Tag Archives: Pinnacle

Quick-Serve Restaurant Stocks Beat the Rest of the Restaurant Industry in 2011

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POS Quick-ServeQuick-serve restaurant stocks beat the rest of the restaurant industry in 2011.

The quick-serve industry as a whole saw a rise in stock values as it our-performed the rest of the restaurant industry. The S&P 500’s restaurant sub-index consists of five restaurant stocks, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., McDonald’s Corp., Starbucks Corp., and Yum! Brands Inc., as well as one full-service restaurant company Darden Restaurants Inc. The sub-index rose 29.9 percent last year. The group’s only company to drop in price last year was the full-service restaurant company Darden.

McDonald’s and Yum are also among 9 stocks that make up the Bloomberg U.S. Quick-Service Restaurant Index – this index rose 13.5 percent. While Bloomberg’s 17-stock full-service restaurant index dipped 1 percent. These results reflect broad economic trends. While people are continuing to eat out and take vacations, they are being more sensible and trading down their choices.

The fast-casual businesses are increasing the amount of customers they are attracting as people trade down from casual dining. Quick-serve restaurants are having great sales and profits when they have a menu that appeals to both value and upscale diners. Many restaurateurs are looking to invest and expand more in the quick-serve restaurant industry. If you are looking for a point of sale system for your quick-serve restaurant, look no further, Pinnacle Hospitality Solutions offers business solutions to integrate your point of sales system, accounting, credit authorization, online ordering, and inventory in a single easy to use interface that makes daily operations a seamless service from start to finish. For more information, contact Pinnacle today.

How Video Tools Can Save You Money

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Digital Video RecordingYou cannot afford to leave your business unprotected. By incorporating Digital Video Recording (DVR) technology, you can monitor everything that is going on in and around your store. It is common sense that DVR technology can be a great tool when it comes to loss prevention and employee safety. However, video surveillance can help you increase your profits and point out ways to streamline operations.

Pinnacle’s ICE Monitor’s Digital Surveillance equipment is the perfect combination of DVR technology for your point-of-sale system. The combination of protection becomes the complete digital record of everything that is happening with your business. Here are specific ways DVR technology can help quick-serve restaurants increase profits and streamline operations.

Recording your businesses is a cost-effective way to perform operational reviews. Management can watch several different stores from one computer or mobile device, or at a remote computer (even their home), to suggest ways to organize the staff more efficiently and provide feedback to improve quality and customer service. Some brands have linked data from POS systems to the corresponding video of each transaction and in return motivated more employees to be honest. Pinnacle’s DVR server allows direct and secure access to multi-channel video from anywhere with internet access.

Surveillance video also allows you to avoid accidents in the workplace, wrongful worker’s compensation, and mitigate fraudulent liability claims. The video can be used as a teaching tool to accurately assess day-to-day activities to improve store safety. High-quality video recording can be the most effective way to show exactly what happened and what did not. Pinnacle offers cameras that have a present zoom and focus that provides sharp and clear video clips.

If you own a hospitality business in the Sunshine State and are looking for a South Florida POS, contact Pinnacle Hospitality Systems today. Whether you need a Fort Lauderdale POS system, or a quality point of sale system for any city in Florida or Alabama, Pinnacle has the knowledge and expertise to find the ideal solution for your business.

Want to Redo Your Menu? Just Blame the Federal Menu-Labeling Law

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MenuboardThis year the federal menu-labeling law will go into effect; requiring restaurants with 20 or more locations to provide calorie count and nutritional information on menus and menuboards. While some restaurant owners are in panic over the pending implications, others are seeing this as a good opportunity to reevaluate their menu strategy and menuboard design.

Many establishment owners and operators believe that putting calories on their menu will cause them to lose business as their high-calorie dishes turn customers away. Many who have begun to include the soon-to-be required nutritional information are not seeing an impact on sales. Providing information like – total calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, sugars, fiber and total protein – have impacted the mix of what is being sold. People might be intrigued to order different things, but they are not ordering less.

The electronic menuboards Pinnacle provides for their clients have the ability to post calorie counts and nutritional information for menu items. When making the necessary adjustments to your menu, Pinnacle recommends restructuring your menu look and strategy. Please read our suggestions below to optimize your menu to increase sales.

  • Increase readability and simplicity – the most important strategy for your menu is making sure consumers can find the item they want to order.
  • Include photos – at least one for each section to guide customers’ eyes toward their desired section.
  • Change the organization – the center of the menu is the hot spot, as eyes are naturally drawn there first – make sure to place the most popular items in the hot spot. Remember, vertical menuboards are easier to read that horizontal boards.
  • Color – choose colors that evoke hunger such as yellow and red. Also, alternate between light and dark backgrounds to break up your menu into easily to navigate sections.

Interested in redoing your menu? Pinnacle to can assist you in setting up your electronic menuboards. Pinnacle offers business solutions to integrate your point of sales system, accounting, credit authorization, online ordering, and inventory in a single easy to use interface that makes daily operations a seamless service from start to finish. For more information, contact Pinnacle today.

People on Facebook ‘Like’ Your Restaurant

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I think everyone is in agreement that word-of-mouth from a trusted friend is the best kind of marketing and endorsement. With almost 12 percent of the world’s population on Facebook and the average user having  150 friends (and that number is even higher in highly population cities like Miami and Orlando) it seems like a no-brainer to extend your marketing efforts to Facebook. But how do you build a following on Facebook? How do you turn your marketing efforts to focus on the social market on Facebook?

Start by building a following as customers come into your store. Have signage around the doors, bathrooms, registers, on table-toppers, and in other waiting areas directs your customers to your Facebook page. Consumers become your captive audience as you satisfy their need for distraction while they wait. Create a loyalty program on Facebook where users can build up bonus points for coupons and receive personalized birthday gifts. By installing a card-less loyalty solution, like Pinnacle’s SunDrop Mobile, merchants can build a large database and rapidly. Because SunDrop’s mobile loyalty solution is point of sale integrated, employees are guided through an automated capture process and every loyalty members ROI is captured and analyzed. SunDrop makes social connection “one click away” in their opt-in email registration process.

To market on Facebook, there a few steps and pieces of advice that can help every business participate in social marketing for free. First and foremost, your Facebook business page must provide value in order for individuals to ‘like’ your page. Remember when an individual ‘like’s something on Facebook, it is broadcasted to their friends and included in the newsfeed, posted on their personal wall, and forever plastered under interests in their about section. In order to win that proclamation of admiration, there must be a need your page nourishes. Most people will come to your Facebook page to view a menu, find contact information, and/or order online. Make sure this information and services are provided in clearly marked tabs. Also make sure any links to and from your website to your Facebook page are correct and pages load quickly.

When your Facebook fan count reaches 25, you are given the option to create a vanity URL. This is a personalized URL that should include your business name and location. This helps increase the traffic on your page by making it easier to find in search results. As your fan base continues to grow, make sure to continue to engage with fans on your wall and in comments. The more engaging your posts, the more people will see them. Make sure to check your free Facebook analytics to monitor the effectiveness of your posts. Last but not least, make sure to highlight how your company enjoys helping organizations and charities in your local community.

If you are interested in marketing online and on Facebook, check out Pinnacle’s point-of-sale social integration with their SunDrop Mobile platform. Gain the ability to have your offers and coupons broadcast on Facebook and watch is spread virally. SunDrop can be integrated directly into other software products and includes SMS text message, email and voice in addition to social media communication. Watch this YouTube video to learn all that Pinnacle’s SunDrop platform has to offer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ESdCLZFFJ_E#!

Restaurants Mark Strongest Net Positive Sales Since 2007

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Increase in SalesThis just out from the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI): Restaurants mark strongest net positive sales since 2007.

The RPI is a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry. It consists of two components, the Current Situation Index and the Expectations Index. The RPI measures the health of the restaurant industry in relation to a state level of 100. If the index is above 100, key industry indicators are in a period of expansion. If the index values lower than 100, this signifies a period of contraction in key industry indicators.

The Current Situation Index measures current trends in four industry indicators (same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures).  These indicators have signified industry expansion with its second time in the last three months that the Current Situation Index ratings are above 100.

The Expectations Index measures restaurant operators’ six-month outlook for four industry indicators (same-store sales, employees, capital expenditures, and business conditions). For the third consecutive month the Expectations Index stood above 100 which mean operators expect a positive outlook for business conditions in the coming months.

A look at some of the promising reports:

  • Capital spending on a rise: 46% of operators said they made a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion, or remodeling during the last three months (highest in five months).
  • Strongest net positive sales since August 2007: 54% of operators reported a sales gain.
  • Stronger customer traffic: 41% of restaurant operators reported high customer traffic levels between November 2010 and November 2011
  • Same-store sales gain: 50% of restaurant operators reported positive growth for the sixth consecutive month in November.
  • Operators optimistic about sales growth in the coming months: 41% of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared to the same period in 2010).

For a more detailed data and analysis, visit Restaurant TrendMapper, the National Restaurant Association’s subscription-based service that provides detailed analysis of restaurant industry trends; or to view the full report online by visiting the Association’s website.

If your restaurant is seeing an increase in business and expect this trend to continue like the rest of the restaurant industry, you may need to advance your technology. To make daily operations a seamless service from start to finish, check out Pinnacle Hospitality Systems. Pinnacle offers business solutions to integrate your point of sales system, accounting, credit authorization, online ordering, and inventory in a single easy to use interface with POSitouch. For more information, contact Pinnacle today.

Pinnacle Hospitality Systems Says: Server Recommendations Pay Off in the End

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point of sale restaurant pinnacle hospitality systems

We’ve all done it. We’re sitting at a new restaurant, reading over their exhaustive menu, and starting to feel slightly overwhelmed. Vacillating between the steak and the shrimp, we defer to the server with the familiar question: “So, what’s good here?”

The most common reply? “Why, everything!”

But with this response, servers pass up a golden moment. Instead of taking the opportunity to start a valuable conversation, this vague answer is so unhelpful it may actually leave the customer more confused than they were before.

A specific response, exhibiting knowledge and mastery of the menu offerings, may help sway the buying decisions of restaurant guests. A server who is able to describe drinks to desserts in delicious detail will whet the appetites of their guests and increase their restaurant profits.

One way of keeping your restaurant’s servers in the culinary know is to make it easier for them to eat the food they serve. Restaurants that offer their employees a discounted meal policy will benefit in the long run. Their firsthand testimony to the tastiness of the menu will entice guests to try more—and buy more.

“Suggestive selling is one of the most valuable tools to building your sales,” says Seth Pollino, of Pinnacle Hospitality Systems Sales. He would know—Seth has been involved in the restaurant business his entire life.

“It is more difficult and expensive to drive new customers into the building,” he says. “It is much easier to get the ones that are already in the seats to spend more money.”

Giving the staff access to the restaurant’s meals will help them feel more invested in the business and serve as a great form of advertisement. Servers appear more legitimate while making recommendations. A specific reply of, “Oh, the fish was just caught today” or “The lamb is my personal favorite” or “The key lime pie is even better than my grandma used to make”, is more likely to influence customers’ menu decisions.

At Pinnacle Hospitality Systems, we protect your profits. Pinnacle will help improve your restaurant’s bottom line not only with proven computer hardware and software designed for the hospitality industry, but with unmatched business consulting and accounting resources. Pinnacle can integrate your point-of-sale, accounting, and inventory in a single easy to use interface. For more details on how we can help increase the profitability of your restaurant, call us today—1.800.771.7100!

Pinnacle Hospital Systems Gets a Grand Slam in Customer Service for Arenas and Stadiums

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Pinnacle Hospitality Systems offers the best POS systems in Florida, Alabama, and throughout the United States.  With an efficient customer service team that is available 24/7, Pinnacle will individually custom an ideal point of sale system to meet the unique needs of your restaurant, hotel, or sports bar.  Whatever your hospitality business may be, Pinnacle has an option tailor-made for you!

With baseball season in full swing, Pinnacle also offers a top-notch POS system for managing arenas and stadiums across the country.  Pinnacle can configure a complete stadium/ arena hospitality solution by providing the necessary Dinerware software to manage bars, quick service, accounting, inventory, and even provide a wireless ordering system to cater to your skybox clientele.  We have the tools to help you enhance the experience of your sports-loving guests so they will enjoy a day or night at the ballpark this summer.

The bar feature of the Dinerware software includes the ability to name tickets with anything the bartender chooses and to open bar tabs with the swipe of a credit card.  Multiple bars can be accommodated and only two steps are required to sell a drink.  That means, in only a few simple steps, everyone at any given table may order another round of drinks with no confusion.

The quick service elements include a FastPay feature that allows you to close orders once payment is made.  Menu items can be added or modified on the fly and servers may easily take pre-orders and keep track of them with our unique list view.  Other special items make it possible for you to look up customers instantly by name, phone number, address, or email through an extensive customer database—so you can order a loyal customer their favorite meal or beverage with the touch of a button!  The intuitive user interface provides quick and easy access to all system functions and you can settle a ticket in as little as two touches.

Pinnacle Hospitality Systems keeps arenas and stadiums dishing out food and drinks, so guests can quickly get back to the game.  For more details on how we can help your hospitality business score big with fans, call 1.800.771.7100!