So many things these days are going self-serve. Whether it is self-checkout at the supermarket or hardware store, check-in kiosks at airports, or digital directories at office complexes, the human element is being replaced by interesting, easy-to-use apps and systems to give users the information they need without the wait. So why not make the ordering process cool and fun?
Quite the contrary: it actually speeds it up. We have witnessed the ordering process in real time during the busiest part of the day. With two terminals running The Point of Order App, orders were being logged about every 15 seconds. That’s right… nearly 4 orders per minute with two ordering stations. So with a thoughtful layout, intuitive buttons and graphics, and a streamlined menu, The Point of Order App will let you focus on a different bottleneck: the production kitchen.
A little of both. The technical aspects of setting up a framework of categories, foods, sizes, toppings, extras, hours of operation, etc. have all been addressed. So that part of the system is built and will be the same from client to client. But what makes this app unique is the custom design elements for your operation which will allow the app to match your brand while presenting your specific menu.
Our generic version allows you to set icons for different Categories, and within each Category, you can set different icons for each individual Food. The app also allows for graphics to represent item variations like size, flavor, etc.
You may have a space-inspired sub sandwich line. Or perhaps you have a Polynesian-themed sandwich line. Or perhaps you are offering ’70s-style disco pizza. What about beach-flavored seafood or industrial-style food truck meals? All are possible with our generic version, but a custom app can also be developed.
Basically whatever you want to do, The Point of Order App can be customized to meet your needs. But it won’t require development from the ground up. This saves you time and money.
The app is built to run on Apple’s iOS. This means you will need an iPad and probably a receipt printer along with an Internet connection. The backend tools are built on WordPress, the world’s most popular open-source content management system (CMS). This means that we spend less time redeveloping the basics and are able to focus on our app.
But the app isn’t released through the regular Apple App Store. Instead, The Point of Order App is a business-to-business (B2B) app and is published in the Apple B2B App Store. This means that you have to have a special invite code (coupon) to download and install the app. This allows you control over how many iPads you want serving as point of order stations, and it also keeps others from hacking into your system.
That’s the beauty of controlling The Point of Order App through a WordPress site. The app communicates with the mothership once a day (during off-peak hours), or you can force a data refresh by visiting the terminal and typing in our secret code! Either way, when you want to remove an under-performing item, add in a seasonal special, or close the unit for a period of time around holidays, you do this at a computer in your office and the app plays by those rules/
If you opt to use our generic version, the process is very simple. We begin with a consultation reviewing your concept’s menu and how best to organize your Foods into Categories. During this discussion we determine how to represent the items in the app: illustrated artwork or photographs. After all of this is done, we publish the app, you install it, and the customers start using it.
The app by itself does not tend the payment, but if your card vendor offers the ability for third party developers to communicate with their framework, we can extend the app to work with the hardware necessary to tend the payment. Clients of CBORD, however, do not have this option, as CBORD has an agreement with Micros and forbids even their clients from attempting to tend a payment outside of the CBORD framework.
It is more involved, but the process is about the same. We begin with a consultation reviewing your concept’s theme and the menu you are offering. We work with you brainstorming ideas for graphical presentation so that the app looks cool and is fun to use. At the same time, we offer opinions and insight on ways to improve your menu to make it more point-of-order friendly. (For example, how do you order a pizza with double toppings when someone has selected cheese and pepperoni — is it double cheese or double pepperoni or double cheese and double pepperoni?)
After deciding on the graphic style for the app’s theme and settling on a menu, we present full-screen mockups for your review. We show you how the user will interact with the app and give you the opportunity to ask questions and to make suggestions. We finalize all of this with music and sound effects (if desired). Then the app is published, you install it, and customers start using it.
Feel free to contact us for more information.
The generic version of The Point of Order App licenses for $1,500 per year ($125 per month) or about 3 weeks’ worth of salary for an average hourly employee. Accessing our illustrated library of foods costs $5 per preproduced illustration and $15 for custom versions.
Pricing for a fully customized theme begins at $3,500; annual licensing fees of $500 per year (after the first year) also apply. You can self-host the control panel or Creative Minds, Inc. (the creator of The Point of Order App) can host your install for $29 per month.
Considering that The Point of Order App can reduce staffing needs from two or three cashiers to one, the savings in hourly wages and benefits pays for this system within weeks of first use.
Contact us for a custom quote to get the process started.
We work with almost any type of organization whether you are a self-op run by your college/university or whether you are an out-sourced group at a school.
However, we do not work with Sodexo. Past experience has proven that Sodexo is not the right fit with our organization, as their vendor requirements require us to secure arbitrary and unnecessary insurance which will cost us over $10,000 per year. We would then have to pass that cost on to you which usually puts the price of the product out of reach. This impasse has never been overcome, as Sodexo has never budged from their demands.
If you are a Sodexo organization, we will work with your college/university and license a product to them, but not to you, the dining program at that school.
(Why would you bad-mouth a potential client or group of clients?)
It’s not that we are trying to sully anyone’s reputation. We just want to be upfront that if you are a Sodexo client, we don’t want to waste your time or ours going through a process that is designed to fail. If you have done your due diligence and can get your college/university to license the product, then we’ll talk.