Tech Brewery Has Developed Paging Technology To Help Shorten Queues At Restaurants In India

Sumeet Turakhia, founder of Tech Brewery has developed wireless paging systems to help hotels and restaurants to make their services efficient. This technology was developed by him with the support of a company called Leetek which agreed to manufacture the hardware for the device.

The Inspiration

Turakhia got the idea of wireless paging at restaurant after an experience at a UAE restaurant during the time he was pursuing his Master in Business Administration. Out for a pizza with his friends, he was given an electronic token for his order which the staff said would send a notification once the pizza was ready.

He was intrigued by this technology and found that it could be a good way to reduce waiting lines at restaurants and avoiding the food to get cold in case someone misses an order. “I was amazed by the simplicity of the technology and asked the outlet manager about the product. I soon started researching it, but wasn’t easy as I was on a student budget,” he told The Hindu.

He tried looking for manufacturing companies who could develop a pager or buzzer and have dedicated dealers and distributors in India. “I just didn’t want to be a distributor or dealer but wanted to have a technology that could be customised for the Indian market,” he explained to The Hindu reporter. Finally the South Korean company, Leetek agreed and Tech Brewery came began work in early 2014.

How Does It Work

The Tablecall Paging System (TPS) is an advanced system as compared to the one Turakhia had seen in UAE. This one is customised according to the Indian customers who usually do not give all of the order at once needing the waiter to be summoned every few minutes. “On an average, a group calls the waiter five times, and that results in 20-25 minutes of waiting; not generating any revenues at the table,” says Mr. Turakhia.

So the TPS has buttons for different needs like service, bill, water, etc. Every waiter at the same time will be carrying a pager with LED screen which shows which table number requires what kind of service. There is also another Kitchen Paging System that helps co-ordinates the waiter and the chef. The chef can page the waiter about the order being ready and the food is not delayed.

The Results

Santosh Shetty is the director of Food & Beverage at Taj-GVK who told The Hindu that the Tablecall Paging System that they use is easy to operate and gives privacy to the customers. “The best part is, it also helps us operate areas in the hotel with lean manpower deployment. Customers love it and so do our staff.”

“Earlier, we would see our customers waiting for their food near the counter. They were times when our chaat counter would be overrun by guests who wished to eat full-fledged meals, inconveniencing those who wanted just chaat. However, now things have eased up for us as well as our guests,” Apurva Narielwala, Manager at B Bhagat Tarachand at Viviana Mall, Thane told The Hindu.

Hurdles and Scope

“Indians are technology-shy and resist change. So, to explain the product, we give free trials with zero obligation to buy. After a few days clients understand the value it adds to their operations, customer experience and efficiency,” explained Mr. Turakhia about how difficult it was to selling his devices to the customer’s.

Things are however looking up as he is now targeting semi self-service restaurants and the large food chains like McDonalds and Cafe Coffee Day. “We would also like to increase our presence across India by appointing more dealers and distributors.”