Bringing it All Together
Porch and Parlour is a veritable Bondi institution, serving up quality coffee and mouth watering breakfasts and lunches to hungry beach-goers for 15 years now. Priding itself on being more a “home away from home” than a hospitality venue, they dreamed of attracting the creative and curious of all stripes through their door – and with Doshii’s help, these small business owners are finding it easier than ever.
As venue manager Phill Cooke explains, “the concept of Porch and Parlour is built around getting together in the morning before that ‘work time’. Kind of like an escape. You get your coffee and conversation and sunshine. It’s all about how coffee brings people together.”
This theme of bringing everything together isn’t just about people – it’s an idea that extends to Porch and Parlour’s hospitality technology and POS solution, something Phil pioneered for the business when he originally came onboard.
“I came from that background of restaurants that were very new and futuristic,” says Cooke. “They had all this stuff that we have in place now, like Uber Eats, DoorDash and at-table ordering.
Integration takes the stress out of the occasion.
Phill Cooke
Venue Manager – Porch and Parlour
They didn’t have any of that here when I started,” he adds, “and we kind of took on each app as we went. We adopted at-table ordering because of speed and quality of service, so people being able to order exactly when they want.” This quick and efficient ordering process via an integrated point of sale system “takes the stress out of the equation”, according to Cooke, especially as Porch and Parlour tends to “get super crazy on a Saturday and Sunday with loads of people waiting for tables.”
The Doshii Difference
“[Doshii] has been a life saver,” says Phil. “We were wasting so much time re-entering all the orders and now it is all automatic! We have managed to cut one shift off each day just from orders being managed by Doshii. Also as a result of the automatic flow of orders we have zero human errors from re-entering them!”
In addition to saving time, POS integration into Uber Eats – as well as DoorDash – has also had a big impact on Porch and Parlour’s bottom line.
“We look at Uber Eats and DoorDash as sort of an extension of our restaurant,” Cooke explains. “Obviously they take a commission, but you don’t pay rent on those seats. On a Saturday and Sunday, we probably get an extra twenty or thirty orders.
“Those twenty or thirty extra covers add up to quite a substantial amount of revenue. And Doshii brings that all together.”
Porch and Parlour x Doshii
Integrating all of Porch and Parlour’s food delivery apps and online orders with Impos Point of Sale system through Doshii was Cooke’s personal mission. It’s one that’s paid dividends for the venue operations.
“As we went through connecting Uber Eats and DoorDash, explaining to the owners and other managers why we needed to take each step… I mean, we had the Uber tablet making a noise, the DoorDash tablet making a noise, the table ordering going off in a different place and none of it printing the same receipts. Now with Doshii, everything happens automatically. It’s nice and seamless.”
Cooke believes this new wave of hospitality apps in Australia is resonating with Gen Z customers in particular. “Younger customers aren’t so bothered about the service,” he says.
“They just want quality food and quality coffee. They just want to sit down and order straight away. If our staff can’t get to the tables right there and then, they’ll scan the table right away and place their order automatically. It’s great.”
Riding the Hospo-Tech Wave
The ability for customers to order at their own convenience has also led to big savings when it comes to staffing needs with approximately 20% savings in labour costs per shift. “We’re able to have one less member of staff on per day,” says Cooke. “Even on busy days, we just don’t take on as many staff as we used to, which is obviously massively helpful for a small business. It’s been a lot easier to meet our weekly budget.”
Now with Doshii, everything happens automatically. It’s nice and seamless.
Phill Cooke
Venue Manager – Porch and Parlour
Prior to their tech adoption and integration, Cooke reckons Porch and Parlour were missing out on “a massive piece of the market,” by not having pickup & delivery options available. “In Bondi, a lot of people want to get breakfast delivered, especially on the weekend. People have been out the night before and want their food delivered.” Cost of labour used to be a substantial pain point – one that technology has now largely solved for them.
When it comes to Doshii in particular, Cooke is quick to identify its biggest benefits for Porch and Parlour. “I would say the automatic printing and removing human error are the two biggest benefits,” he says.
“Everything prints where it needs to. The coffees go to the coffee station, the kitchen tickets go to the kitchen station. Everything happens seamlessly, whereas before you’d have to have someone entering everything manually. Just a member of staff wasting their time on something that should happen automatically.”
The bottom line
As in hospitality in general, Porch and Parlour is confident that, for them at least, apps are here to stay. “We’ll definitely look to take on more apps as we move into the quieter months,” says Cooke. “Every app has a different market unto itself and that’s great for us to tap into, especially not having to have additional tablets or monthly fees. Any apps that integrate with Doshii, we’ll be looking to partner with,” he asserts with a smile.
That glowing endorsement underscores the value Doshii has been able to bring to Cooke and his team. Because, like coconut and coffee (a Porch and Parlour favourite!) it just works.