Three windows that power a pub and thoughts on Optimization

It was a busy and bustling Friday night and my visit to a neighborhood pub got me thinking on efficiency and optimization. I have been to this chain of pubs earlier as well but never got a chance to experience the efficiency and thought process of their system while handling peak crowd.

The pub is a fairly large one and gets extremely full on the weekends. The crowd ranges from casual diners to brawdy and exhuberant bunch, depending on if they drink or how much they had to drink. Though the pub was busy, the service and how fast the food arrived was really commendable.?

We walked into the pub, pulled a couple of tables together and scanned the QR code that was printed in brochure. The QR code launched a website which let us enter the table name and order directly from the website. We were a crowd of approx 10 people so we ordered food in parallel, multiple phones could order different items and have the food delivered to the same table. After selecting the food, we paid the bill directly online. Till this point, the only staff we had met from the pub were the security guards at the entrance and the ma?tre d’ who guided us to the tables.

Our tables were closer to the servicing area so I had the opportunity to observe how food servicing was managed in this pub. There were three windows behind the servicing area which contained dumbwaiters (freight elevators for food) - so presumably the kitchen area was below the pub. After we had completed our order, in about 5 mins, the beverages were served and in 10 mins the food started appearing in the windows behind servicing area. Food was dispatched by one coordinator and was distributed by a fleet of 5 waiters. Food arrived on time, hot and we were able to order any additional items absolutely hassle free, on demand and when we liked.?

Now, this pub as I noted above is fairly a large one with 115 tables and seats close to 460 guests. Serving 115 tables especially on a bustling weekend takes at least 28 waiters, considering an industry average of 1 server handling 4 tables. On top of this, it takes at least a couple of coordinators to run point to ensure mistake free service. This pub was able to run the entire operations with just 6 (and maybe a couple more).?

Pubs running on leaner staff is nothing different. Leaner staff in pubs corresponds to delayed service times (duh) with focus on delivering the first round of beverages. Most of the time this isn’t trouble because people tend to visit pubs to have conversations and delayed service times works in favor of the crowd but running a pub with near full meal service and on leaner staff while not sacrificing the user experience is what caught my attention and got me pondering on what went well that resulted in this level of optimization and efficiency.

• Self Service menu (“The Self Service”) - The ease of a self service menu is nothing short of amazing. In a loud pub environment with everyone talking aloud, ordering what you want without having to repeat yourself multiple times and participate in shouting competition is a pleasant experience that can go unnoticed at times (as how most good things get unnoticed)
• Simpler menu (“Simplification and Standardization”) - The menu items on their own were simpler and straightforward without any fancy bells and whistles. As a rule, the more customizations are availed or farther something deviates from a standard offering, the harder it is to drive efficiency.
• The dumbwaiter (“The tools”) - Having food delivered to the servicing area through the dumbwaiter (contrasted with staff running up and down) improves the efficiency of the operation and avoids bottlenecks in transporting food. This also avoids any potential accidents or spills while handling massive food orders during peak times
• Staff (“Conscious Optimization”) - Though the pub runs a leaner operation, they still had one coordinator and other servicing staff. Could the operations run this smoothly without the coordinator? The coordinator just picks up food from the dumbwaiter and puts it on the table to be picked up by the servicing staff. Would there not be better efficiency if the servicing staff pick up the order directly from the dumbwaiter instead??

It is easier to hyper-optimize a system while focusing on cost reduction or efficiency. Hyper optimization usually gives immediate benefits but eventually leads to breakdown or slow down due to frictions created between the components (Don’t skimp on the oil). Sometimes adding extra staff specializing in one job powers an efficient operation. The coordinator ensures that the food goes to the right table and ensures that there is no bottleneck in delivery as the servicing area where food arrives is a chokepoint if not managed properly.

• User Experience (“Digital Transformation”) - The linchpin of this efficient operation in my opinion is the Digital Transformation that powers the entire user experience.?

1. The QR code which directs the users to a website or app?
2. The self service menu catalog that lets the users order food directly to their table?
3. The capability that lets multiple users order food to the same table via multiple sessions
4. The capability that integrates Self Service menu with easier payment checkout
5. The technology that catalogs the food ordered and connects the food ordered by users to the kitchen
6. The process that flags food items ordered with table names and the process of utilizing dumbwaiters and dispatch coordinators to distribute food without errors

Without the seamless orchestration of this technology underlay and the process overlay, the efficiency that is realized by the pub may not have worked as smoothly as it does now.?

When we talk about digital transformations, it is easier to get lost in the robust and large scale end to end transformations but digital transformations come in all shapes and sizes. Even a simple online website that offers self service order option coupled with conscious business process optimization can yield far greater benefits.

In summary, my visit to the pub has left me with the following thoughts.?

1. It is easier to hyper optimize to realize quick wins but it really requires conscious optimization to reap sustainable benefits.?
2. Embrace tools and modernization to drive exponential optimization (Imagine the entire operation without the dumbwaiter)
3. Any optimization needs to keep user experience in the center. Just having a self service option while not focusing on delivering food on time, or digitally transforming your operations while not simplifying user experience (imagine having to navigate through tedious menu and unnecessary steps to just order food)?- both of which is as good as having none at all.?
4. Digital Transformation with focus on improving user experience creates not only a sustainable means of optimization but creates more business opportunities as well as capacity to handle those new business opportunities.