How can a restaurant business survive during a pandemic?

‘‘The one that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment” – Charles Darwin

The hospitality industry faces many challenges amid the ongoing pandemic. The issues of continuing lockdown changes, recruitment and profitability are hurting the industry. One simple technology device can help restaurants not only adapt to these difficulties, but also overcome them.

The device in question is called Kate Tablet – the first and only tabletop payment terminal in Europe and the CIS market, allowing customers to browse, order and pay. It even comes with a variety of curated shows and games to keep young children entertained and allow for a relaxed dining experience. The device is fully integrated with existing POS solutions.

Our Kate Tablet is the digital assistant that also supports front-of-house staff, giving them time to have meaningful conversations with guests while simultaneously elevating service.

The recruitment challenge

We know this is a big problem for the hospitality industry. In most cases, we see venues not being able to open due to being understaffed, which hugely impacts the revenue of the businesses in question.

The Kate Tablet device helps hospitality businesses operate with up to 30% less front-of-house staff, while increasing the speed of service and table turn.

Terminals are installed on each table, counter or hotel room, allowing guests to easily get acquainted with the menu and promotions. With a full detailed and visual menu, ordering has never been so easy. Guests can place orders and re-orders quickly with the help of suggested dishes they can choose from. All this without relying on waiting staff.

"Every lost moment is a lost business and lost benefit” – Philip Chesterfield

A significant advantage of the Kate Tablet terminals lies precisely in saving time for both front-of-house staff and guests.

There is also no need to wait for staff to bring the bill and card machines; bills can easily be paid from our devices using chip and pin or contactless. You can split the bill either by item or evenly, making the overall transaction quick and easy to increase table turn.

The introduction of the Kate tips system has helped increase waiting staff income five times over, driving staff loyalty in an industry where salaries are generally not high.

Since 2019, we have been proven to deliver fantastic results, including:

• 30% increase in impulse spending on desserts and drinks
• Up to 30% permanent reduction in front-of-house team hours required
• Five times increase in tips
• 10% increase in average spend per head
• 10% increase in overall restaurant profits
• 30% increase in table turn (Peak hrs)
• 25% customer survey completion rate

Artem Semenov, CEO and founder of Kate Media, states: 

"Using our product is absolutely free of charge, while it allows you to increase the venue’s revenue by 10% and reduce staff costs by 30%"

Gleb Malyshev, commercial and product director of Kate Media, notes the following: 

"Kate helps our clients work with fewer team members, significantly increases the number of purchases and tips, and is a simple and effective way to achieve success in the restaurant and hotel business"

Increasing consumer spend

With the continued pressure of Covid and new variants, there are less people visiting hospitality venues. The numbers are changing and not consistent. So how can one increase profitability with fewer customers? The answer is to grow the average spend per head. 

We have seen an increase of 10% in the average bill size as a result of making it easier for customers to order and re-order. Our devices can promote menu items such as drinks and desserts, as well as supporting efforts to advertise the restaurant’s latest promotions and deals. Our devices last for 20hrs on one charge and the screen is always on and available for customers to purchase more. 

Manuel Costin, managing director, Kate Media UK, adds:

“I’m delighted to launch Kate Media UK. Kate is the only product of its kind in the market today that offers an all-in-one solution delivering business growth whilst reducing operational costs. Our solution is very timely and one to make a difference in the UK hospitality industry”

Kate Tablet Use Cases:

Our device can be used for multiple applications: as a tabletop order and pay device, hotel room device and as a self-service kiosk. Kate Tablets are more convenient, compact and much cheaper to maintain than existing solutions, and do not require expensive installation and wiring. 

Kate terminal runs for up to 20 hours on a single charge. Establishments that use self-service kiosks often face various problems; the printer runs out of paper, printing checks stops, and, as a result, there are issues when taking orders. Our solution works without printed receipts, which is also a more eco-friendly and cost-effective solution. Additionally, it eliminates queues at the checkout counter.

The ability to use the Kate Tablet as a self-service kiosk is especially relevant for fast food restaurants and restaurants implementing ‘on-premise takeout’ during the pandemic.

As part of the overall solution ecosystem, all our devices come with smart watches.

With this fully-integrated system, front-of-house staff will never miss an opportunity to deliver great customer service. Our smartwatches, when linked to the Kate Tablet, receive notifications for orders and payments, as well as when someone requires assistance at the table, with each table number clearly displayed.

At a time when the entire global economy is scraping to survive, we are turning to digital innovation to solve problems and look for new opportunities to thrive. Such a simple device can provide many advantages and help you survive difficult times with maximum benefit.

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