In Japanese, the word “Okazu” translates to “side dish.” But at Queensland Okazu restaurant, every dish takes a starring role.
Owner Tobias Diamandopoulos describes his “high quality takeaway” as “Japanese soul food” – an offering customers enjoyed so much that a second location in Mermaid Waters was added four years after the opening of the original venue in Nobby Beach. But before integration with Doshii, the Okazu team struggled to give the food the starring role it deserved as they scrambled to deal with bigger crowds and chaotic venue ops.
While customers were clambering for Okazu’s delicious dishes, complicated venue ops were sometimes preventing them from enjoying a completely seamless experience.
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Putting the orders from Uber Eats and DoorDash into the Square POS system was extremely time-consuming and it really slowed the till down. The staff really struggled and there were a lot of mistakes with orders as well.
Tobias Diamandopoulos, Owner
The main problem, he said, was keeping up with high customer demand while using as many Pickup & Delivery providers as they could while getting everything across the line as quickly as possible. And with customers increasingly expecting consistently speedy and efficient service at the touch of a digital button, this was no small feat.
As the venues grew more popular, these issues became more apparent – and it was something Diamandopoulos decided to address with tech.
Okazu uses Doshii to connect
After shopping around at various competitors, Diamandopoulos and his team landed on Doshii – and from the get-go, he knew he’d made the right decision.
“The onboarding process was great. The customer service meant it was easy to get things resolved,” he notes. And that was just the beginning. Once Okazu’s Square POS was connected to its apps via Doshii, venue ops were instantly improved.
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We’re streamlining service. Especially during the busy periods. We’re able to get through a lot more customers while hosting multiple platforms including Uber Eats and DoorDash. We’ve seen increasing order sizes. And we’re able to spend more time with customers and provide better customer service.
Tobias Diamandopoulos, Owner
In addition to giving Diamandopoulos and his team more face-time with customers and smoother operations at every step of the way, Doshii integration has helped save labour costs while running their two venues. Tobias calculates that he’s been able to have one less staff member on per service at each venue. “So that’s one less person per shift, across two stores, seven days a week.” That adds up to some serious savings for Diamandopoulos and his business, which has enabled him to keep his eye on future expansion.
We’re streamlining service
Tobias Diamandopoulos, Owner
“We’re hoping to add a few new locations,” says Diamdopoulos, “and get integrations with Doshii happening right from the get-go. That way we’ll able to get started much faster and build the business a lot quicker.” And though he’s got high hopes for expansion, he plans to keep Okazu very much a Queensland affair. “We’ll keep it in state,” he says with a smile. “I don’t like to travel.”
Thanks to Doshii’s integration with the apps that keep Okazu running like a well-[sesame]-oiled machine – like Uber Eats and DoorDash – that dream of business growth is set to take place by the end of next year.
It’s a partnership that, like Diamandopoulos’ pick of okonomiyaki with grilled prawn and squid has proven a particularly delicious combination – and one that just works.
