Rosie originally installed Tabology’s Hospitality EPOS system three years ago, and is now one of Tabology beta test businesses, putting new features through their paces and providing valuable operational feedback. As a former IT project manager, Rosie knew exactly what she was looking for in an EPOS system.

She says: “I did a lot of research. Although I obviously wanted a good EPOS solution, the people that you’re going to be working with are just as important. I had demonstrations from seven or eight different companies, and Tabology stood out by a mile.

“I liked the fact that they wanted to learn from my business, and they were willing to change in response to feedback. Crucially, the system worked, it was really user friendly, and the support was clearly there, which is really important.

“All food and drink orders for the different facets of the business are managed through the Tabology EPOS. The pub offers table service, as well as ordering at the bar for those customers who prefer it, and front of house staff are trained on the iPads. We have one fixed iPad on the bar, and quite a few portable ones. Most of our customers have tabs set up on the system for their food and drink.”

Tabology’s Table Plan feature comes into its own for events and functions. “The tables are set up differently according to the occasion, so I can quickly create a new Table Plan and use that visually to make sure we’re putting orders on the right tables, It’s also very useful for new staff in the pub while they learn the table layout.”

The business has also improved booking efficiency by using the auto-confirm feature for bookings, which checks availability in real time when a customer requests a booking online and auto-confirms the booking if there is availability.

Rosie says: “We operated booking requests, which needed manual confirmation, for a while. That worked, but I felt pressure to confirm requests quickly, or the customer might try somewhere else. People want to know that their booking is secure almost straight away. Turning on live bookings means we’ve got a lot more bookings coming through that way.”

Linked to bookings, the business is also finding that taking deposits through the Tabology EPOS works well. “We ask for a deposit for tables of six or more, and for key events such as Mother’s Day, we’ll insist on a deposit for everyone.

“We don’t get a lot of no-shows, but if they’ve paid a deposit, you know they’ll turn up. We’ll probably move to the point where we’ll take a deposit for everyone booking at the weekend.”

Campsite customers have benefited from a food delivery service, ordering takeouts from the pub using Tabology’s online ordering.  Rosie is also developing an online guide for campers that will enable them to book tables in the pub, using the Tabology bookings widget embedded in the website. They're also in the process of opening an outdoor kitchen to help meet the increased demand during events, as well as from the campsite customers.

The Old George has also set up a loyalty scheme enabling regular customers to build up a points balance with purchases. “Customers tend to use it more when they come in to eat, as we can put the whole tab onto their loyalty account when they pay. At the moment, they all seem to like seeing the points balance going up, so I’m waiting for them to redeem them.”

The customer data from the loyalty scheme can also be used to create targeted marketing campaigns. Rosie says: “Our first try was a drinks promotion for members with birthdays that month, and it was great to see customers come in to redeem the offer.”

Tabology’s back office manages all wet sales, with stocktaking linked to ordering. “When we initially set up the system, Tabology helped by putting all our drink products onto the system for us. Our range has changed a lot since, but it’s a relatively simple task to add new products. For a new user, it’s great that they’ll do that massive upload for you.” Tabology’s EPOS data also feeds into the Xero accounting system used by the business.

“The integration of all these functions is a massive benefit. There are probably still features I don’t use that I should be. It’s an invaluable tool when you use it in the right way.

“If there are ever any problems, Tabology are on hand to fix it. Because I work with features in the testing phase, they will spend the time working to get things right based on my feedback. The support is absolutely brilliant, and I know everyone at Tabology by name. It’s there until midnight every day, and within minutes of sending a message on Telegram, there’s somebody there. I always recommend Tabology.”