Customer Case Studies
Why TouchBistro Reservations Has Been “Life-Changing” for d’Carlo Pasta House
By
Katherine Pendrill
About d’Carlo Pasta House
If you’re craving fresh pasta in a cozy, intimate setting, d’Carlo Pasta House is the place to go. This 30-seat Italian restaurant in Medicine Hat, Alberta, is devoted to the artistry of pasta and uses TouchBistro POS and Reservations to keep plates moving seven days a week.
The Challenge
Originally just a nine-seat restaurant, d’Carlo Pasta House stuck to pen and paper for everything from orders to reservations. But after moving to a larger location in Medicine Hat’s historic downtown core, co-owners Laurel Scott and Carlos Utrera realized their manual processes simply couldn’t keep up with the pace of service and the volume of reservations. Calls to the restaurant kept servers tied up on the phone, while manual order taking slowed down service.
“TouchBistro Reservations has been the biggest win for us because almost all our reservations are made by customers online now, instead of over the phone – it’s changed our lives! Sometimes, I look at a reservation and the person has changed it four or five times, and I think how every one of those changes would have been a phone call to us.”
The Solution
The solution to faster and more efficient workflows was TouchBistro POS and Reservations. With the POS, servers simply input custom pasta orders right at the table – including all modifiers – and the orders are immediately sent to the KDS in the kitchen.
While the POS saves her staff time, TouchBistro Reservations has been the most “life changing” solution for Laurel and Carlos. Instead of having their limited staff tied up on the phone, d’Carlo Pasta House has been able to move the bulk of its reservations online. And when customers need to make changes to their bookings, they can do that entirely online without ever needing to contact the restaurant.
“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, we’re just a small restaurant, we don’t need reservations software.’ I actually think it’s the opposite. When you’re small and there are only a handful of staff, you only have so many people to answer the phone. With TouchBistro Reservations, customers can make changes to their reservation online at any time – even the middle of the night – without our staff needing to do anything.”
The Results
With 80% of its restaurant reservations moved online and the majority of takeout orders now online as well, Laurel has more time back to spend running the business.
