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Foodman Any veteran food server can tell you that back in the day, before P.O.S. computers, modern reservation systems and managers being able to give instantaneous feedback on check averages, life was simple. And some will even argue that food came out quicker, hotter and tasting better without a client-server database in the way. Managers lament how simple running a restaurant was before the I.T. department emailed "End of Day Procedures" to the field and a special card was needed to authorize adjusting a bill. Owners rue for the times before touch screens and back office systems added many thousands of dollars to their already-stretched-thin budgets. Of course, Aloha, Micros and Squirrel want every restaurateur to believe that those dollars are investments that save many times their initial outlay in increased efficiencies, better inventory control and reduced theft opportunity. And, despite the old-timers among us that long for the handwritten green checks and walking our orders to the kitchen, the technogeeks are probably right--P.O.S. systems are here to stay. But what if you don't have the tens of thousands required to install most state of the art technology and hardware? Fortunately, there are options. One of them, Foodman, is a system that most restaurants, no matter how big or small, can afford and that servers, managers and owners alike can learn quickly and may solve some of the headaches caused by so-called "leading-edge" technologies. The Basics: Foodman is an "off the shelf" P.O.S. system that can be used with your existing computer equipment at a considerable savings over prepackaged hardware/software systems such as Aloha, Micros and Squirrel. Nice Features: Help screens, accommodations for "Special Instructions" (avoiding the dreaded "See Server" ticket!), and the "SEE" button, which lets the server toggle back and forth easily between reviewing the order and entering menu items. Foodman also jams a lot of menu choices into each screen, eliminating the need to switch as much from screen to screen as with some other systems. Foodman boasts that, with a "do-it-yourself" approach, you can install a complete, three-terminal touchscreen system, using Foodman software for $4,634. Compare this to over $10,000 for most other systems. Drawbacks: As even the Foodman webpage admits, it is not a "pretty" system. Esthetically-speaking, the menu screens look hokey. System
Requirements (for 3-terminal system): 3 Inexpensive Pentium
PCs. Should be able to purchase for around $300 each.
Purchase these without a monitor. Other costs you may need to think about are for laser printers, cash drawers, etc. Foodman
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