Fish and Chips Turns Heads, Profits with iPad POS
In operation since 1966, Fish and Chips Restaurant in Sausalito, California, is the Bay area’s oldest fish and chips shop. Frustrated with an outdated point-of-sale (POS) system that tied-up precious man hours with tedious end-of-day reporting, and lacked remote management functions and web interfaces, owner Michael Lappert tapped Revel Systems to install its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) POS solution on the Apple iPad 3G.
The system, which was installed in September 2010, combines the flexibility and usability of the iPad with cloud-based software. Revel designed a mobile credit card swipe and the software, and configured an integrated cash drawer. An Epson TM-T70 printer, designed to fit under counters and in small spaces, offers front-facing controls, paper loading and receipt dispensing for quick and easy access. “The form factor was a huge selling point,” says Lappert. “Space is at a premium in our restaurant, so the sleek design added to the overall functionality and appeal.”
Labor cost-cutter
At roughly half the cost of a typical single POS station, it has helped Fish and Chips to cut down on staff training, thus solving many of the pain points with Fish and Chips’ previous system, such as ease of use, simplifying and adding payment options for customer and real-time reporting. “It increases management efficiency by 15%, so you could estimate that if your time is worth ‘x’ it saves you an hour or two of a manager’s salary every day, plus the owner's time of checking in for updates - which you can estimate is about 1/2 hour each day per store,” says Lappert. “The owner can just log in to see what's going on without disturbing the managers. Plus, customer transactions can be processed at a faster rate, allowing them to process several more customers per day.”
What’s more, Fish and Chips can customize any report. “I can check in on the store’s daily sales from any computer or even with my phone. We thought it was going to be a big deal to update our POS system, but it only took two hours to roll it out and our staff was up and running five minutes after that,” says Lappert.
Fish and Chips say that customers are in awe over using an iPad as a POS system. “It associates our brand with the Apple brand, which is a brand people recognize and respect. It makes us look cool and up to date,” says Lappert. “We have it all in one system, with real-time reporting and no back server. All we need is an Internet connection and credit card information is not stored on the unit, making us PCI compliant without the headaches.” Because the card swipe is directly on the iPad, payment time is faster, increasing immediate profits.”
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