Keg Restaurants

Squirrel Systems reclaims its stake as the technology solution of choice for The Keg

INTRODUCTION
Some things simply go well together, like a quality steak and a glass of red wine or laughter and conversation over a good meal.Such is the partnership of Squirrel Systems and The Keg Steakhouse and Bar.

Squirrel Systems is an award-winning, leading total solutions provider of management systems for independent and chain establishments, including restaurants and food and beverage operations in hotels, resorts and clubs. Squirrel's hardware and software solutios have made a substantial difference in establishments across North America by enabling greater organization, management and service in busy restaurant environments.

Since 1988 Squirrel Systems has been the solution of choice for The Keg, a popular casual dining steakhouse and bar. The Keg is well known in the industry for its customer service, a quality that is shared with Squirrel Systems. Together, they have been able to customize a solution that fits in with the Keg's customer-focused mandate and allows for future growth.

"At Squirrel, we see ourselves as partners, not suppliers, and are devoted to making sure that our customers get the best value from their POS investment," says Barry Logan, President of Squirrel Systems.

SITUATION
The Keg is a successful restaurant chain, renowned for its quality, casual dining experience. The original store opened in 1971 and the operation has now expanded to include over 90 corporately-owned and franchise locations across Canada and the United States.

In 1988, The Keg and Squirrel Systems began a partnership that has expanded over the years. Recently, The Keg and Squirrel significantly extended their relationship with the implementation of Squirrel's next generation restaurant management system.

The decision to replace aging systems with Squirrel's latest hardware and software came after a significant evaluation of all of The Keg's existing hardware and software.

"Our last Squirrel rollout took place in 1997 so we were at a point in time where we wanted to reinvest in our equipment," says Ron Varley, Director of Planning and Systems, The Keg. "It was a natural process to go and see what was out there. Because we needed to be able to manage our systems centrally, functionality was our most important criteria."

After evaluating various solutions, The Keg's team made the decision to further its partnership with Squirrel Systems.

"After careful evaluation of our options, we decided to continue our relationship with Squirrel," says Varley. "Its reliability, dependability and proven track record, along with its extensive hardware and software solutions, contributed in our decision making process."

SOLUTION
Specifically, The Keg's rollout of hardware and software to stores across North America includes:

• Squirrel e-BIS Enterprise Information Solution, which manages the transfer of data from disparate sources including aggregation and processing of legacy systems data during the rollout;
• FOOD-TRAK (by System Concepts) Food & Beverage package automated integration with Squirrel, which streamlines inventory, purchasing and product movement
• Squirrel Corporate POS Manager, which enables the management of remote sites from head office locations and simplifies processes including menu changes; and
• Epson Printers, IBM network servers and the award-winning Squirrel Flatscreen Restaurant Terminal, designed for food service employees to place orders and authorize credit card purchases.

Squirrel worked closely with The Keg's IT team to tailor, integrate, and deploy the solutions along with any customizations necessary to achieve The Keg's rollout vision.

"We needed a reliable system that could keep up with The Keg's busy environment," says Varley. "Squirrel's solution proved to be just that. We have already begun implementing this upgrade to approximately 90 of our locations and we know that Squirrel's product will keep our head office in tune with each of these locations while ensuring that each location is securely organized and managed."

The Squirrel team assisted The Keg in implementing a management solution that enables data to be gathered and aggregated
corporately, and generates various reports tailored to the needs of The Keg's head office team. The ability to customize Squirrel's
solution was, and always has been, a key element in The Keg's decision to rollout Squirrel's systems.

"Because The Keg is now aggregating information from more disparate data sources, we have tailored a solution to enhance its corporate reporting capabilities," says Joe Cortese, VP Research and Development, Squirrel Systems. "Our customers are always looking for a value add process that enables better efficiencies and savings, and are interested in hearing about ways in which we can customize our product to fit their exact business need."

In addition to customizing Squirrel's POS solution, The Keg will be implementing Squirrel Version 1.3, which has a feature-set designed to extend the functionality of Squirrel's award-winning point of sale product.

Squirrel Version 1.3 enhancements include:

• A one-screen interface for quick service and high volume bars;
• Guest survey capabilities;
• Built-in high availability and redundancy options
• Real-time management alerts;
• Reservation/waitlists;
• Comprehensive front of house, back of house and database security;
• Take-out & delivery functionality;
• Wireless handheld ordering; and
• High speed payment processing.

BENEFITS
This implementation will ensure that The Keg's systems continue to run securely and smoothly, reducing the amount of time and knowledge required to run the systems at each location. The organization has already seen a reduction in time spent managing the technology and has noted increased productivity and satisfaction among its employees.

Another benefit of the Squirrel solution experienced by its customers is the 24/7 call center support system. Squirrel's customer support is open 365 days per year and its "always open" attitude is a proven benefit of the Squirrel POS solution.

Succeeding in reducing the traditional product training by a factor of 50% is another example of Squirrel's commitment to providing value to its customers. Squirrel has revealed its dedication to its customers through its success in designing an ergonomic, intuitive user interface and eliminating some of the traditional end of day processes. The return is realized not only on initial implementation but on every retraining session that each restaurant endures through normal staff attrition.

Additional ROI benefits include:

• Exceptional product life - Squirrel's POS solution (both previous and current versions) have a 7 year terminal performance guarantee;
• Lower long-term licensing fees of all types;
• The ability to take advantage of real-time reports and alerts to focus on customer experience and manage costs on the restaurant floor along with historical data analysis; and
• Financial benefits of reducing the management time in report and managing the restaurants.

"We have created an optimized solution for The Keg, and by working closely together, the resulting product makes sense for them," says Cortese. "At Squirrel, our biggest concern is customizing our product so that it fits the needs of our partner's infrastructure. We make sure they are getting exactly what they need with the best value possible."

The Keg requested custom reports on its portal to help each location better manage every day business transactions. As such, the Squirrel team developed a tailored solution that enabled this to happen.

Additionally, the management team at The Keg has acknowledged the benefit of implementing a scalable solution that will be able to grow with the company's needs.

"The Keg is very pleased to have extended its contract with Squirrel Systems," says Jim Croteau, Chief Operating Officer, Keg Restaurants Ltd. "Their team has worked hard with us this year to structure a custom solution that will meet our needs and allow us to better manage our business moving forward."

By streamlining processes with Squirrel's intuitive hardware and software, The Keg's staff has become more efficient, training has become simplified and managers are able to continue to provide their customers with a first-class experience.

"We are very satisfied with our choice," says Varley. "With the support of the team at Squirrel and its great products, we are confident that The Keg teams can continue to focus on managing the restaurant rather than managing its computer systems."