Eric Cacciatore of Restaurant Unstoppable sat down with Compeat CMO, Kristi Turner, to learn more about our products, the importance of looking at restaurant software holistically, and the future of restaurant software.
You can listen to the entire podcast here or read on for a few key points discussed in the episode.
Eric Cacciatore: Compeat has been recommended 11 times organically on this show, that’s why you’re here Kristi. You’ve earned our trust.
Correct me if I’m wrong, Compeat has evolved to include Accounting, Inventory, Labor, Scheduling, Hiring, Payroll, and a Log Book feature. Is there anything I am missing?
Kristi Turner: The Business Intelligence aspect, which is really what pulls it all together. It’s what most of our customers would say is the most valuable. It gives you the insights and visibility into what’s working and what’s not working so that you can take action as a restaurant operator; so, you can truly impact your profitability.
Eric Cacciatore: When you say what’s working and not working, what do you mean by that? Give me an example.
Kristi Turner: We integrate with your point of sale, so we have all of your operations data. You need to look at your inventory and your F&B costs combined with your labor and scheduling to get the full picture. Because in restaurants it’s not necessarily about lowering costs, it’s about optimizing costs. The key data that Intelligence gives you is telling you if the number of people you have on the schedule compared to the revenue that I brought in. Or do you need more people to turn the tables faster? Or with Inventory you have to strike the balance of having enough food, but not too much so that there is minimal waste.
Eric Cacciatore: One thing that I love about Compeat is that they do a good job of bringing on restaurant people. It seems like a lot of the people that are working for you were customers who fell in love with the product and became evangelists that wanted to join the team to be a part of what is going on. It’s a well put together group of people who really know the industry well.
Kristi Turner: Our slogan is Restaurant Peeps, Technology Geeks. Eighty percent of our employees are from the restaurant industry. But you also have to compliment that with the technology brilliance. It’s the combination of both of those that makes Compeat so powerful.
Also, the way that we take a very consultative approach with our customers is important. It’s not about buying software from us; you are getting 18 years of restaurant best practices. We don’t just teach you how to use the software. We want to teach you how to use the software to make your restaurant most profitable. We have the visibility into 18 years of customer data. We know what works and what doesn’t. That’s why we have such a fanatic and loyal customer-fan base.
Eric Cacciatore: Why do you have to look at restaurant software holistically?
Kristi Turner: Our industry has changed. Ten years ago there were not as many choices as there are today. Choosing the right technology vendor or vendors can be very daunting for a restaurant operator. There are many choices out there. My advice would be to choose a technology partner who knows the industry. They need to have the expertise and have run a restaurant so that they aren’t just giving you software, they are giving you the consultative approach in how to better your operations and increase your profitability.
Secondly, operators need to look beyond features, functions, and price. Be sure that everything is integrated. It’s a lot more complicated if you have 11-13 vendors. For a store manager, that’s 11 passwords, 11 log-ins, 11 systems to understand 11 support numbers to call when something goes wrong.
Thirdly, ask other restaurants that are already using the system you are researching. How was the implementation process? How is the customer service? Do they answer the phone when you call? Do they save you time? Compeat doesn’t send you a .pdf to get you started. We want to talk to you and understand your business and share best practices with you.
Eric Cacciatore: One thing that I am curious about is what does the future of restaurant technology look like?
Kristi Turner: I think what we are seeing in the industry is the focus on business intelligence. So, we are no longer just looking at various reports to find areas of improvement. A lot of reports are postmortem and tell you how you did at the end of the month. Where we need to get as an industry is real-time actionable business intelligence. The operators receive real-time alerts that something is out of whack and that an action needs to be taken now.
If you want to learn more, watch a live demo here.
