topic Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!* in Toast Community Hub

Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

jenni — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 19:21:45 GMT

Hi everyone!

It's officially the first day of ☀️Summer☀️, and we have some great news! As a new community member, from June 21 - July 31, share tips on how you are navigating the busy season, and you will be entered for the chance to win a $1000 Visa gift card.* Terms Apply

We'd love to get to know you and hear how you and your restaurant team have prepared for the busy season. Tell us more about you below in the comments ⬇️

Your name
Restaurant name & location
How long have you been a Toast customer?
What are your best practices for navigating the busy season?

*Terms and conditions apply. See Official Rules for details

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

CrispPDX — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 21:54:27 GMT

Your name: Emma Dye
Restaurant name & location - Crisp Salads, 3 locations in the Portland Oregon area
How long have you been a Toast customer? 4 years
What are your best practices for navigating the busy season? Hire & train ahead! We have found it's better to have more part-time folks than a few full time so that we are better able to accommodate vacations & call outs. We also plan out our seasonal specials ahead throughout the summer & early fall so that we know what we are ordering & when. Lastly, as a salad concept we are VERY weather dependent so keeping an eye out for those occasional summer rains (we ARE in the Northwest!) so we can adjust labor accordingly is super important for our bottom line.
I look forward to learning tips & tricks from others on this topic! Thank you in advance. 🙂

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

gregcoll3000 — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 21:22:44 GMT

Greg Coll
Rocker Oysterfeller's, Valley Ford, CA
1 year
Always expect the unexpected. Were on the Sonoma Coast so anything can happen at anytime. Our business is largely dependent on weather and timing for people venturing out to get away from the big cities. Watching labor and having enough staff to handle the surprise volumes can be tricky and must be met with close scrutiny. Above all else take it in stride and have fun!

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

princess — Sun, 25 Jun 2023 21:57:23 GMT

Your name: Noor
Restaurant name & location: Princess, Arizona
How long have you been a Toast customer? 4 years
What are your best practices for navigating the busy season? Arizona’s seasons are in reverse, so summers is when we have to tightened our belts and focus on cost saving measure or increasing revenue with what little costumers stay in town. We are adding toast retail to help add more sales at checkout for impulse buys.

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

Sydney042100 — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 16:46:13 GMT

My Name is Sydney and I am the GM of the New York Beer Project in Orlando FL!

I have been a Toast customer for 4 years now, just 7 months in this location. We have two locations and a 3rd on the way in Upstate NY. My location is the first in FL.

Some of our goals as a restaurant is to deliver Vacation Style Service to every single guest that walks in the door. To give them the atmosphere and space where they can just unwind and of course, drink beer!

My favorite toast is definitely avocado Toast!

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

Sydney042100 — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 16:48:21 GMT

My Name is Sydney and I am the GM of the New York Beer Project in Orlando FL!

I have been a Toast customer for 4 years now, just 7 months in this location. We have two locations and a 3rd on the way in Upstate NY. My location is the first in FL.

Our best practices for navigating busy season are staying ahead of it. Changing menus and adding beers before the launch date. It allows for less stress and more time to adjust prior to launching the full thing!

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

JaynelleS — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 21:20:09 GMT

Jaynelle Sage-Norman
Kamiah Hotel Bar and Steakhouse, Kamiah Idaho
Just shy of one year with Toast
Our best practices for the busy season; Train ahead!! When we hire a new employee, we teach them one station at a time. This can take a week to get them comfortable. We (managers and leads) pick what place that person fits best in for production. We are a popular spot on HWY 12, known for beauty, recreation, fishing, hunting, exploring and we are the center of Idaho. We have weekly meetings so all employees are all on the same page. We have live music often and we amp up our staff to support the customers. Each server has an area, or we rotate tables to take pressure off of the kitchen and the bar. It has been very rewarding to see the customers and staff work so well together. Our servers use handhelds and a kitchen display screen, so the server can visit and get our customers comfortable while the bartender is preparing the ordered drinks and appetizers can be prepped while the server is still at the table. We have two screens behind the bar for the bartender. Toast is a fantastic program and we utilize every aspect of it.

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

eddiep — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 21:33:06 GMT

Eddie Pugsley

Red Horse by David Burke in White Plains, NY

Toast customer for years!

This location relies on foot traffic from the neighborhood. So we reach out regularly to concierges of hotels, doormen of residences and the staff of the three large parking facilities nearby to ensure our menu updates, promotional flyers and any other information is literally in the hands of those who can assist in distributing it. We also invite those people to a complimentary happy hour to say thanks. Word of mouth advertising can't be beat! Cheers!

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

schnitzelbunker — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 23:42:54 GMT

Mathaeus Myga

Bo's Schnitzelbunker - 53072 Pewaukee, WI

Since January 2023

We adjusted our opening times and depending on the foot traffic, we are flexible with our closing time, meaning we do take orders past closing time, if customers are asking. Which means we need to have a flexible pos system, allowing us to take orders at anytime, without wasting time on setting things up.

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

ctaylorAIHG — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 15:17:57 GMT

Good Morning!

Ciara Taylor here!
Operations Manager with All In Hospitality Group out of Grand Rapids, MI.
Been with Toast for 3 years now.
Best practices to prep for busy season is starting early! Taking great notes from the season before and remembering the little details like smallwares and preventative maintenance to prevent any fire drills in the future. Hire staff early and stay open with communication as the season progresses!

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

OldDaytonPizza — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 16:01:52 GMT

Your name: Sherri Sommers-Zelen
Restaurant name & location: Old Dayton Pizza at Riverside Hideaway, Riverside, OH
How long have you been a Toast customer?: Since we opened 7/3/2020
What are your best practices for navigating the busy season? The restaurant we own is situated on 3 acres of land and it also has a house that has become our home. Our Best Practices have evolved into a Real Farm to Table experience for our customers in the summer by creating a graden of Heirloom Tomatoes for our Caprese and other salads. Peppers, Basil, Rosemary, Mint for Mojitos and Julips! Absolutly everything is made fresh and house/home-made. No matter how warm it is we still have the fire-pit going so the kids or adults can have FREE S'Mores after their personal size Roman Style crust pizza! We truly treat each and every customer as family and as a guest coming into our home. The kids love to see the chicks and "Blue-Cheez" the Rooster that are out back. We also have a giant toy box for the kids full of yard games and hula hoops. The kids call me Momma Sherri and I love them all! For the big kids we have Giant Jenga, Corn Hole, and 4 Square plus all kinds of dice and cards. The seasons are beautiful here in SW Ohio and really every one has a special thing to offer and we take full advantage of these summer months! We also do charity monthly PawPatrol of Dayton for the Doggios to find furever homes.

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

PittoPlatterbbq — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 16:33:35 GMT

Patrick McFall
West Linn, Or
In year 1 with Toast
Busy season and every season is to work with a smile. Having a plan for everything from food source(s), order timing, supplies, staffing and having that plan reviewed by your staff at every level of the organization bc the front end will see things different than the kitchen and management but allowing every level to have an input facilitates buy in and compitment when the delivery is late and the rush is early. Cheers and happy serving!

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

nkotselas — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 20:21:09 GMT

Nicholas K
Olympic Cafe San Diego
Have been with toast a long time, maybe 5-6 years. The help team is always surprised my login code is less than 4 numbers since I am grandfathered into that, I think
This years busy season is gonna be a tough one! Trying to figure out how and where to switch POS companies with Toast's new $.99 fee for online orders which essentially quadrupled our monthly subscription cost. Kind of ironic they put that live just before busy season to make our lives extra difficult!

Anyways, happy to see these sorts of community programs, hoping I win the $1,000!

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

ENebot — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 21:33:25 GMT

Elizabeth Nebot

Osteria Divino / Sausalito CA

We have been a toast customer for 1 year.

Our best practices for busy season are COMMUNICATION, curating a beautiful seasonal menu with the freshest items from the farmers market, keeping staff happy with much needed days off, and enjoying some time off myself to feel refreshed and excited for all of our guests.

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

JJ — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 03:57:27 GMT

Hellooo Neighbors!!

My name is Jeffery Jelm aka J.J. and I manage Paradiso 37 in Disney Springs in FL! I am 6 weeks into the program and absolutely love what a user-friendly experience Toast has been!! My #1 tip is saving time/stress/energy comes by using that Search button profusely! You can locate what you need by using only the first letters of each search! for example "Baja Fish Tacos" can be found extremely fast by searching "Baj" "Fi" or even "Tac" and BAM!!! Baja Fish Tacos are yours before you can even say "Baja Fish Tacos!" Not only that but it will give you a complete trail of where to find it in your operating system! For example, your search results will read: Food>Appetizers>Baja Fish Tacos. Now you can easily train a new hire to go to their Food screen, then Appetizers screen & select Baja Fish Tacos. I. Am. In. Love! If I can Toast, anyone can Toast!

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

omaifromsweets — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 06:41:01 GMT

Your name: Omai Crichton
Restaurant name & location: Sweet's Hawaiian Grill in Provo, Utah (@sweetshawaiiangrill on social media)
How long have you been a Toast customer? 3 months (happily switched from ShopKeep!)
What are your best practices for navigating the busy season? Weekly meetings with management, daily quick meetings with staff just before opening and daily posts on socials to keep customers informed and engaged! Looking forward to building more with Toast! Thanks

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

Tracerland11 — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 20:48:42 GMT

Tracy A.
Steve's Steakhouse Richfield, Ut
Sneaking up on 2 years
My official job title is Kitchen **bleep** Manager, but I am the systems administrator/tech support for our restaurant also. That said, Not only am I trying to make sure the kitchen can keep up with the demand making sure there are enough employees scheduled but also making sure that food prep is being done to ensure that we don't run out. I am always on the lookout for ways to make our menu better for our waitstaff and constantly make changes via the backend to help streamline how they are able to put their orders into toast. I like to tinker with the settings, usually outside of business hours, so I can see how things work and ask questions of the waitstaff to get their input of what we can do to make their jobs easier and more efficient.

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

ChefCJ71 — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 15:53:44 GMT

Hello all!

My name is CJ Brower and my wife and I recently purchased Savory Sub Cafe & Pizzeria in Brunswick, Ohio. We are new to Toast, currently in the build out stage and anxiously looking forward to going live mid July.

Being in a recently acquired concept, my best practices have been primarily focused on establishing consistency by developing systems and procedures that can be easily taught and duplicated. I am constantly searching for any and all points in the flow of operations that can be made more efficient so that my team can get more done in less time, with less stress.

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

Skyybox17 — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 18:50:26 GMT

Your name: Holly Purcell
Restaurant name & location: Skyybox Grill & Bar - Omaha, NE
How long have you been a Toast customer? Almost 1 year!
What are your best practices for navigating the busy season? Hiring in the month+ prior to busy season to train the staff and get them accustomed. Ensuring any hiccups we are encountering in our down time are addressed and fixed prior to busy season. Ensuring all projects are completed and the business is tip top shape as welcome people in- new and old. Guests like a well cared for and clean facility!

Re: Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

LindaQ — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 21:44:52 GMT

Linda Quintanilha
Waterhouse, Peterborough, NH
4 years
Communication is key. We have quick stand up meetings at every shift change with standard agenda items, 86'd, specials, updates on staffing coverage needs, VIPs coming in and one or two "New Rules"...they are super fast and very efficient when you have a standard agenda. I use my smart watch/phone to keep a notebook of "stand up items" so when I think of something I can add it to the list without a notebook / scrap paper etc. Being as paperless as possible has been amazing. That's why I LOVE Extrachef. Such a great tool once you get in and start using it. Takes a little bit in the beginning and I know I haven't used it to it's full potential, but I can't wait until slow season so I can really upload my recipes and inventory. Also, Toast Tables is saving me a ton of money and Toast hasn't stopped developing the tool It is going to be amazing! They are updating as they get requests from customers, they use canny for this which is a fabulous tool for them to understand what is important to us. Embrace the technology....That's how I'm surviving the busy season!