Press Releases

PHONE TECHNOLOGY SET TO TRANSFORM

CATERING DATA CAPTURE PROCESS

 

 

The weekly returns process is set to be transformed with the introduction of automated phone-operated software that will eradicate the need for catering managers to fill out data capture forms and send them by post back to head office.

 

Fretwell-Downing Hospitality has invested in a combination of voice recognition software and phone keypad technology to enable staff at operating sites to input high level weekly returns data such as meal numbers, income, staff hours and petty cash simply by dialling in the information.

 

The system operates in a similar way to many other day-to-day processes such as ordering cinema tickets or paying bills over the phone. It will be particularly attractive to the thousands of catering staff at operating sites who have been unable to take advantage of entering weekly returns data through their company’s online network because they don’t have access to a computer.

 

Now staff will be able to dial a specific number, give their account details and then enter information using speech-to-text technology, or punching in the relevant numbers into the phone keypad. Companies will be able to purchase the system on a licence per site basis, which, FDH believes, will be a cost effective way of investing in the technology.

 

Andrew Markwell, FDH’s sales director explains: “Voice recognition and keypad software have improved in leaps and bounds in recent years. We now have the confidence that both are sophisticated enough to give the accuracy that catering operations need for credible data capture and sweep away much of the reporting burden.

 

“Whether you’re a school caterer or operating a contract remotely from head office, the ability to have this technology available will unleash the burden of form filling, speed up the whole process and improve the quality of the data for head office use.”

 

FDH specialises in the provision of management information systems that help improve the efficiency of the back office processes involved in the hospitality sector. Its core products, Saffron Zest and Saffron Spice, are both web-enabled systems that caterers use to enter weekly returns data online through a secure internet site which is hosted either by the company itself or FDH.