The Peach Tree

Located in the historic town of Shrewsbury opposite the famous Shrewsbury Abbey is one of the country’s most vibrant hospitality businesses. The venue is certainly the ‘place to be’ for anyone from the town and surrounding area. Under one roof, patrons can enjoy a ‘Gold’ award winning night club, a fine-dining restaurant and a sophisticated champagne bar. It’s not surprising therefore that the C:21 nightclub, Peach Tree restaurant and Spirit Champagne Bar collectively have been voted ‘Best Overall Venue’ at the Shropshire ‘Best Bar None’ award ceremony in 2011.

Challenge – Incumbent EPoS system lacked business critical functionality and could not integrate with all three businesses.

Running one hospitality operation can be a challenge, but when you have three distinct businesses operating from one venue then your work really is cut out. With different sets of staff working at all hours, the stock, pricing and menus are all at odds with each other and your customers profile varying depending on the time of day and the venue they are visiting. Add it all up and it’s a test even for the most diligent and professional management team; if your technology is not up to scratch then the task is even harder. This was the issue at The Peach Tree.

General Manager, Grant Lees explains, “Our incumbent EPoS system was very basic and offered very limited functionality. For example, we could not integrate our three businesses together, so we had to run three separate systems. One of our key objectives was to improve our staff performance, but it was impossible with the old system. Furthermore, we needed a stock control system that was directly linked into our EPoS. This would enable us to fine-tune our stock so we better met the demands of the business and save money. The old system did not have the ability to do this”. Solution – An EPoS solution from pointOne The management team decided it was time to look for new a solution and after thoroughly researching the market decided on an offering from pointOne. Grant explains, “pointOne was recommended to us by an existing user; it had all the functionality we needed including the option to add media screens to the terminals so we could run promotions right in front of our customers as they waited at the bar. In addition, the system provided us with the opportunity to boost our VIP membership with its contactless card technology integrated with its ‘Loyalty’ module”.

”The implementation of pointOne has been a great success. The service is the best we have received from any EPoS company and we are now looking to use more of the system’s functionality to enhance our business further.”

Results – A 22% increase in revenues from promotions, a huge increase in VIP member recruitment , a vast improvement on stock-control and better staff management.

According to Grant the solution has achieved all of the venue’s objectives, he comments on the key benefits that the business has enjoyed since installation.

On Improved revenue:
“The rear customer facing media screens installed in the night club and champagne bar have had a massive impact on our business. I would estimate that we are now achieving upwards of 20% increase in revenues since they have been in use”.

On staff management:
“The solution is sophisticated yet easy to use, so it has reduced the number of errors that staff make when conducting transactions. Also we have used the system to tighten up our staff’s time keeping. As the system records all of their hours from the moment they log-in, they now know that they need to be on-time or it will be noticed. We can also budget our staff hours more economically”.

On Stock Control:
“Stock was always a major headache for us, however as we can see what is selling and what isn’t, we are now able to forecast our stock requirements with a higher degree of accuracy. This has reduced ordering errors, cut wastage and improved accountability”.

On Loyalty:
“We have a VIP membership scheme which guests apply for and in return receive a number of extra privileges such as access to exclusive lounges, free booth hire, special deals in the restaurant and fast track entry. This is one of the most profitable areas of our business and since installation we have literally signed-up hundreds of new members. The contactless card technology is a real hit as it reduces the hassle of purchasing drinks etc. It makes them feel really special!” In addition the Loyalty module has enabled the business to set-up business accounts; a potentially lucrative scheme that the venue has ambitious plans to develop further in the future.

Key business benefits of a pointOne EPoS solution:

• Easy to use modern tills
• An automated stock control system
• Easy to understand management information
• Ability to add an integrated database of all members/customers
• Options for delivering loyalty schemes such as discounts at the bar for members or corporate users
• Ability to manage and run open bar tabs when hosting guests
• Ability to ‘customise’ drink and food orders to customers specific requirements
• Able to audit the activities of each member of staff

Summary

Grant concludes, “The implementation of pointOne has been a great success. The service is the best we have received from any EPoS company and we are now looking to use more of the system’s functionality to enhance our business further”.