When Ruby Tuesday updated its front-of-house and back-office applications, one product they decided to use was the ConnectSmart Hospitality Automation Solution from QSR Automations. That's a major investment --- so why did they do it?
According to Nick Ibrahim, svp and chief technical officer for Ruby Tuesday (www.rubytuesday.com), the chain had focused on turning the IT function into a competitive advantage, with a special emphasis on what technology can do to bring more dollars in the door. “We wanted to use the most cutting-edge, robust kitchen solution with features designed specifically for table service restaurants,” Ibrahim says.
Part of the package from QSR Automations (www.qsrautomations.com) was the customizable CSK graphical software, with which Ruby Tuesday designed kitchen station views to make their kitchen operations as smooth as possible. Using the software’s delay routing capability, items are routed to specific grill or pantry prep stations at the appropriate time, so that all items within the order complete simultaneously. Reflecting all changes that are made at each of the prep stations, the expeditor station view ensures prepared orders are served immediately and makes it easy for managers to know with a glance how the kitchen is running.
Thus, Ruby Tuesday’s kitchen team no longer works from tickets, no longer spends lots of energy trying to time items, and no longer needs a manager to act in a quarterback role at the expeditor station. All actions are also time-stamped and captured, so the team has access to immediate information they can act on, like understanding actual cook times as well as volumes by specific stations or days and dayparts.
An additional cost savings is that Ruby Tuesday no longer has to print and ship menu cards to its restaurants --- the software displays it for them.
