Blog / September 30, 2018
Introducing Mobile 4.0: Seven Features To Save Time Every Day
Elise Musumano
Here at SevenRooms, we have two types of customers who log into our system:
- Users logging in from desktop, on a web browser — typically marketers, reservationists, owners, finance teams, and other back-office staff members.
- Users logging in via our mobile app — most often front-of-house staff using an iPad at the host stand, staff walking the floor to update table statuses from an iPhone, or a GM or Director of Hospitality checking in remotely.
Quick-Add for Walk-Ins
When a walk-in comes in and a table is empty, you want to be able to seat them as quickly as possible. Now you can do that in two quick taps. Before: You had to click on a table, press Add Walk In button, go through the regular walk-in wizard that asks you about party size, duration, and seating area, and then finally press Seat. Now: Click the table that you want to seat your guests at, and we’ll show you the two most likely party size options for that table. Press one, and that’s it. No wizard necessary.
Not seeing the party size you want to seat? Just click the blue button on the right to add your own party size.
Floor Plan Editor
We’ve been hearing from customers that there is a need to edit floor plans more easily from iPad. So we built this out just for you.
Now you can:
- Clone tables rather than starting from scratch
- Rotate tables to the exact degree you want them at
- One-click-align multiple tables at once
- Add rectangular tables and structural elements
- Change dimensions, colors, and add text (hello, emojis!)
- Add a grid-mode background so you can see if your tables are flush right or left
Waitlist Predictability
(Note: This feature applies to dining accounts, only!) Now, whenever you add a guest to Waitlist on iPad, we’ll recommend a wait time for you. You can either click the blue “Add to Waitlist” button as a shortcut, or pick from the drop-down.
This feature is a win-win for restaurant operators and guests. Getting an automatic wait estimate means:
- You can lean on a powerful algorithm that optimizes seating 10,000 times in 2 seconds.
- You can quickly toggle between seating areas to see check wait time for each.
- Your guests know when they should be ready and how far they can go while they wait, decreasing the time it takes them to show up once you send them an SMS text.
Paylink
Note: This feature is 100% PCI-compliant and great for guests who don’t feel comfortable sharing their credit card over the phone. It allows you to send them a secure link to enter their payment details themselves. We originally built out Paylink on the desktop, browser version of SevenRooms. The use case was for reservationists accepting advance payment to hold tables or deliver items like champagne bottles in-service, or for marketers to collect payment for event deposits. But we found that front-of-house staff at the host stand needed it, too — on both iPad and iPhone. So we brought the same capabilities to mobile. Paylink lives on the reservation, lets you charge cards immediately, and gives you the option to set the amount and gratuity.
You can send Paylink requests by email to your guests, and for pending requests you can resend an email or copy a link to text their phone number directly.
See How Gurney’s Resorts Used Paylink to 2x Revenue for Montauk and Newport Venues
Here’s what a Paylink email request looks like for your guest:
Subject line will include “Payment required” with your venue name, the date of the reservation, and the guest name the reservation was booked under.
Ready to get started? Go into any existing reservation, click “Add credit card” and then toggle the “CREDIT CARD DETAILS” option to “Collect Details via Paylink.”
Refunds
Now, you can refund customers who cancel their reservation right from your iPad or iPhone. It’s up to you whether to give a full or a partial refund. You also have the option to add a note to the transaction for internal use, so anyone else on your team can see the context of the refund. Your guest will get a notification email with “Transaction alert” in the subject line.
The email includes a link to a receipt for them to have on-hand.
Note: You can approve refunds for up to a full week following a reservation date. Timing of the money return varies by payment provider, but guests typically see the charged amount appear back in their accounts in 5-10 days.
Ready to start refunding?
FreedomPay
Move over Stripe, a new payment provider is in the house. We now integrate with FreedomPay for both web and mobile users. Already a FreedomPay customer? Awesome! You just need to contact FreedomPay support asking them to send your credentials (account number and secret key) to your success manager here at SevenRooms. Here’s what it will look like when you charge a guest’s credit card through FreedomPay (it looks the same as our integration with Stripe):
Don’t use Stripe or FreedomPay, but want to add a payment provider?
No problem! Contact your SevenRooms success manager or email [email protected] and we can help you get set up.
Block Editing for Recurring Blocks
(Note: This feature applies to dining accounts, only!) Sometimes, you want to change or totally remove a block on a table(s) or seating area so that guests and internal users can book reservations on them. Now, you can edit recurring blocks from mobile. It’s very similar to access rules. You have three options: delete just today, today and all days after, or all days (past, present, and future).
Like what you’re seeing but not a user? Get a SevenRooms demo from a product expert.