Toast POS

Avantages

Compared to POS systems I've used in the past, Toast is a lifesaver! It has tremendously improved efficiency and flow of our Taproom. We now have the ability to swipe a card and store credit card information; which is a huge benefit for those of us in co-op spaces. Although they look bulky, their handhelds fit into your back pocket and allow us to close tabs out table side. They are shock and water resistant, plus you can log into more than one device at the same time so if you're working alone, you can close out multiple parties at once. As a GM, I'm grateful that Toast is not only cloud-based, but allows me to access the back end from my laptop or smart phone so I don't have to be onsite to make system changes. Updates are incredibly quick so there's not a ton of down time. There is also Toast Central, where you can troubleshoot issues yourself rather rather than immediately calling Support. They are helpful instructions with screenshots and videos.

Inconvénients

Customer Support is hit or miss. I always get an answer, it's just a matter of when I get it. After hours and on weekends, I feel like their staffing is very limited which leads to delays in getting immediate help. Thankfully it's only happened once where I needed a quick answer and wasn't able to get it.

Avantages

I was hired to help customize, train, and implement this new software at a friends restaurant. I have worked with a few different POS systems and this was by far the most user friendly. Easy to customize their menus and check preferences. Easy to update if we figured out how we originally entered in an item needed to be changed. Cloud based so when not on sight I was able to fix remotely when not at the restaurant. Also the handheld option is great for taking orders and splitting checks on the fly. Also were able to implement gift cards with the new system.

Inconvénients

No real cons. The only downside was the initial few days after switching for the staff to get used to it.

Avantages

Nice features and ways to set up the menu for ease of use by employees. User-friendly up to a certain extent.

Inconvénients

Most of the features promised by the sales rep were all available at an extra cost, after paying a lot of money already for the system and the hardware, you have to pay extra for EVERYTHING. Their customer support is very unreliable, sometimes you have someone great who knows exactly what you are talking about, sometimes it seems like the person has never even used the POS before... They put you on hold for 10+ minutes at a time too.

Avantages

Affordable
Customer facing customization

Inconvénients

1. Their technical support is AWFUL. Every time we have a major support issue- now only does it take them DAYS to respond via email, but they almost always find a way to deflect the blame.
2. You cannot process voids or refunds properly through the system. We have tried countless times to do this, only to have the ticket not void, causing the customer to file for a chargeback. Keep in mind, TOAST charges you a fee every time they have to refund a customer via a chargeback claim.
3. For TWO YEARS now, our delivery receipts keep printing to our self-ordering kiosk's printer instead of our cashier facing printer. TWO YEARS!
4. Every single time they do an update on their system, it almost always crashes, freezes, or goes offline, causing our employees to freak out when they can't get it back up and running.
5. Despite us paying a premium for our monthly subscription, they still cannot get the gift card or loyalty reward program working properly.
6. We have our delivery zone set to a certain zip code, yet we still receive orders outside of this zip code, causing customers to get upset with us.

Overall, from a price point, with how much your monthly subscription will run you and the amount of headaches and acid reflux you will deal with- it's not worth it. Go with Revel or Clover. Pass on this. You end up paying more in lost time, chargeback fees, and waste money on a subscription that doesn't even provide you with enough support.

Avantages

- User friendly
- Intuitive
- Fantastic customer support
- Self updating
- Good price
- Integrated with most scheduling platforms

Inconvénients

There's not much I dislike about Toast. With that said, it can be a bit glitchy at times. It's also a relatively new company, so some of the functions haven't quite been worked out perfectly yet.