What should you ask a restaurant POS reference?
A positive recommendation is reassuring, but a specific story is more useful. Learn how the POS and supplier work in a restaurant like yours.
Ask about a working day, not just an opinion
“We are very happy” is a welcome answer, but it reveals little about what you are buying. A reference becomes more useful when the conversation covers a particular shift, a menu change or a problem the supplier helped resolve.
ninito’s customer stories provide these starting points. Ugly Duckling describes less administration and help with setup and changes. The story explains work around the system, beyond the screen at the counter. Use these details to identify questions that matter to your restaurant.
Find a restaurant with similar work
A table-service restaurant may need different things from a takeaway counter using delivery platforms and kiosks. Both can be happy with the system for very different reasons. Ask how the reference takes orders, how many locations they operate and which parts of the system they actually use.
If you run several channels, explore how the team brings orders together and changes the menu. If you run several restaurants, local prices, access and shared oversight become more important. The conversation does not need to cover every feature. It should cover the work that determines whether the solution fits.
Ask about the last busy service they remember
Ask them to describe a busy period. Where did staff take orders? What did the kitchen see? What did the shift manager do when work built up? A specific sequence gives you more to assess than a general statement that the system is fast.
Listen for work that is still manual too. The restaurant may have chosen a routine that suits it well, or something may be a recurring frustration. Ask for the example behind the judgement so you can understand whether it matters to your setup.
Ask what the supplier actually did
“Good support” might mean someone answers pleasantly, or that the team builds the new menu and follows up the result. Ask about the last time the reference requested help. What was the task, who carried it out and what did the restaurant have to do itself?
This is particularly relevant when considering ninito Pro or Enterprise. These plans include setup and ongoing changes to menus, campaigns, offers and loyalty. All ninito plans include round-the-clock support. Questions should therefore cover both help when something stops and work completed during an ordinary week.
Ask what they would change about their launch
A customer who has used the system for a while can often identify something they should have agreed earlier. It might be a menu option, shift-manager training, equipment positioning or who approves new campaigns. These experiences can make your own launch easier.
Distinguish the feature they show from how they configured it. Something that works well in their premises may need different choices in yours. Take the useful experience back to the supplier and ask to see how it translates to your menu, team and channels.
Connect the customer story to your own demonstration
Read ninito’s customer stories before we talk. Tell us which restaurant or workflow you recognise and what you want to explore further. We can use that as the starting point for demonstrating the relevant setup.
A useful reference builds confidence because you understand more, not just because you recognise a customer’s name. The next step is to see how ninito can handle those tasks for your restaurant.
