Point Of Sale In A Senior Living Community

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. is a leading owner and operator of senior living communities throughout the United States, with more than 650 multi-level communities in 36 states, and the ability to serve over 67,000 residents.

While senior living communities like Brookdale offer multiple amenities, perhaps none is more important to residents than the dining room experience. Fast, personable service is appreciated by the diners, and the need to maintain accurate accounting of meal plan usage and inventory is imperative to accounting and management.

When Brookdale was looking for a mobile POS system for their dining room operations nationwide, they had several criteria. It had to be simple to learn and use, reliable, efficient and within budget. Additionally, management wanted a system that could be expanded as needs changed, and that could address operations as well as food service. Most importantly, it needed to be a system that would be applicable in all of their facilities.

"We spent a lot of time and looked at many POS systems,” said Joska J.W. Hadju, Senior Vice President for Brookdale Senior Living. “We wanted something that would be multi-functional and that would grow with us as we expanded our resident satisfaction experience. Future POS, installed by POS Partners, Inc. was the obvious choice, and they have delivered on every level. Beyond food service, they've provided a total mobile solution for our communities."

Tableside ordering with wireless handhelds and tablets was the key solution that brought Brookdale and POS Partners together. With handhelds, servers can interact more with the residents at the table, significantly increasing the level of resident care and satisfaction. Food is prepared and delivered to the table more accurately and quickly with reduced waste and cost. This solution turns the traditional cafeteria dining style into a finer dining experience, while making it easier for dining room staff to do their job.

Rena Deitrich, Director of Brookdale Plaza Clear Lake in Houston, said the Future POS system there has been a huge success. “It’s so efficient. The orders come out faster, so our residents are happy, and the staff loves the convenience, accuracy and speed that the handhelds provide.”

With integrated dining room billing through meal plans, dollar house accounts or a mixture of both, the solution helps dining services and accounting teams keep better track of data and manage costs. Community fee management includes the ability to capture missed billing opportunities such as maintenance or upgrades with additional items. The ServingIntel enterprise solution allows key decision makers the ability to consolidate performance data across multiple sites and compare with similar units within the same metropolitan area, region or country in real time. It enables assisted and senior living community providers to track, analyze, and manage their operations beyond the capability of a POS system and current ALF business practices.

Additionally, the solution can also address inventory management, human resource management, salon, retail and R&M management, in addition to tableside dining.

A new program that’s being rolled out now in select Brookdale communities is Eat American Bistro. Currently in place in about a third of the facilities nationwide, Eat American offers beer and wine, gourmet sandwiches and pizza, desserts and more, throughout the day and evening. According to Lance Bell, President of POS Partners, this was the perfect place to install a POS. “It’s more like a cruise ship experience,” he said. “Residents don’t have to wait for scheduled meal times to get a bite to eat. And the food is available in a lounge-like setting for expanded social interaction. Our ServingIntel program is perfect for this POS usage. Residents have a certain amount of dining credit per month. This system lets the facility know when they’ve gone over that budget, so they can add that overage on the next payment at the end of the month.”

The Bistro is in place at Brookdale Plaza Clear Lake, and Deitrich said it is very successful. “The residents love it, and the technology of keeping track of orders and of spending works well.”

Future POS is an “Award Winning” Software Company with restaurant installs around the world including fine dining, quick serve, retail, and specialty applications. The “mission critical” philosophy of Future POS means it has been stress tested well beyond the limits of what most other point-of-sale packages can handle, and Future POS can run everything from a single terminal installation to a 77 terminal stadium. Innovative options include: Mobile Ordering, Online Ordering, Digital Signage, Surveillance, Fingerprint Recognition, Tableside Ordering, Signature Capture, End-to-End Encryption and our new cutting edge "Mobile POS" technology for both Apple and Android Platforms. Tune into SPIKE TV’s “Bar Rescue” where Future POS can be seen regularly on Sunday Night.

About POS Partners
POS Partners is an international hospitality technology company that creates solutions serving the Senior Living Industry. Providing a complete solution of software, mobile hardware and business intelligence through its ServingIntel.com Enterprise platform, POS Partners increases revenue and profits in dining room operations, while enhancing service and quality levels for the residents.