ASUS Products Make Taking Orders Faster for Potbelly Sandwich Shop

Overview

Through the adoption of a suite of ASUS Products, Potbelly Sandwich Shop has been able to take customers' orders in a timelier manner, mine valuable data on purchasing patterns, and train employees more efficiently.

Potbelly Sandwich Shop first began as an antique store on Lincoln Avenue, Chicago and has since grown in to a restaurant chain with more than 185 locations. Along with a delectable menu of hot sandwiches, hand dipped shakes, and salads, Potbelly also offers live local music and a unique interior décor filled with vintage signs, old photographs, music memorabilia, and a potbelly stove. Potbelly has implemented ASUS LCD monitors, T91SAs, EeeBox PC B202s, and ASUS routers in taking customers' orders and ASUS Eee PC 1001P in training employees. Through the utilization of ASUS technology, Potbelly has been able improve the quality of customer service provided and the efficiency with which restaurant operations are run.

The Opportunity

Located in proximity to several businesses, Potbelly experiences long lines and long waiting times at peak hours. Prior to the implementation of an ASUS solution, order takers used pen and paper to manually take down customers’ orders. The process was inefficient as it was time consuming for order takers to constantly have to move between writing down the orders, delivering it to the kitchen, and returning to the line to take the next customer’s order. The process was prone to errors in delivering the right orders to the right customers and Potbelly faced difficulty in tracking orders placed. Before adopting ASUS Eee PC 1001P in training employees, Potbelly had new hires shadow experienced employees. This resulted in cluttering and disrupted business operations.

The Outcome

In March 2010, Potbelly Sandwich Shop implemented an ASUS solution consisting of ASUS LCD monitors, T91SAs, EeeBox PC B202s, and ASUS routers (for order taking) and Eee PC 1001P (for training employees). Customers’ orders are taken with a stylus on the tablet PC, which are then transferred via ASUS routers to an ASUS LCD monitor, which is connected to an EeeBox PC B202. The monitor displays information regarding who placed the order and what was ordered. By the time customers reach the front of the line, their orders will be ready. Not only does this automate the order taking process, but it increases the timeliness and efficiency with which customer’s orders are taken and delivered.

In addition, the solution provides Potbelly with data on order flows during the day, the number of customers coming in during certain store hours, what customers are ordering, as well as which menu items are ordered the most frequently. Given information on the frequency with which different menu items are ordered, management can better ensure they have an ample stock of condiments and ingredients to meet customers’ needs. These metrics not only allow restaurant operations to run more smoothly and efficiently, but they also enable Potbelly to deliver more complete and better customer service. Using ASUS technology rather than the original pen and paper is more environmentally friendly as well, since less paper is being consumed.

In March 2010, Potbelly also began utilizing Eee PC 1001P to train employees. Training became more self-paced with individuals watching training presentations and walkthroughs of a typical working day on the netbooks. As a result of integrating ASUS technology into their business, Potbelly has experienced greater efficiency in taking customers’ orders, greater ability to track orders, and greater accuracy and detail in the transmittal of orders. In addition, the new self-paced training program reduces the cluttering that took place before and minimizes the disruption on business operations that training may cause.

The Product

The EeeBox PC B202 is a 1L-sized mini desktop PC powered by Intel Atom processors, Since it only requires around 20 watts of power, carbon footprint is reduced by 90% compared to a standard PC. The EeeBox PC comes with built-in 802.11n WLAN to keep you connected to the internet, and with a slim design and VESA 75/100 standard mount supported, EeeBox PC B202 allows an array of space saving options.