Roc ‘N’ Ramen has been serving up their take on traditional ramen, fused with Caribbean ingredients, since 2014. Founder and Owner, Chef Wayne Carrington, spent 7 months in Japan learning how to make authentic ramen, and returned to the US to realize his dream of starting his own ramen shop.
Keeping Doors Open with Toast Order & Pay™
Beyond unique dishes like Oxtail Ramen, Roc ‘N’ Ramen is known for its dine-in experience. Chef Wayne has worked tirelessly to build a staff that feels like family, and it shows.
“I had to come up with things that make it so you’re not coming in to just eat and leave. Roc ‘N’ Ramen is more than just a good meal — it’s an interactive experience. Guests love that they can ring a bell at their table if they’re enjoying their meal, and be met with a loud “THANK YOU!” from the entire staff,” Wayne says.
The last year threatened to take that all away, but Toast Order & Pay™ allowed Roc ‘N’ Ramen to be one of the first restaurants in the area to provide a contactless dining experience. Thanks to Order & Pay™, they were able to fuse their unique brand of hospitality with technology and the New Steps of Service to maintain the family dining experience guests have come to love.
Instead of closing down, Roc ‘N’ Ramen recently opened a second location in the Bronx. Wayne adds, “Without Order & Pay™, there’s no way we would have been able to pivot the way we did, continue to elevate our sales, and open more restaurants during the pandemic!”
A More Efficient Staffing Model
Sean Southwell heads up Operations at Roc ‘N’ Ramen. He says, “From day one our focus was on how this was affecting our people and community. If we closed, that’s one less outlet for people to have a way to eat. It would have been easier to close but we felt a responsibility.”
Order & Pay™ allowed guests and staff to feel safer in the restaurant, and Roc ‘N’ Ramen saw reduced labor costs with the ability to serve more guests with fewer servers. Servers are in charge of their section – they still greet guests and provide first-touch hospitality, but empower guests to order and pay on their own when they are ready.
“We realized we didn’t need as many employees as we had, especially on our service end,” Wayne says. “You always need that employee to be there for the guest because the guest still can’t get their own drink, or if they need something they’ll need that server, but we found that [a digital dine in experience] is something that the guests enjoy.”
Order & Pay™ gives guests the power to order at their own speed and not feel pressured by a server waiting to take their order. Sean adds that it gives guests the power to take their time, read everything over, and order at their leisure — but stresses the importance of having a server (or “captain”) monitoring each section to provide service or help as needed.
Sean says the staff at Roc ‘N’ Ramen are loving Order & Pay™. “It definitely gives them the ability to focus more on the customer service aspect and then assist anyone that needs help with anything.” With the larger sections that staff can serve, they’re taking home more in tips with each shift.
Toast Order & Pay™ is the Future of Dine-in
Everyone at Roc ‘N’ Ramen believes Order & Pay™ will play a role in their restaurants well into the future. Wayne says, “We’ve already said that once this pandemic dies down, we’re going to keep this going.” He continues, “Look, it helped our business…and it’s increasing our sales!”
Wayne can’t help but look to the future and think about how Order & Pay™ will help Roc ‘N’ Ramen once they’re back at full capacity.
“With Order and Pay, the average check size is up 15%. That’s another $120,000 per year when we’re at full capacity. It’s transformed our business.”
Wayne is such a firm believer in the technology and this model that he thinks all restaurants can benefit from Order & Pay™. “All I can say is that if you don’t do it [now], eventually you’re going to. There’s no getting around it, it’s just the way that we’re moving.”
This post originally appeared on the blog On the Line, it has been reprinted with permission from the source
