Restaurant managers know that retaining key servers is hard, but is a very important task. Having servers who know the menu and restaurant like the back of their hands takes years to replace. It is much easier to keep these key servers happy and well paid. Increasing communication between the kitchen and the servers using JTECH devices is a good investment in not only your customers’ level of dining satisfaction, but also in your staff’s level of job satisfaction. Your business cannot thrive, or exist for that matter, without both a reliable team and a loyal customer base. With JTECH devices in use, both are much more likely.

In addition, ServAlert integrates managers with escalation alerts, ensuring management integrated into the overall system. Mangers can be paged automatically when orders are delayed in pick-up, which will increase server accountability and performance, as well as ensuring hot food deliveries are always timely. And since the serving staff is really the face of the restaurant, how they interact and perform will directly impact how the guests perceive your business. And, while it sounds like the guests are receiving a lot of benefits from the ServAlert system, your servers will also thank you for bringing it onboard. The increase in restaurant efficiency ultimately makes their jobs easier. It will also reduce the likelihood of delivering cold or lukewarm food, which is a major complaint of many diners. Happier guests translates to more repeat business, increase tips and reduced staff attrition– a win-win situation for all.

The Cornell study also found that managers are at the helm of whether or not a restaurant soars or sinks. The ServAlert system with the InstaCall™ manager pager allows for management to be notified of delayed order pickups. This creates an environment of accountability and lends itself well to on-the-spot training. And last but certainly not least, the finances cannot be overlooked. JTECH recognizes that your financial resources are limited, and that’s why ServAlert and the ServerPass™ pagers are Restaurant Tough™, designed to last, just as your business should.

Logically, it’s just not safe to have people crowded around a hot stove or distracting the staff responsible for preparing the food. Fewer distractions for the kitchen staff will also result in more accurately prepared orders and less mistakes. Equally important, kitchen staff will not be distracted thereby making them less likely to make costly and dangerous food allergy mistakes. Meanwhile, the communication works both ways – kitchen staff can reach servers if they have questions about a guest’s order or a special preparation notation. The more appropriate and timely communication that takes place between the front of the house and the kitchen, the better. Keeping service staff on the floor with guests allows for providing the greatest level of service. Servers cannot see that a guest needs another drink if they are hanging out in the kitchen, although if they were ServerPass pagers could take the heat!

Meanwhile, another feature of the ServAlert system is the Server Cancel mode with its’ Continuous Paging feature which, as the name implies, means that a page will continue until it has been cancelled by the server. Server Cancel Mode and Manager Alerts simply make your operation run more efficiently. As far as additional features go, an Expeditor Panel also allows for server paging from a second location. The expeditor has the very important role of acting as the liaison between the kitchen and the wait staff. This person is more or less the gatekeeper of both worlds. Giving him or her the ability to page wait staff is extra helpful in finer dining establishments. However, even if your restaurant doesn’t fall under the industry class of “fine dining,” ServAlert enables you to provide fine dining nonetheless.

People go to private clubs because they want to be known by the staff, they want to be addressed by name, and they want to have their wishes and desires anticipated. By equipping your staff with ServerPass silent vibration pagers, you enable them to really engage with the clientele and spend less time running back and forth from kitchen to table. For example, if servers are equipped with pagers, they can remain nearer to the guests, getting to know their tastes and habits, and spend less time lingering by the kitchen or bar for drinks or food. A server that is equipped to mingle with the private patrons will get to know them better. It is one thing to like a place, but a deeper level of association is made when a patron actually likes the employees. Next thing you know, your customers will be coming back more frequently because they like your staff, not just because they like your food. JTECH pagers bring people together where they need to be.

ServAlert transmitters are available in several panel sizes so don’t worry that your restaurant is too small or too big to benefit from a JTECH communication system. In addition, continuous paging makes it so that pages are not overlooked, dismissed or missed. This is also very helpful for the kitchen staff who sometimes has questions regarding a specific order. Or maybe you have one of those servers who consistently enters order changes that are hard to decipher. Rather than prepare the food incorrectly, kitchen staff can page the server back to the kitchen to clear up the confusion. Whatever the situation might be, good employees are hard to come by, so when you get one, keep them by equipping them with the tools to succeed.

The extra attention to the direct and immediate needs of guests is often reflected in increased tips. And restaurant owners know that higher tips make for happier waiters and happier waiters give better service. And bottom line, better service leads to repeat guests and repeat guests are the lifeblood of a restaurant. Business is always personal, even in this surprisingly impersonal world of increased technology. Wireless server pagers unite the two – the personal and the technological. JTECH’s wireless technology brings the human aspect of business back to the forefront. “At your fingertip” service is still something people desire and, in fact, as technologies advance, people want their needs met even faster than before. Server pagers bring your waiters out of waiting and back to serving.

It’s also advised to do one thing at a time. Give the customer the full attention of the staff member while always respecting the customer’s personal space. The extent of the waiter’s friendliness will be dependent on the type of place where he or she works – some things that might not be appropriate in a diner or a restaurant might be fine in a theme bar or pub. The bottom line is all these things will help waiters earn better tips and higher wages. JTECH’s ServAlert® pager is another “tips booster” because it allows the waiter to be silently alerted to waiting food. Therefore, waiters are able to be more efficient in their interaction with the kitchen, thus providing higher food quality and achieve higher guest satisfaction.

Nevertheless, Swanson encourages people to “be especially wary of those who are rude to people perceived to be in subordinate roles.” Sara Lee CEO Brenda Barnes, a former waitress and postal clerk, says, “Sitting in the chair of CEO makes me no better of a person than the forklift operator in our plant.” Empowering your servers with wireless pagers gives them the confidence to rise above “subordinate” and to think like a CEO.