Restaurant management software has the potential to transform back-office operations for the better. It can help restaurants trim costs, forecast sales, and mitigate bad customer experiences that might crop up due to shortages, and relieve staff from repetitive tasks that eat into their time—including inventory management and scheduling. But the process of going “from zero to 60” with software capabilities doesn’t typically happen overnight, and the thought of having to deal with the rollout process can cause operators to put off implementation in their stores.
“Implementing any sort of business software can be hard,” says Ted Ruscitti, chief experience officer at CrunchTime. “There are a lot of decisions to make, and it’s easy to become overwhelmed by all the different configuration options. A lot of times, adopting new technology means that people are taking on a completely new approach to doing their work, and that change can be pretty daunting. You want to partner with a team that has a lot of expertise that can guide you through the process—you don’t want to be left to just figure things out on your own.”
One of the most important steps in choosing restaurant management software is looking into the teams that support the customer experience and understanding how well they know the restaurant industry.
“Having a true partnership is so important, starting with the implementation team and extending to the support and customer success teams,” Ruscitti says. “They need to understand where you’re coming from as a restaurant operator. If you have questions about what some data means or how to understand it, those teams need to be able to provide the right context and guidance that is relevant to your business. The team you work with needs to play a critical role in ensuring you are getting significant value from your use of the technology.”
When 7 Brew Coffee, a small chain with several locations mostly concentrated in the Midwest, wanted restaurant management software that would help them grow quickly, they turned to CrunchTime. They needed help getting actionable insights from large amounts of data, and through CrunchTime’s variable capacity program, they were able to connect the dots and get their data to flow more cleanly to the right places.
“We spend a lot of time with our customers during the early stage of the implementation,” Ruscitti says. “We come to our partners and really try to understand what their goals and requirements are, what they’re trying to accomplish, and even what resources they have available. We can cut through the noise and provide standardized recommendations around best practices while also taking individual needs into account. We really look at what’s most important for the business, and we don’t force a schedule or a particular order of events.”
In the current labor shortage, as employees’ time and energy keep getting stretched, effective implementation and support teams can help restaurant operators streamline and simplify the process of onboarding new software.
“CrunchTime has experience deploying to hundreds of companies and more than 40,000 locations. Most of our staff has significant operations experience in the restaurant industry,” Ruscitti says. “We’re able to advise on the right decisions and narrow down the choices people have to make in configuring their software. Our mission is to make sure our customers get ongoing guidance from people who really have empathy for what they’re trying to accomplish and take pride in delivering value to the companies they serve.”
To learn more, visit the CrunchTime website.
By Kara Phelps
