Menu board and order-ready screen
A TV in the dining hall shows the meal's menu with prices, photos and offers. It also shows the order numbers being prepared and ready, with a chime. It opens at a secret web address or in the SmartMy Feast Display app.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- The day's menu is written on a whiteboard that nobody updates when a dish runs out.
- Customers crowd the counter asking whether their order is ready.
- Offers and happy hours are missed because nobody knows about them.
How it works
- A Food Administrator adds a display under Configuration > Places > Menu Displays: where the screen is, the outlet, what to show and whose prices.
- Saving gives the display its own secret address. Open it full screen in the TV's browser, or type it once into the SmartMy Feast Display app and tap Show the board.
- The board shows the published menu of the meal being served, or the next one as coming up, page by page. A dish marked sold out at the counter is struck out.
- Orders in the kitchen appear under Preparing, and move to Ready to collect when all their tickets are ready. A chime sounds.
- A known customer of a takeaway, pickup or delivery order also gets "Your order is ready".
- A ready order leaves the board when it is handed over, or after 15 minutes.
Everything it does
The board
- Show: Menu and orders, Menu only, or Orders only
- Prices For a customer type, with Show Prices on to start with
- Title (empty: the outlet's name) and a message line at the bottom
- Photos of the Dishes and Offers (the promotions running now)
- Theme Dark (to start with) or Light
- An outlet that publishes daily menus shows only the published menu; one that does not shows what it sells
Orders
- The number shown is the end of the order number, such as 45
- At most 30 numbers in each column
- Chime When an Order Is Ready: on to start with; a browser may stay silent until the screen is touched once
Running it
- Refresh Every (seconds): 10 (5 to 300); Turn the Menu Page Every (seconds): 12 (5 to 120)
- Without the network the board keeps the last picture and says so
- Anyone with the address sees this board only, with no login; New Address stops the old one
- The form shows when a screen last asked for the board
Who uses it
DinersRead the menu and watch for their number.
Food AdministratorSets up each display and changes its address if it leaks.
Kitchen and cashierMark tickets ready and hand orders over, which moves the numbers.
Where you use it
- Any TV or screen with a browser, at the display's address
- The SmartMy Feast Display app on an Android TV or tablet (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Web: Food Service > Configuration > Places > Menu Displays, with Open the Display and New Address
- Not yet: the bill number on a counter receipt is not the number the board shows; kiosk slips show the board number
What you control
Settings
- Show: Menu and orders; Show Prices: on; Theme: Dark
- Refresh Every (seconds): 10; Turn the Menu Page Every (seconds): 12
- Photos of the Dishes: off; Offers: on; Chime When an Order Is Ready: on
Notifications
- Food Order Ready: to the customer on a takeaway, pickup or delivery order when all its kitchen tickets are ready. It says "Please collect it at" the outlet or "It is on its way to" the delivery place. In the SmartMy Feast app, by SMS from your message credits, and app push once the apps are in the stores. Not by email or WhatsApp. Sent at once
Questions
Do we need a smart TV?
Any screen with a browser works. An Android TV can also run the SmartMy Feast Display app, which is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet.Can someone else open our board?
Only with its secret address, and they see this board only. If the address leaks, New Address makes a new one and the old one stops.What number does the customer look for?
The end of the order number. A kiosk slip prints that number large. A counter receipt prints the bill number, which is a different number, so tell counter customers their order number.Does it show offers?
Yes, with Offers on: the promotions running at the outlet now, at the bottom of the board.Related features
TABLE SERVICE AND KITCHENKitchen screens and station ticketsEach kitchen station sees its tickets on a tablet or prints them on its own printer. A tap moves a ticket from new to preparing, ready and done. Late tickets turn red, and a ticket cleared by mistake can be recalled.TABLE SERVICE AND KITCHENTakeaway, pre-order pickup and in-campus deliverySell food as dine-in or parcel at the counter. Takeaway, pickup and in-campus delivery bills go to the kitchen and are handed over when ready. Parcels take their own prices, GST rules and packing charges.SET-UPItems with diet, allergens and combos, and a fixed menuEach item carries its diet, allergens, calories and spice level, the outlets that sell it and its category. Give each session a fixed menu, mark tea and drinks as sold all day, and strike out a dish that ran out.SELLINGPromotions, happy hours and coupon codesRun percent or amount off, buy X get Y free, mix and match, bundle prices and rewards for spending more. Choose the items, outlets, customer types, dates, weekdays and hours. A promotion changes prices only once it is approved.TABLE SERVICE AND KITCHENSelf-order kioskA tablet stands at the entrance as a kiosk. Diners scan their card to take their plan meal or pick dishes. They pay from the wallet, on a card machine beside it, or at the counter with a printed slip. Visitors can order without a card at their own prices.SET-UPRotating menu cycles and festival daysWrite a rotating menu once, for a week, a fortnight or any number of days, and the daily menus build themselves for each outlet. Mark festival menus, extra dishes and days when a meal is not served.
See it with your own menu.
Tell us how many outlets you run and how people pay today. We will show you a day in your mess or canteen on SmartMy Feast.