How restaurant chain Tender Cow increased customer spend and staff tips by leveraging tech
Tender Cow has made significant progress from its origins as a street food stall in London, transforming into a multimillion-pound enterprise
Matt Walsh, the owner, embarked on a mission to champion British farmers and less familiar beef cuts in order to render steak more budget-friendly and accessible to patrons. While acknowledging that the journey over the past decade has been far from smooth, he remains resolute in his determination to forge ahead.
Apart from operating three Tender Cow outlets in food halls across Manchester, Matt also owns five additional restaurants and manages a workforce exceeding 50 individuals. Furthermore, he is in the process of launching a ramen restaurant and a hotel. While this accelerated growth is exhilarating, Matt concedes that managing all these ventures can be quite a challenge. He's persistently seeking novel methods to streamline business operations while ensuring the contentment of his staff and fostering their professional advancement.
Matt's introduction to Square occurred at a coffee shop, where he encountered a point-of-sale (POS) system offering a broader array of options than he had previously encountered. While the primary reason for transitioning to Square was its integrated payment system and loyalty program, Matt swiftly embraced other Square offerings, including Square Marketing, Square Loans, and Square Restaurants POS. The latter furnishes data and insights that facilitate monitoring of crucial information such as top-selling items and team member sales, among other metrics.
One noteworthy feature for Matt is the ease with which he can access and interpret vital business information through a simple glance at the Square Dashboard. The Square Restaurant POS has not only bolstered the kitchen staff's monthly earnings and morale but has also motivated them to uphold exceptional customer service standards.
The Square Restaurants POS tipping function increases kitchen staff wages up to £200 per month.
The triumph of Square Loyalty in driving sales and fostering customer retention is another source of Matt's enthusiasm. Patrons enrolled in Tender Cow's loyalty program spend an average of £35 per visit, in contrast to non-program customers who spend £19 on average. Matt envisions leveraging Square Marketing to enhance enrollment in the loyalty program and enhance customer interaction.
Tender Cow's loyalty programme customers spend 84% more per visit on average compared to customers who are not part of the programme.
Square Loans played a pivotal role in Matt's diversification efforts. He utilised it to invest in a new boutique hotel, broadening the scope of his business. Over the span of ten years, Matt diligently constructed his Tender Cow enterprise through sheer dedication and determination, bypassing the need for external investors. His ambitious plans for the future are closely intertwined with Square's continued partnership.
Matt's primary objective is to perpetually propel the business forward and demonstrate to his team that avenues for growth and career progression are invariably available. He attributes Square with playing an instrumental role in fulfilling this objective: "My top responsibility is consistently advancing the business and illustrating to my team that opportunities for growth and career development are always within reach. Square empowers me to accomplish just that," Matt affirms.
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