System Evaluation Paper
System Evaluation PaperCIS207System Evaluation PaperPOS System adoption by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.
The Micros Point of Sale system was adopted by Cracker Barrel in the 1990’s. Prior to this, Cracker Barrel had an old system running the cash registers and used a hand-written paper ticket system for taking orders. Training was extensive for servers and cashiers. I was at this time a Lead Trainer for the back of the house, which was all the cooking stations. The paper system demanded that all servers learn a shorthand-type writing language to communicate with cooks. All vegetables had a number and all entrees had a letter. This was a cryptic system that had expanded as the menu had grown. Nothing was intuitive; the letter D was used to indicate a fried chicken breast. The letter A was an 8oz hamburger steak. Everything had to be memorized and this took time and mistakes happened often. Cooks too had to memorize and be able to “speak” Cracker Barrel.
A new system had to be created and fast. The menu continued to expand and new stores opened almost weekly; training had to be quicker and more efficient. Customer satisfaction needed to improve through speed and accuracy of order. Food cost was running around 25 percent of menu price and this needed to come down as well. All of these factors drove the need for a new way of doing business. The point of sale system by Micros Systems Inc. was chosen by Cracker Barrel management, and we had to make it work at the store level.
As with all new things, there is some apprehension in implementation. Some of the cooks and servers had been with the company for over ten years at the store where I was located, and change was not welcomed. Nevertheless, the new system had practical benefits that were soon recognized and embraced. The new system was much more intuitive. Instead of fried chicken being written as “D”, now the cook’s tickets showed it as “FR CKN.” Tickets were printed in two colors, red for
The Micros Point of Sale system was adopted by Cracker Barrel in the 1990’s. Prior to this, Cracker Barrel had an old system running the cash registers and used a hand-written paper ticket system for taking orders. Training was extensive for servers and cashiers. I was at this time a Lead Trainer for the back of the house, which was all the cooking stations. The paper system demanded that all servers learn a shorthand-type writing language to communicate with cooks. All vegetables had a number and all entrees had a letter. This was a cryptic system that had expanded as the menu had grown. Nothing was intuitive; the letter D was used to indicate a fried chicken breast. The letter A was an 8oz hamburger steak. Everything had to be memorized and this took time and mistakes happened often. Cooks too had to memorize and be able to “speak” Cracker Barrel.
A new system had to be created and fast. The menu continued to expand and new stores opened almost weekly; training had to be quicker and more efficient. Customer satisfaction needed to improve through speed and accuracy of order. Food cost was running around 25 percent of menu price and this needed to come down as well. All of these factors drove the need for a new way of doing business. The point of sale system by Micros Systems Inc. was chosen by Cracker Barrel management, and we had to make it work at the store level.
As with all new things, there is some apprehension in implementation. Some of the cooks and servers had been with the company for over ten years at the store where I was located, and change was not welcomed. Nevertheless, the new system had practical benefits that were soon recognized and embraced. The new system was much more intuitive. Instead of fried chicken being written as “D”, now the cook’s tickets showed it as “FR CKN.” Tickets were printed in two colors, red for