Brewing Up Success

Challenges Faced 

Oak Creek Brewery is high-volume and fast-paced, considered one of the busiest restaurants in Northern Arizona. Their technology was slowing them down and operational efficiency was declining. They needed a technology refresh; a system that can handle the volume with an easy-to-use back end for advanced reporting and updates.

Each of their systems - point of sale, payment processing, and inventory systems were with different companies, causing management to be buried in administrative responsibilities managing different vendors for each. Management spent a lot of time putting together reports, managing the different vendors and even making daily bank trips. Their ability to handle as much volume as they could was also being affected. Staff was slowed down at the fixed POS terminals. Being a high-volume destination, the POS terminal areas were constantly busy with servers waiting to input orders, increasing the wait time customers experienced while waiting for food and beverages.

Solutions 

Cervion presented EdgeServ POS with Order and Pay at the Table, and Dual Pricing to address their specific challenges. The ultimate reason to continue with Cervion and upgrade to EdgeServ POS was to have all systems integrated into one system. After a day of onsite training and a morning installation, Oak Creek Brewery was running and ready to open at 11:30 AM with 4 fixed iPad terminals, 5 handheld devices, and 2 kitchen printers to separate stations in the kitchen.

After careful consideration, Oak Creek Brewery decided to implement Dual Pricing, which charges the customer a small percentage when paying by credit card and provides a discount to customers who use cash. Although they were initially nervous about customer pushback on implementing Cervion’s Fee Recovery Program, tourists are already used to this type of charging and locals are getting used to it as it’s being implemented more and more throughout Arizona.

Benefits 

After upgrading to EdgeServ POS in August 2023, management has noticed significant improvements to not only operational efficiency but to the bottom line. Management is saving significant time on reporting and administrative responsibilities. Management can now assign responsibilities to assistant managers as needed, which they haven’t been able to do in the past. Running reports on items sold, sales, and payroll is now much easier and can be done from anywhere, including a home office.

By implementing the Fee Recovery Program, Oak Creek is saving thousands on their merchant service fees this year and 10% more customers are paying in cash. These savings enable them to continuously reinvest in their business.

Overall, the team is much faster and more efficient. By implementing Order and Pay at the Table with mobile devices, they are not only increasing order volume but turning tables faster. Servers now send orders to the kitchen immediately without waiting at terminals to input guest orders. With a better kitchen setup and additional station printers, they prepare and send out food quickly with fewer mistakes.

Cervion’s local service and support are held in high regard. Management values the relationship with the Cervion staff and is at ease knowing that when support is needed, response and resolution are quick, as opposed to other vendors where it would take days for just a response.

With the implementation of Order and Pay at the Table and Dual Pricing with EdgeServ, Oak Creek Brewery and Grill is thriving by saving money, increasing volume, and net income, while transforming operations to ease and convenience.