JOEY Orchestrates Success with In-Store, Online & Mobile Solutions

Offering the best in premium casual dining since 1992, JOEY Restaurant Group operates 20 locations throughout Canada and the northern United States. Recognized for providing an exceptional dining experience and an inspired menu in some of Canada's busiest restaurants, JOEY considers retention and promoting from within critical components for success. Another success factor is staying front-of-mind when guests are making a dining decision, which depends in part on extending the carefully crafted JOEY brand.  

 

To help achieve success in these key areas, JOEY is implementing software and hardware from the ConnectSmart solution by QSR Automations, including: kitchen displays; in-store seating; wait list; call aheads; reservations management; and online and mobile call aheads and reservations.

 

With extremely busy and highly complex kitchens, JOEY set out to lower the amount of stress felt by its chefs. The JOEY head chefs were forced to focus on managing the timing of items in the kitchen, which made for little time to ensure quality and execution, provide mentoring, or even take any vacation time that included peak nights. When JOEY decided to review QSR's ConnectSmart Kitchen (CSK) software IT team members and chefs worked side by side to make the purchasing decision and to customize the flow and look of the installed solution. 

 

Using the CSK, each menu item from an order is displayed at the specific kitchen station responsible for preparing that item based on the cook times; this way, all of the items that are a part of the order are completed together. At the order display station, servers and managers always know the status of items and orders. The CSK immediately made the kitchens more peaceful, and JOEY also gained a growth in food quality and table turns.

 

Two other benefits stem from access to data. Real-time information provides the ability to proactively communicate with guests, such as when an order is running late. And with the CSK, the JOEY restaurant managers and headquarters team members also have easy access to production data and speed of service metrics. 

 

After seeing the benefits from ConnectSmart in the kitchen, JOEY’s IT team chose to again work closely with key restaurant team members, and decided to connect the kitchen to the host stand. Similar to the CSK, QSR's ConnectSmart Hostess software provides key data needed to enhance guest experiences. For instance, to help make the best suggestions, servers can now access information regarding a guest's favorite drink and how that guest orders his or her steak, as well as the date and menu choices from the guest's last visit. 

 

Hostesses also ensures accurate wait times and efficient seating based on parameters defined by JOEY. The restaurant team members are able to see up-to-the-minute table statuses via an intuitive graphical floor view. And ConnectSmart Hostess Mobile allows team members to be on the move, making it possible to greet parties and update table statuses from anywhere in the restaurant. 

 

By combining CSK and Hostess, the JOEY team is more efficient and has the information needed to personalize the guest service. 

 

Always focused on brand building, JOEY is also taking advantage of online innovations for brand extension. Part of this effort includes leveraging QSR's ConnectSmart capabilities for online and mobile call aheads and reservations to put the JOEY brand front-of-mind with guests no matter how or when the guest would like to enter the wait list or make a reservation. 

 

ConnectSmart WebAhead allows guests to see the wait list in real-time, add their name to the list, and with ConnectSmart WebReserve, make a reservation via the JOEY website. Guests can also download the JOEY branded app for their mobile phone to get on the wait list or make a reservation.

 

With QSR's ConnectSmart, JOEY has gained touch points to reach and care for guests throughout the entire dining experience. JOEY set out to empower head chefs to become conductors rather than highly paid and struggling tuba players in the center of the band. Ultimately, with the information available from ConnectSmart when and where it is needed, even on the busiest nights, JOEY restaurant team members are now more like a fine-tuned orchestra. 

 

Serving as the director of information technology for the JOEY Restaurant Group since 2005, Derek Boyd leads the implementation of various technology initiatives, including: enterprise reporting database, kitchen display systems, pay at the table, table management, web reservations and, most recently, a fully-customized iPhone App. A veteran of the industry, Derek has worked in restaurants since the age of 15 and has worked in nearly every operational role.
 
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