range of products to meet the sector’s specific needs.
The company will show its Call range of pager systems including the award-winning EasyCall, which lets customers call for service instantly; WaiterCall, which tells waiting staff when orders are ready; and the queue-management CustomerCall system, which allows customers to relax and enjoy themselves while they wait for their table.
The Genesis software suite will also be demonstrated. This includes integrated communications, automated facilities management packages and the recently launched Genesis GSM, which allows conventional mobile phones to act as an ‘all-in-one’ device – pager, DECT phone and alarm alert – as well as being a conventional mobile. Genesis GSM can use the site’s own PBX switchboard and automatically route calls for the lowest possible cost – or even for free within the site itself.