Alliance Till Systems: Support

Tea Garden - Case Study
Pay at Table technology for outdoor terrace

Twice daily when the steam train arrives in Mallaig for its brief stopover, the Tea Garden’s 120 seats quickly fill with tourists - all looking for fresh food and prompt service. With 50% of seats outside in the garden, and losing £80 per day on walkouts, owners Sheena and Norman identfied they needed a new epos system that would allow customers to pay at the table.

The Customer - Tea Garden, Mallaig

The Tea Garden is a fully licenced restaurant and terrace garden café located close to the thriving, working fishing port of Mallaig on Scotland’s West coast. The Tea Garden offers a wide range of fresh home cooked dishes sourced from local produce and world class seafood.

Situated along the famous ‘Road to the Isles’, Mallaig is a great gateway to the Isle of Skye and enjoys an increasing number of visitors from across the globe.

Twice daily when the steam train made famous in the Harry Potter films arrives in Mallaig for its brief stopover, the restaurant’s 120 seats quickly fill with tourists - all looking for fresh food and prompt service.

Early on, the Tea Garden’s owners Sheena and Norman recognised well-trained seasonal staff and a reliable, user friendly EPOS system would be key to the success of the business.

First opened in 1993 by Sheena, the Tea Garden started life as a two table café and expanded rapidly. Today the family run business employs 16 staff and opens 7 days a week during the tourist season, with every meal freshly prepared to order.

The Challenge

With 50% of the tables located outside in the garden, the couple quickly identified that their business could benefit greatly from handheld ordering devices.

“Speed and quality of service were key factors in choosing our first Orderman devices back in 2007”, owner Norman explains. “Other options, such as tablet/ipad systems, seemed flimsy in comparison. The Orderman looked - and proved - to be more robust and we liked that it had been designed specifically for the hospitality industry.”

"For anyone considering moving from paper-based checks to handheld digital ordering, the different in speed from the table to kitchen is incredible. Today there are high expectations from customers, and with the Orderman system people feel like they’re getting great service immediately. Our business couldn’t do without it now."

Norman Payne, The Tea Garden

Having used their initial EPOS set-up for 11 years, the couple decided it was time to upgrade their systems. The business was losing up to £80 per day on walkouts, highlighting there was a clear need for the ability for outdoor customers to pay at the table.

The Solution

Alliance Till Systems installed the following solution:

2 x Aures Yuno terminals with TouchPoint software 
3 x Orderman 5+ handheld ordering devices with PocketTouch software
3 x Orderman belt printers
2 x Pay at Counter integrated card terminals
2 x Portable Pay at Table integrated card terminals

After meeting with Hervé of Alliance Till Systems, the couple decided to upgrade their EPOS system from a single Casio till linked to Orderman Max 2+ handhelds to three Orderman 5+ handhelds all with belt printers running ICRTouch PocketTouch software, two new Aures Yuno tills running ICR TouchPoint software, two integrated card payment terminals and two mobile card payment terminals.

With optional belt printers the Orderman 5+ was a natural choice for the Tea Garden. Having used Orderman Max 2+ for 11 years, the staff were already very familiar with the system and the owners confident with the products durability. Despite being dropped numerous times, one of the restaurant’s original Orderman devices managed to last 10 years.

The Results

Whilst there were cheaper options available, Norman believes it was well worth the cost in terms of quality and the entire system easily paid for itself within one season. Prior to the install, the couple were concerned how quickly seasonal staff would be able to adjust to the new equipment. They could not afford to lose any business during the changeover, they needed service to be fast, efficient and flawless from the offset.

However, these fears proved to be unfounded and the couple were delighted with how smoothly the transition went.

"The install of the new system was seamless, and far superior to the last company we used. Everything now works perfectly, and all little glitches were ironed out very quickly. This support during the transition was invaluable and very reassuring to us, and the learning curve for our staff was reduced considerably. "

Norman Payne, The Tea Garden

The day before the new system went live, Hervé began the new installation at 3pm and completed it that evening. The next morning, he trained the staff and stayed the entire day to answer questions, to fix any problems and ensure the first service with the new system went smoothly.

With any new system you need to expect some degree of fine tuning will be required. It’s very beneficial that Hervé and the team can access the system remotely and provide support whenever needed. I’m happy to say, Alliance has always resolved any issues for us very quickly.”

At Alliance, we understand no two businesses are the same. With years of experience behind us, we can provide the best suited solution for your business and our training is designed to help a smooth implementation of your epos solution.

Email us at info@alliancetillsystems.com.