Hot Dog on a Stick (HDOS)
HDOS uses Maitre’D restaurant management software to simplify its operations for a food-court setting
The workforce is young, the pace is fast and the footprint is small. That's life behind the counter at Hot Dog on a Stick (HDOS), which operates 108 stores in shopping malls across 13 western states, with annual revenue of $45 million dollars.
When the 62-year old California-based chain decided to install its first-ever computer based POS system, the technology had to be tailored to its unique food court operation.
"We have a very young workforce and, for most, it is their first job," said Bruce Kowallis, HDOS' Director of Information Technology. "Combine that with the often hectic pace of a food court, and our POS system had to be straightforward and easy to learn."
Turning this need into reality was Maitre'D POS restaurant management software from Posera Software, Inc., a provider of software solutions for the hospitality industry. With this software in place, even the newest HDOS counter employees were easily ringing up sales, while efficiency also increased on many levels at headquarters and in the field.
Versatility Is Key to Maitre'D
"Our first Maitre'D system was installed in March 2004," Kowallis explains, adding that the company had previously relied on CRS3000 terminals that used dial-up to headquarters in a one-way transmission.
Kowallis, who has been with HDOS for 20 years, says, "The beauty of Maitre'D is its versatility, which is a function of its open architecture."
With over 100 locations to poll on a daily basis, HDOS found this open architecture particularly valuable in designing a system that would support its needs. As Kowallis puts it, "The freedom to customize back of house and enterprise architecture as needed was a key aspect of our decision to go with Maitre'D."
Easily capable of handling multiple tasks like table service and online ordering for very large restaurants, Maitre'D's versatility was on display at HDOS. "This system brings the terminal operation down to just a few items that we sell," Kowallis says. "It gives us the simplicity and functionality we need so even the newest employee can quickly master the register position in a busy store."
With Maitre'D in place, HDOS has been experiencing new levels of productivity thanks to the software's ability to deliver data to headquarters, which helps increase efficiency in ordering and inventory. "All data is consolidated back to corporate through timely corporate reports, which is very big for us," Kowallis says.
DBF Export a Plus
Because corporate data at the hot dog chain is primarily based on DBF, FoxPro, Access, or SQL data applications, the company was excited with the legacy DBF export that was available with Maitre'D.
"All the pertinent data is delivered in DBF format, which makes it easy to transport into our third party applications, including Great Plains for accounting and ADP for payroll, " Kowallis explains.
Data transport is also effective with eTime, he adds. "When we do punches at the register, eTime automatically applies labor laws and overtime for different states. This data gets batched into our ADP for the paychecks."
Asked to describe other Maitre‘D software features that are being effectively used at the headquarters and unit levels, Kowallis mentioned eGlobal, broadcaster and the multi-unit report center.
"With these features, we have been able to manipulate applications so our regional managers can connect to corporate headquarters and use the reporting tools for their specific stores to make timely decisions based off of very useful reports," he explains. "Since the multi-unit reporting application is based off of Crystal reports, we are able to easily create any custom report we want. "
Hands-on Service From Posera
With over 20,000 customers worldwide, Posera is a powerful international supplier of restaurant software solutions. Although the company operates globally, it was Posera's hands-on service that helped land the hot dog business.
"From an information technology perspective, we really appreciated the personal touch and availability of top notch support personnel at Posera headquarters," says Kowallis. "There has never been an issue that hasn't been resolved either by direct support or requests sent to Product Management for future implementation."
The Hot Dog on a Stick and Maitre ‘D partnership is strong today and will only continue to grow stronger. As Kowallis notes, "With Maitre'D version 8 just around the corner, we look forward to an even more open architecture and the implementation of SQL-based data. This falls right in line with how we store data at corporate. "
- Bruce Kowallis, Director of Information Technology