Flash ROM-Based POS Systems Meet Restaurateurs' Needs
This integrator grows business by selling flexible POS (point of sale) systems that help its clients improve reporting accuracy and kitchen efficiency.
Lacey Cash Registers and Business Machines Company, a systems integrator dealing primarily in Casio products, has serviced portions of New Jersey for more than three decades. The owner, Eugene D'Alessandro Jr., markets products, recruits clients, and keeps abreast of potential customers' systems needs by word of mouth. D'Alessandro has supported stand-alone cash registers at Luigi's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria since its creation 32 years ago.
As Luigi's expanded its business, many integrators, including D'Alessandro, contacted Luigi Bove, its owner, to market their products. Ultimately growing from a pizza shop to a fine-dining, take-out, bar, and quick service eat-in establishment, Luigi's needs had evolved. To keep up with expansions, Luigi's sought to increase the speed and operation of its kitchen, automate its handwritten guest checks, improve the accuracy of its wait staff, and account for each portion of its business separately. Along with other integrators competing for Bove's business, D'Alessandro initially demonstrated a PC-based system. Bove, however, was hesitant to leap to a PC-based system because of the risks the restaurateur envisioned with such a system, including the maintenance, the learning curve during the transition from a cash register environment, the potential for viruses, and affordability. While Bove was contemplating whether to make this upgrade, Casio launched the QT-6000, a touch screen register that uses a flash ROM-based operating system rather than Windows.
POS System's Reliability Convinces Restaurateur
Because the QT-6000 uses a flash ROM-based operating system, it presented less of a radical transition for the restaurant. Nevertheless, it still includes all of the features that Luigi's sought, including a user-friendly touch screen, the reliability of a cash register, and reports for each business area, all at a lower cost than the PC-based system. The flash ROM technology provides many benefits over PC-based technology. Transactions will never be lost during outages as they could be with PC-based system, and D'Alessandro can fix workflow problems with no downtime for Luigi's. D'Alessandro accomplishes this by copying the flash ROM card, reprogramming it at his own office, and copying it back to Luigi's system at a later point.
Based on the expected ease of transition and the features it offered, D'Alessandro installed six linked QT-6000 terminals with four remote printers. According to D'Alessandro, "With linked terminals, Luigi's has merged all four of its restaurant menus and can access them from every machine, using multiple directory levels and drop down screens. This arrangement was the most challenging portion of this installation." The accuracy of the kitchen operation has increased significantly, and Bove can obtain separate reports for each of the four areas of the business. The restaurateur has server accountability, and he receives detailed transaction information for all business areas upon closing.
Earn Future Business With Customizable POS System
D'Alessandro installed the Casio QT-6000 at another client, Sundaes International – a chain of three ice cream stores – the same week he completed the install at Luigi's. He has demonstrated the system and has additional proposals in progress at other restaurants. The system also includes a number of additional features and upgrades that Lacey Cash Registers will implement for Luigi's later, including cashier monitoring features. The restaurateur will also be executing the table layout display feature for starting guest checks. "Once the Casio QT-6000 was released, I was off and running to propose this solution to clients previously reluctant to leap to the PC-based solutions," says D'Alessandro.