Hello Fellow Alaskans!
It’s still early in the year, but restaurants and retail operations are already in full swing towards making their summer season an amazing one. We are of the same mind - we want this to be a better summer than last year, and we’ve got some helpful tips on how to help accomplish that goal. Let’s jump into four ways to get ready for summer!
- Plan ahead. Forecasting for this year’s needs can be a challenge. We pride ourselves in helping fellow Alaskans and providing expert advice and our advice is this: we are seeing a lot of delays in obtaining point-of-sale equipment due to ongoing issues in the supply chain, so get your orders in now!
Don’t let your plans be affected by these nationwide equipment shortages. If you are looking at expanding, moving to one of our new money saving systems like NCA (Non-Cash Adjustment to reduce or eliminate credit card fees) or bringing your new business up and running, call or email us today.
- Use your existing reporting data to forecast. We are always happy to help you with pulling the right reports from your point-of-sale system to help forecast things like food/product costs, labor costs, daily sales totals, and more. Utilizing this data and other reports can help you predict what you may need to purchase, how many staff members you need to have on board, and more.
The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development has their economic forecast for 2022, you can access it here: https://labor.alaska.gov/trends/jan22.pdf You can utilize the data from their forecast with your numbers to make an informed decision on what you can expect, plan for, and budget in 2022.
- Take advantage of innovative technology to help better serve your customers. In the past two years, we’ve seen broad adoption of popular technologies that can assist merchants with providing an exceptional experience for their customers. Mobile devices continue to make a significant impact in this area with solutions like table side ordering & payments for restaurants, and on the floor inventory, sales consultations, and management for retail. Innovative technology doesn’t mean expensive. In some cases, it’s quite the opposite when it uses common hardware like iPhones and iPads. No need to fear change, Skurla’s can provide you with expert advice and a support team that is always in your corner. In fact, 9 out of 10 of our customers refer us to their friends and peers! Exceptional service is critical – it keeps bringing our customers back to Skurla’s, and it can do the same for your business too!
- Stay current! There is so much information out there, it can seem daunting to make sense of it all. We suggest that you subscribe to our newsletters, blog, and social media, and let us help you with need-to-know information, tips and tricks, and the future of the industry.
Also, when you are out and about both in Alaska and in the lower 48, see how other businesses are providing their customers with exceptional service. What equipment and technology are they using to make their customers raving fans? Could you see your business doing the same thing? Could you see the value in that? Are their customers and your customers really so different?
Keep asking yourself these questions and stay on the lookout for what you can do to improve your business!
And while you are at it, don't forget to ask us how we can eliminate your credit card fees!
