DINING AND ENTERTAINMENT VENUE
Big Al’s & Ready Successfully Handle Labor Shortage While Improving the Guest Service
Mobile ordering made simple. See how Big Al's uses Ready to stay open 7 days a week with fewer servers.
COMPANY Profile
Entertainment Leader
Big Al’s is a family-friendly entertainment destination with locations in Beaverton, OR, Meridian, ID, Ontario, CA, Silicon Valley, CA, and Vancouver, WA.
With the latest arcade games, 18-42 bowling lanes and stadium-style sports bars, Big Al’s delivers a great time with great food in a contemporary northwestern style atmosphere. Perfectly suited for large groups, it is also a favorite of corporate event planners, sports teams, community groups, and high schools.
how we do it
Ready Implementation
Big Al’s offers Ready’s Order service, which allows guests to self-order and pay by scanning the QR code on their table using their phone. With vast floorspace of this venue, offering contactless ordering and payment, saves a significant amount of time for servers, whose efforts were largely being hindered by simple logistics like menu delivery, physically taking orders to the kitchen and covering off payments - which was particularly laborious because many Big Al’s patrons are large groups.
An unforeseen benefit of guest-driven ordering and payment was realized as the growing impacts of the labor shortage emerged and securing staff became more and more difficult. Offering Ready meant that not only could the venue operate with fewer servers, but those that were working could focus on the more impactful parts of service, like quality checks and making sure guests were having a fantastic time. And unlike other venues nearby, Big Al’s did not need to shut down 1-2 days a week due to insufficient staff – a significant win as hospitality venues continue to grapple with the impacts of COVID.
“Customer Satisfaction is our primary goal.
Giving our customers the ability to quickly order and pay on their own time has improved the overall dining experience. Ready has also helped our business combat the challenges of the rising cost of labor.
It’s truly a win-win scenario.”
Ready benefits
Labor Shortage
Continuing 7-day operations while others forced to close
“Ready allows us to really lower the staff that we have in our building. Even in Idaho, there are well-known fast-food restaurants that are still closed 1-2 days when typically, they open 7 days. Ready saved us from being in those situations.”
Craig McKellar, Chief Operating Officer, Big Al’s
WORKFLOW EFFICIENCY
Drinks at the table in under 2 minutes
“We found that using Ready staggers the orders so that we were able to put in an order for a beer. I've timed it and the drink orders now are only 1 - 2 minutes. With the servers before, that was never the case. Having Ready in front of the guest was a big help. Speed of service has definitely improved with Ready.”
GUEST DRIVEN EXPERIENCES
On their own timetable
“Enhanced Contactless Service” was a primary driver and goal of our partnership with Ready. Our service is faster, and our guests and staff are safer as a result. The timing of service for our guests as always been a challenge – with Ready we give our guests options and they can order, dine, pay, and leave on their own timetable putting them in the driver’s seat instead of us.”
Craig McKellar, Chief Operating Officer, Big Al’s
“We’ve worked with a lot of technology companies, and something that we really appreciate a lot about Ready is that Ready actually works with us on the changes we’re asking for; not everyone does, and that’s a plus!”
Learn more about how Ready helps improve all around operations metrics
or reach out to us for a demo and more information