Introducing Pay at Table with Zeller Terminal – New Technology to Boost Your Restaurant Revenue

How does Pay at Table work?

Pay at Table is effectively an extension of your POS machine, on your EFTPOS terminal. Waiters pick up Zeller Terminal, view open tables, see total outstanding bills, take payments and close tables — all on one device. Rather than the customer paying at the counter or finalising the bill in the traditional, time-consuming manner, waitstaff can deliver the bill and the mobile payment device, all at the same time. The status of a table is updated in real time and synced across all machines, reducing human error and optimising the whole operation. 

Benefits of Pay at Table technology

1. Increased efficiency

Being able to close a table independently of the POS machine means that the latter isn’t blocked by taking payments, it can instead be used to open and manage tables. Naturally, this reduces foot traffic throughout the venue, eliminates queues, and turns tables over more quickly. Staff are freed up to process orders faster, leading to improved service and ultimately, higher sales.

2. Improved customer satisfaction

Leaving customers waiting to pay for their bill can leave a bad taste in the mouth — pun not intended. Zeller Terminal’s Pay at Table functionality makes for a smoother process and soon will have the added benefit of allowing customers to split the cost by the number of people or by a custom amount.

3. Encourages generous tipping 

Zeller Terminal comes with a built-in tool which can easily calculate the fair amount for a gratuity and will provide the customer with various tipping options to choose from. Displayed clearly for your customers to review, this feature can increase your server’s tip earnings and erase confusion surrounding tipping protocol. Zeller Terminal makes it as easy as possible to prompt your customers to leave a tip, either as a percentage of the purchase amount or a custom amount. Or, you can switch the functionality off altogether. 

4. Helps build a customer relationship 

When wait staff use Pay at Table, an opportunity is provided to spend more time interacting with the customers, ensuring they’ve had a great dining experience in your establishment. The technology also means you can email digital receipts on the spot. Not only is this handy for your customer’s record-keeping and to reduce costs and waste associated with paper receipts, but it’s a great way to expand your customer database by capturing email addresses. You may be able to use these details to keep in touch with your diners, providing them with up-to-date news and special offers that will keep them coming back to your restaurant. 

5. Safer transactions

Payment security is front of mind for most consumers these days. By having a mobile payment device available, your customer’s card remains in their possession at all times. This offers them security knowing that no one else has had access to their card details or identity. It can also mean fewer chargebacks for your business to handle.

6. Increased level of hygiene

By not paying at the counter your patrons are touching fewer surfaces in the restaurant that other guests have come into contact with. Zeller research shows that customers care more about the COVID-safety policies and procedures in place more than they care about the price of food or location of the restaurant. In fact, according to QSR magazine, during the pandemic people have been willing to pay double the price for peace of mind that they’re eating in a clean restaurant. When you eliminate all the extra steps involved with handling cash or cards, you can alleviate some of your customer’s concerns surrounding hygiene and safety.

The next generation of payment processing

Pay at Table is just one example of the many ways that traditional payments are evolving to keep up with the times. New technology is affording us more flexibility to create industry-specific solutions while emerging trends are changing the way we pay. Read what Zeller’s Head of Product, James Vatiliotis, predicts will be the major trends shaping our payment processes in 2023 and beyond. 

Get started with Pay at Table today

Currently, Pay at Table is launching exclusively with H&L POS, and can be installed on your Zeller Terminals with the help of our Sales Team. If you’re interested in the feature, but not currently using H&L POS, let us know and we’ll be sure to contact you when Pay at Table is available with your POS!