In our first post of this Spooky Series we gave you the 7 Scariest Social Marketing Mistakes, which lists 7 things not to do in social media marketing and monitoring. Read on for the 6 Scariest Restaurant Horror Stories…

We’re all familiar with stories of the Headless Horseman or the Great Pumpkin every Halloween, but how well do you know – or can relate to – the following tales of horror and fright within your restaurant? Continue on, dear reader, for chilling ways in which your operations may not be achieving all that they can:

1. Zombies have breached your restaurant! Well, they’ve breached your restaurant’s firewall, actually. And maybe not real zombies, but close enough – these soulless, rotting creatures wanting to take a bite out of you are data thieves/hackers, who are growing by the number each day. While not truly the undead, these thieves are just as scary and can wreak tremendous havoc on your restaurant. Protect yourself and your customers with a strong commercial firewall, PA-DSS validated software and network security services.
2. You’ve been tricked! Are you finding that too much “candy is being taken out of the bowl?” Seeing profits vanish in your restaurant is akin to your house being egged on Halloween – you see the messy end result, but you don’t know for sure who did it or when. Installing robust theft detection software in your POS will ensure your employees are “treating” your customers and not “tricking” you in your restaurant – and you’ll gain visibility into fraudulent activities that may be taking place.
3. It was a dark and stormy night… Just as booming thunder, flashing lightning and frightening shadows can be unnerving and isolating, so too is a broken server in your operations. Don’t be shivering in your restaurant’s dark corners the next time this particular storm comes your way. Make sure your POS is fully redundant – i.e., your other terminal(s) take on operational functions in the case of server or network failures. That way, the next time your server goes down you’ll be up-and-running faster than you can yell, “Scooby-Doo, where are you?
4. Your restaurant is a ghost! Is your restaurant only an apparition to guests, who sometimes see your visage but otherwise don’t pay it any mind? Take the initiative to become more visible to your customers. Establish an online presence through social media. Implement a loyalty and rewards program. Utilize gift cards. Engage your customers consistently, and you’ll find that they will repeatedly “haunt” your restaurant without you having to keep finding ways to scare up some business.
5. You’ve been chained and bound! Don’t find yourself being shackled by the two goblins that enjoy invading restaurants and inflicting pain – Conventional Service and Low Expectations. Instead, break free from their constraints and provide your guests with an unparalleled experience by utilizing mobility. Whether you’re line-busting, taking payments at the table or managing your operations, mobile devices allow you to serve your customers more efficiently and on their terms. Mobility will further help you when the next goblins – High Demand and Repeat Frequency – come to call later.
6. Double, double, toil and trouble… Is the fire burning and cauldron bubbling in your restaurant? Disorganized and frantic kitchens are a true nightmare, resulting in a “witches’ brew” of overlapping courses, inefficient prep stations, cold food and unsatisfied customers. Integrating your POS with a kitchen production system will enhance your speed of service, improve your order accuracy and increase your profits. Kick the cauldron to the curb and operate with a system that provides the higher level of efficiency and quality that your guests expect.

What other scary situations have you experience in your restaurant?

Stay tuned this week for the rest of our Spooky Series!

Tags: Aloha, Aloha Loyalty, data security, Halloween, Hospitality, Mobility, Restaurant mobility, restaurants

This entry was posted by Andy Sirmon, Hospitality Marketing Manager on Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 at 10:08 am and is filed under Hospitality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.