Configuring Prep time across stations

[lchatzipetrakos]

Has anyone figure out a good way to setting up prep times for items across multiple stations?

Currently, if a server wants to add a protein to a dish, we've set up req'd or forced shown mods to allow them to add it to a dish and it's routed to the respective stations.

For example, Salads take about 3 minutes to prep, but Chicken off the grill for the salad takes 8 minutes, but if the prep time of the modifier is greater than the menu item, Toast's programming goes all wonky, so it either fires it too early, sets up a negative prep time, or doesn't fire it at all.  In a perfect world the Chicken fires on Grill and then 5 minutes later, the salad fires off Pantry, without needing to make 2 different items for it.

Same goes with our pastas:

Pasta takes 4 minutes to cook, salmon takes 12, so instead of a pasta dying in the window for 8 minutes, the saute cook could be doing other things and then at 8 minutes, the pasta pops up on their screen.  But the timing thru Toast is wonky because of the overriding prep time issues.

Anyone have a work around for this or found a better process to help streamline this a bit better while still working around some of Toast's KDS' programming flaws?

[lchatzipetrakos]

Another issue, the modifier does not take the same dining option of the menu item, when changing under modifiers (changing the dining option within an item, rather than the entire check), so the salad will show take out, but the chicken shows nothing.

[rcmck]

Sorry for the late reply, I don't use the automated firing personally, just remembered seeing the documentation on modifier prep times when considering using it. I don't think it's a automated firing issue though more of the course and firing modifiers to the configured courses (which is unfortunately required). I can't think of any solution outside of creating your own course modifiers and takeout modifiers nested under those modifiers. Maybe someone else who uses these features more extensively can chime in or @Rob can find out more. 

[lchatzipetrakos]

All good, I've been on the horn with a few of my people at Toast and it doesn't seem like there are solutions for these yet.  The fire by prep time isn't a fully flush we'd out feature yet, so still missing many small details.