The newest update for iOS that we previewed in a recent post hit the shelves of the App Store yesterday. All branded iPhone apps powered by Splick-it are now up to speed with this latest and greatest version. Check out the list below for all the upgrades and go update your Splick-it app(s)!
What’s new in this version?
A few months ago, we offered a sneak peek of an entirely new version of our merchant administration tool: Merchant Portal. After much tweaking and polishing based on user feedback, today we’re announcing the public release of the fastest and easiest-to-use Merchant Portal experience yet.
Why is new Merchant Portal so great? Here are just some of the reasons we think you’ll love it.
Intuitively designed.
With an ever-increasing abundance of new products and services emerging for restaurants to manage, time is of the essence. We understand that Merchant Portal is just one of things you have to interact with throughout your busy day. To that end, our primary goal for Merchant Portal was to provide our merchants with an experience that embodies the same values as what your guests have come to expect from Splick-it: speed and convenience.
Responsive. Just like you.
It’s no secret that quick-service and fast-casual restaurants are well-oiled machines. And just like their fast-paced work environments, restaurants require tools that respond quickly to rapidly changing circumstances and surroundings. That’s precisely why we optimized Merchant Portal for practically any device. So whether you need to make a quick menu change while making an emergency supply run or adjust operating hours for an unanticipated early closure, you can do it all quickly and easily with your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Your feedback = new features.
Start using it now.
The new merchant portal is live now for all Splick-it restaurant locations at merchant.splickit.com.
Not using Splick-it yet? If you own a restaurant and would like to see what Splick-it and the new Merchant Portal can offer your business, drop us a line for information and a guided tour.
Customers will soon be able to get it Mike’s Way™ online or via iOS or Android mobile apps
Manasquan, N.J. – April 30, 2013 – Splick-it, a mobile and online ordering platform, today announced they have been selected to power the mobile and online ordering system for Jersey Mike’s Subs restaurants.
Passionate Jersey Mike’s fans crave their subs made Mike’s Way™ with onions, lettuce, tomatoes and a signature blend of olive oil, red wine vinegar and spices. The company uses only private labeled meats and cheeses that are sliced fresh for each sub sandwich and piled high on in-store baked bread. Everything is quickly made to order for each customer, just the way the first subs were made at the original Jersey Mike’s more than 50 years ago.
“Customers are increasingly looking for easy and convenient ways to get their meal fast,” said Rich Hope, CMO of Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, Inc. “After considering a number of options, we selected Splick-it because of their outstanding track record. We believe this will be a great addition to our service,” he added.
According to study by the Center for Hospitality Research, restaurants using mobile and online ordering report increased customer frequency. Respondents also noted labor savings, as their employees didn’t need to answer the phone or take an order from a customer, as well as improved order accuracy.
Splick-it will design the online ordering system first, with iOS and Android apps to follow soon. The service will be specifically branded for Jersey Mike’s Subs, as Splick-it has done for other restaurants including Moe’s Southwest Grill and The Pita Pit. In addition to mobile and online ordering and payment, patrons participating in Jersey Mike’s Shore Points rewards program will be able to track, earn and redeem points directly through the application.
About Jersey Mike’s Subs:
Jersey Mike’s, a fast-casual sub sandwich franchise with more than 750 locations open and under development nationwide, has a long history of community involvement and support. Started at the Jersey Shore in 1956, Jersey Mike’s serves authentic East Coast-style subs on fresh baked bread – the same recipe it started with over 50 years ago. The company’s mission is to bring its customers the highest quality, freshest made sub in the industry and give back to the communities in which it operates. A store locator and franchise information for Jersey Mike’s can be found at www.jerseymikes.com.
About Splick-it:
Splick-it powers branded mobile apps and online ordering for restaurants to accept orders from anywhere and provide guests with a VIP experience.
Our friends over at Permian Basin Marketing Group (PBMG) have launched Go Seconds, a mobile and online ordering service powered by Splick-it.
Based in Midland, TX, PBMG has already signed up a dozen restaurants with Go Seconds during their soft launch period, and they are already identifying potential markets for expansion in the near future.
Being our first affiliate partners, we’re particularly psyched about working with PBMG. We believe strongly in the power of partnering with people like the team behind Go Seconds who see the Splick-it platform as a way to expand upon, or build, their own business using our technology.
After realizing early on that building their own platform was an unviable option, PBMG partners John Hendricks and Jay Rolston set out to join forces with a mobile and online ordering provider who could create a branded mobile and web ordering experience for their “Go Seconds” concept.
Go Seconds app
They researched several other platforms before approaching us, but we were fortunate to be the only company that satisfied their branding needs and interface quality standards.
“We researched all the major players in this space and quickly realized that Splick-it is the company to work with. Our decision really came down to the user experience,” remarked John Hendricks about the process of selecting an ordering partner, “Splick-it also offers features that we would have never considered but add a ton of value to both the end-user and restaurant—which makes us look like rock stars. We have local competition that provide a similar service that just don’t come close to the level of professionalism that we can offer by having Splick-it as a partner.”
This partnership combines PBMG’s market expertise and restaurant industry experience with Splick-it’s technology, support and credibility. We believe the launch of Go Seconds marks the beginning of a long-term alliance and represents a model for growth for Splick-it and Go Seconds alike.
If you have interest in becoming a Splick-it affiliate or reseller partner, we’d like to hear from you.
Give the Go Seconds mobile apps and online ordering site a spin for yourself at goseconds.splickit.com
We’re in the final stages of polishing up the newest release of our iOS platform, but before it rolls off the production line, we thought it would fun to give you a sneak peak of what’s coming down the pike. The main focus of this version, as you may have already gathered from the title of this post, is the store locator. The store locator truly sets the stage for the entire ordering experience. It can mean the difference between a seamless transaction or one fraught with confusion and vexation.
A good locator is like a good listener. It responds quickly to what you ask it to do. A poor locator, on the other hand, isn’t much into feedback. It merely says what it thinks you want it to do. And that’s that.
What’s new
Perhaps the most significant change that you’ll notice with the new locator is the introduction of a map + list view. In areas where multiple restaurant locations within a close proximity are the norm, we believe the map + list combo will help you to find the right location more easily.
Tapping on a location now reveals an expanded view of options and restaurant information. In addition to Takeout and Delivery for ordering, you’re now just a tap away from getting directions or placing a call to the restaurant. Store hours are also listed for each location.
The new store locator will be available in next update for iOS (Android coming soon). If you want to be the first to know when the update is available, make sure to follow us on Twitter.
Screenshots of the upcoming iOS update
Editor’s note: The Spotlight series highlights an individual, restaurant or company that has caught our attention in some compelling way. This month’s Spotlight profiles Snarf’s Sandwiches on 600 W. Chicago Ave. in Chicago, IL—which has been absolutely killing it with their use of Splick-it!
On any given weekday, the lunch line inside Snarf’s at 600 W. Chicago Ave. will snake around the shop and into the main lobby of its parent building. Located on the ground level of the office building that Groupon calls home, employees of this location crank out the chain’s popular made-to-order sandwiches like hotcakes. In this bustling corporate office environment, customer retention is king. That’s why Snarf’s relies on Splick-it to provide their clientele with a quick and convenient alternative to waiting in line, so that in addition to getting a great meal, they can get right back to their busy lives. For an insider’s take on how Splick-it helps make it happen, we went straight to the source and spoke to Doug Besant, who oversees operations for Colorado-based Snarf’s Sandwiches.
How does mobile and online ordering enhance the experience for your guests?
At Snarf’s, a bulk of our business occurs at lunch, where a vast majority of people in U.S. have some time constraint. Not being the fastest sub shop in the world, [Splick-it] enables us to shortcut the line for the people that really enjoy Snarf’s. That’s the biggest advantage we offer.
As an operator, how has Splick-it helped your business?
Splick-it is a great tool. It gives everybody who’s on limited time for lunch the opportunity to come get our stuff. When we design and setup the stores these days, we’re even making a space where we can line up the Splick-it orders.
Of the mobile and online orders we do each day, 80% of them we probably wouldn’t have if we didn’t offer Splick-it. Anytime we can move faster and more efficiently without spending more, that’s a win for us.
How has mobile and online ordering affected one-on-one interactions with your guests?
Interaction is really a bonus. It’s about a great sandwich and whether I can get it in a time frame that meets my world.
Anything else you’d like to point out or mention?
I don’t want everyone else using [Splick-it], so nothing [Laughs].
We get really amped up about new product releases, but this one is particularly exciting to share with you. After months of decisions and debates, we’re on the verge of launching the completely rebuilt Merchant Portal.
Between managing day-to-day operations and making decision after decision about how and where to best reach a customer base with rapidly changing tastes and preferences for food and technology, franchisees and their staff are busier now more than ever. With so much to think about and manage, we approached the new Merchant Portal with the understanding that it needed to be as fast and easy to use as possible.
The new Merchant Portal represents a culmination of the principles we’ve gathered from our mobile-first approach to design. The result is a more simplified, intuitive interface that enables you, our partner franchisees, managers and staff, to accomplish back-office tasks more efficiently than ever before.
Taking to heart a mobile-first philosophy and the busy nature of running a restaurant, the Merchant Portal will now be accessible from any Internet-enabled device. So whether you’re sitting in front of a computer in the BOH or on-the-go with just a tablet or smartphone, the new Merchant Portal will adapt to your needs.
When will the new Merchant Portal be available?
While we don’t have an exact date, we’re currently working with a small group of merchants to work out any kinks and make sure it’s ready for prime time. Look for an email notification with further details about accessing the new Merchant Portal when we’re ready for you to starting using it.
Some screenshots of the new Merchant Portal:
Next time you’re in a hurry to get your pretzel
fix in The Big Apple, look no further than Splick-it! Select Auntie Anne’s locations in New York are now accepting Splick-it mobile and online orders. Simply order online at auntieannes.splickit.com or download the free mobile app for iPhone or Android.
Bonus! Enter promo code PERFECT at checkout to receive $2 off any order of $5 or more (limited to one use).
In addition to offering convenience to your customers, online and mobile ordering can help restaurant owners increase their average order size. Here’s why.
We recently asked more than 7,000 customers about how they used and what they liked about
our mobile and online ordering applications. One of the most interesting things we found is that nearly half of them reported using online/mobile ordering “often” when ordering for more than one person — and two people (or more!) means a bigger ring for your register.
To find out why group ordering was so popular, we looked at the comments and found these insights:
Groups made easy. If you’re out of the office and are planning to grab yourself a sandwich to take back, you’re probably not going to call and get a big, complicated order from your co-workers (“I want extra mustard, but brown mustard, not yellow. And last time they only put one pickle on mine, and I like three or four…”). On the other hand, if you let your friends know they can place a group order – and pay for it! – you’ll be happy to pick it up. That makes it easy for everyone – and the restaurant just sold four or five lunches instead of just one.
No fussy kids. It’s no secret that kids aren’t very good at waiting in line (who is, really!). Moms told us that even if they’re planning on eating in the restaurant, being able to just grab food and sit down makes mealtime easier and more enjoyable, so they’re more likely take the kids out.
The “yum, that sounds good!” factor. When you’re in line, you’re not relaxed. Even if the restaurant isn’t crowded, you know the person behind the counter is waiting for you to make up your mind. When customers can take their time ordering online or on their smartphone, they can relax and browse. They might add a side or a dessert they wouldn’t have seen while in line. And, more than 40 percent of those in our survey told us they “frequently” respond to mobile offers, so it’s a great chance to get people to try new items.
One more thing. While our customer survey didn’t tell us this, we all know it’s true: you can’t can’t sell a meal to a customer walking by your store if she’s already paid for one two doors down and is just going to pick it up. If your competitors have mobile and online ordering and you don’t, you’re missing out on opportunities to reach customers like the ones in our survey.
If you’d like the complete results of our customer survey, click here to download a PDF.
Splick-it makes it easy to get fed fast(er). For restaurants, Splick-it powers mobile and online ordering and tools to manage the relationship with their guests.
