The Wych Elm, Kingston Upon Thames
"Tabology is spot on. When you have a system that you use every bit of functionality on, that's the system for you." Michael Pearson, Licencee.
The Wych Elm is a popular, family-run neighbourhood pub in Kingston Upon Thames, south west London. Licensee Michael Pearson says: “We’ve deliberately kept a traditional pub style for the business, with a strong local trade. We have a 60/40 wet/food split, although at the weekend our food trade increases.”
The pub has used the Tabology pub EPOS system since 2019. As well as taking customer orders and payment, the system is integrated with the pub’s Xero accounting system, simplifying their financial processes and allowing them to have a real time view of how the pub is performing.
As well as a regularly changing range of beers from both Fuller’s and guest brewers, the Wych Elm has a broad drinks range including wine and cocktails. All food is fresh and cooked to order, with the core menu of British pub food classics complemented with more premium daily specials, such as fresh fish, chateaubriand, and lobster.
“We serve whatever is in season or available, and it’s very straightforward to update the till with menu specials, guest beers and so on,” says Michael. “Tabology's pub EPOS is very intuitive, and simple for staff to use.”
It was this intuitiveness that helped Michael decide on Tabology, after considering several EPOS systems. “For pubs, the more efficient we can be in terms of technology the better. I was looking for a till system that wasn’t a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Tabology does everything that a pub needs. It’s spot on. When you have a system that you use every bit of functionality on, that’s the system for you.”
The ability to simply implement additional services when COVID lockdown measures were mandated in 2020 was further evidence for Michael that he’d made the right decision. “I felt that we were way ahead of the game during the initial lockdown, when our customers were able to order food and drink for click-and-collect or delivery, using a button on the website linked to the till.
“Then, when we were back trading again, we were able to implement table service straight away. We hit the ground running as soon as we were able to open, and so we stole a march on the competition in our area. From a customer perspective, it was the most simple-to-use application out there, and it linked directly with our till system.”
Table ordering via QR code also proved efficient in staffing terms. “We’re a large pub with a big garden, and there were customers everywhere. We were able to minimise staff to-ing and fro-ing, it was just customers ordering their food via the app, and us delivering it.”
Click-and-collect is also now a permanent part of the pub’s offer, “customers just click on the link and the order goes straight to the till.”
The success of its response to COVID saw the Wych Elm win the Resilience and Adaptation Award in the Kingston Borough Business Awards 2021, as well as being a finalist in both the Marketing & Social Media, and Excellence in Customer Service categories.
Michael also praises Tabology for taking customer feedback on board, with the pub seeing the benefits of improvements to the functionality of the booking and table numbering systems.
He sums up: “The back-up is great. I was initially quite sceptical about the level of support promised, but Tabology are very quick to respond, at any time of day or night. There’s always somebody at the other end of the message, and the response time is pretty rapid – which is what we need, because if something happens, it’s always when you’re busy.”
To find out more about our Pub EPOS System, and how they could work in your venue, get in touch.
