Catering RFID is widely used, and today I will show you a very interesting case.
Dining Restaurants
Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom is an American chain of casual dining restaurants.
The company’s Omaha store offers an RFID-enabled self-serve pouring booth. The self-service system utilizes the iPourIt HF RFID self-pouring technology installed by GS Draft.
Original Solution
The original self-catering solution was designed for the 4,400-square-foot Omaha site. Restaurant manager Mungovan began imagining a few years ago. How cool it would be to pair fast casual with pizza and self-service taps. So began to look for companies to provide this technology. After comparing many technology companies that can implement this function. SOWP finally decided to adopt catering RFID technology for restaurants and cooperate with iPourIt.
Self-filling Bar Wall
Pizza and self-service tap facilities under one roof. When customers arrive, the cashier asks if they would like to use the self-filling bar wall. If they answer “yes,” the cashier scans their permit. Opens the tag, and scans the catering RFID wristband with the restaurant’s logo. The wristband has a built-in MIFARE HF RFID chip. Which transmits at 13.56 MHz and conforms to the ISO15693 standard. The iPourIt software, combined with the restaurant’s own software. Launches a tag linking to those guests’ licenses and wristbands.
Customers
“If customers have been there before, they’ll know what to do. If not, then we have an attendant on duty. Especially during busy times, to guide them through the self-service process,” Mungovan, the manager, said. The waiter would explain the taps. Works, but guests usually first observe how other people use them. A wide variety of taps, serving beer, wine and mixed cocktails, are popular with customers. They cover all major types of alcohol and can appeal to a very wide range of Crowds. Actually, the best sellers are probably Mai Tais, Old Fashioneds and Margaritas.”
Tag’s ID
Above each tap is an iPourIt LCD screen with a built-in MIFARE 1K RFID reader. Darren Nicholson, iPourIt’s vice president of marketing. Said the software displays on-screen content for each click. Including tasting notes and the ABV or IBU scale. Which measures alcohol and bitterness in beer. level, or anything that might be relevant to a particular product. The user simply taps the wristband near the screen, and the built-in catering RFID reader reads the tag’s ID. Allowing the tap to pour the wine. The amount of wine poured is measured and stored by iPourIt’s software. Which integrates with Aloha’s POS system. iPourIt data is integrated directly into the POS software.
How it Works
First of all, you need to set the maximum amount of alcohol for each guest. The bartender then needs to reactivate the wristband. Which provides a one-time reactivation by tapping his RFID wristband on the tap the customer wants to access. At checkout, guests must contact the bartender or cashier, deactivate their wristbands and settle the bill. After the payment transaction is completed, the operator prints a receipt. “We want guests to have a very fast experience,” Mungovin explained.
What to Provide
Behind the faucet wall is a cooler for kegs for beer, wine and cocktails. “The iPourIt hardware consists of glycol cooling mains that connect to the faucet,” Nicholson said. “The restaurant can provide reusable RFID key fobs, cards or wristbands. So it uses a variety of different types of technology on the market.”
Since the system was deployed in its Omaha store, Mongovern has seen something unique about the self-serve beer wall. “What’s really interesting is that we can have long lines at the door to order. So that often guests get a wristband that hangs on the bar wall and have a drink or two before ordering.”
Analytical Capabilities
The system also provides analytical capabilities. The data collected includes demographic data such as where each customer lives. the person’s zip code, gender and age. The information is anonymous, Nicholson said. Over the past three years, iPourIt has used data from all of its customers. To create a report showing key trends across all stores. These trends include the most popular beer, Michelob Ultra.
Lower Labor Costs
For Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza. The benefits of deploying the solution included lower labor costs for the bar wall. And the flexibility to update pricing and promotions. Additionally, the company is seeing valued customers returning and bringing in more customers. “They’re people who’ve been there before. And they enjoy the experience and bring friends along. It’s cool to sit and watch guests teach other guests how to use the system,” Mungovin said.
Added Benefit
An added benefit to this solution is a reduction in beverage losses, especially for beer. As the system introduces very little foam. And the self-pouring feature means customers pour more carefully to avoid wasting what they paid for. The software displays the volume of each cask in a dashboard format, similar to a gas gauge needle. Prompting from green to red on the operator’s display.
Future
Every time a new faucet wall is installed. There is a period of time to set up the system and train operators, Nicholson said. “Self-pouring walls take time to understand. And I think the first thing we do with our clients is a learning curve.”
Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza plans to have 80 bars by 2027, according to Mungovan.
