Canadian Brewhouse Utilizes Kallpod Technology to Improve Communication Between Both Customers & Servers and Front & Back of House Staff

When the founder of Canadian Brewhouse was in a poolside cabana at the Waldorf Astoria’s Grand Wailea Resort in Maui, he noticed other patrons at the pool using a device to summon servers to order more drinks and food. The device was Kallpod , which provides a two-pronged solution for the hospitality industry: improved communication between server and customer and seamless, real-time communication between front and back of house staff.

After the technology caught his attention, he wondered how it could be applied in a restaurant setting; specifically, to Canadian Brewhouse, his rapidly-growing full service restaurant brand based in Alberta.

“He did some thinking about the potential benefits, especially in the full-service restaurant space where quick and efficient service is so important,” said Jim Martyn, Vice President of Human Resources at Canadian Brewhouse. “We are big fans of innovation at Canadian Brewhouse and we saw the opportunity to save time, get our customers food and drinks quicker and provide more opportunities to our servers.”

At the end of 2016, Canadian Brewhouse began using Kallpod in a pilot across three locations before rolling it out system wide over the next year. Since then, Kallpod has become a brand standard for the Canadian Brewhouse and is a requirement for all new franchised locations.

“Kallpod has improved our operational efficiency exponentially,” said Martyn. “Our customers get the benefit of having a server on call. They no longer have to wait for a server to come by or flag them down to get the service they need. On the other hand, they also get to enjoy their meal without the server constantly hovering over them. It’s a win-win.”

Kallpod is an upgrade in technology for the brand, which uses sleek smartwatches in place of the unwieldy and antiquated pager system that the brand used to alert team members that food was ready. So with 6-button Kallpods in the kitchen, both the chef and expeditor can notify servers food is ready to be run. In addition, the brand also applies 1-button Kallpods in the restrooms so patrons can notify staff if the restrooms require cleaning.

“We looked at other suppliers before ultimately choosing Kallpod,” said Martyn. “We believed in the product, and Gabriel [Weisz, CEO] and Steven [Barlow, COO] were incredibly responsive and easy to work with from the start.”

Martyn notes another key component that made Kallpod stand out from other solutions: the ability to customize the buttons on the device. For Canadian Brewhouse, they wanted to use the standard “Call server” and “Ask for check” buttons but didn’t find the third button, “Cancel,” to be as useful. Instead, they opted to use “Order another round” as the third option.

“When we work with brands like Canadian Brewhouse, we seek to solve their specific business challenges,” said Weisz. “They are the perfect example of our ability to customize our solutions to fit the needs of various settings in the hospitality space. What might work for a restaurant might not fit a pool setting or an amphitheater. We provide guidance on how best to use the technology, as well as hands-on support to our clients.”

While the Canadian Brewhouse corporate team and franchisees are happy with the operational results, the technology is also embraced by the staff, because Kallpod allows them to serve more tables, and therefore, increase their tips.

“Where a team member might have had four tables before Kallpod, they might be able to serve six tables now because of the improved efficiencies,” said Martyn. “Our servers are able to better serve their tables because they know when their guests actually need them and just as importantly, when they don’t.”

The technology has improved the teamwork across the various staff teams as well. Whenever someone uses Kallpod to alert a server that their food is ready, the alert is also sent to a few other team members, including management, to ensure that the food is delivered promptly.

“Initially, we were interested in the application of Kallpod to the front of house, but when we dug deeper, we saw the gap it could fill in our communication between our front and back of house teams,” Martyn said. “Now, our teams never have to check if their customers’ food is ready, and if they’re too busy, another team member can easily pitch in after receiving the alert. Overall, it’s been an incredibly useful solution that has improved our operations and helped us to continue our growth.”

Lauren has more than 12 years of experience in public relations, social media and content production. She has managed internal and external communication to deliver impactful business results for brands in the hospitality, retail, education and e-commerce sectors. Lauren has a Master of Arts in Communication and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Spanish from Illinois State University. In her spare time, Lauren enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her husband, son and dog.