Restaurant Pagers

Depending on the unique circumstances of your operation, you may find yourself considering buying a used restaurant pager system. This no doubt presents quite a few pros and cons.

Investment in any part of your restaurant business should be tackled with sensible, long-term procurement objectives, which can mean that cheapest doesn’t always equal the best.

Anyway, first, let’s look at the cons.

Like anything that is used or not new, there is going to be a usage history to it that you’re probably unaware of (unless you’ve purchased from someone you know). Units may have been dropped, repaired or even not have worked properly in the first place. Buying 2nd-hand really doesn’t give you much come-back if this is the case.

Consider also the battery-usage in the units you are buying too – many pagers don’t use standard AA or AAA batteries, and could use expensive proprietary batteries. It could well be that the pager batteries have reached the end of their useful life.

More than likely, any warranty or after-sales support is well and truly expired, and will come at a cost to renew or continue.

And unlike a new system, you’re unlikely to get any installation or training support (at least without a cost). Having said that, pager systems aren’t really that hard to use, but there can be a bit involved in getting them tailored specifically to your needs for a start.

Make sure that there is no finance owing on the system. For example, if you buy from a restaurant that is about to go into liquidation, you could find the liquidators on your door a few weeks down the track.

Consider also if there are still readily available spares or replacement parts. Is the unit still in production? Or has it been replaced by a new model. And are they compatible?

Pros

To be honest, I don’t have many positive points for buying a used restaurant pager system.

Obviously, a used restaurant pager system is going to be a heck of a lot cheaper than a brand new one. This means that you can use your budget to possibly buy a better system. So you could buy a brand-name pager that you may have some knowledge of it’s reputation without having to buy a system you have never heard of.

Ultimately, it’s a business risk where you need to weigh the negatives with the positives, and only you can make that call.

If cost is a big factor in your decision, maybe another option to consider would be leasing, or a cellphone based paging system.

You should also bear in mind that the cost of technology really is coming down all the time. Highly versatile paging systems can be bought at a fraction of the cost that they would have cost 3-5 years ago.

If you are set on buying a used restaurant pager system, at least see if you can look at the same (or a similar) one in operation (much the same as if you were buying a new one).

The primary aim of this website is to present you with all the information you might be looking for regarding restaurant pagers.

Initially, you may be asking, just what is a restaurant pager? And how is this going to help me run my restaurant?

Well, this nifty little device can come in all shapes and sizes, and carry out a variety of different functions too. Essentially, a restaurant pager will carry out two main tasks in a restaurant. Communication between wait staff and their customers, and also just between the staff themselves.

Used to its full potential, a restaurant paging system should lead to a dramatic increase in productivity in your operation – thereby justifying what can seem an exorbitant initial outlay. Of course, no two systems are alike, so hopefully this website will help you decide which is best suited to your operation.

I’ll note here too that the face of restaurant paging is no doubt in for some fairly dramatic changes in the near future too, predominantly with the increasing use of cell phone and Internet technology. These are areas I’ll be looking to explore in further posts.

I’ve set up this site to help those that may be looking to buy a restaurant pager system. Hopefully I can help make the process a little easier for you and you can make an informed decision before you hand over the cash. So, on this website, I’ll attempt to try and cover everything related to restaurant paging systems. Eventually this will include pager reviews, tips on maintenance and just about anything in general that I feel may be relevant.

If you like to know a bit about me, check out the about me page. And feel free to drop me a line if you want to say hi or perhaps have some feedback (good or bad).

If there’s something specific that you’re looking for on this site, try using the search box.

And if you have any questions, again please feel free to contact me, or leave a comment. Hopefully myself or one of the other readers will be able to help you out with your restaurant pager query!

Having decided (or still deliberating) to invest in a paging system for your restaurant, bar or general service operation, you’ll no doubt want to delve a little deeper into what’s on the market and investigate what type or brand of pager will suit your specific operation.

As I’ve covered in a previous post, there are a multitude of pager systems on the market, designed to cover all types of operations, from small bistro/pubs, to large-scale multi-floor restaurants.

Just like any investment, it’s important that you don’t rush in and buy the first pager system that you come across. The most expensive unit isn’t necessarily the best, and could be overkill.

Likewise, cheaper restaurant pagers may seem to have all the bells and whistles of their pricier counterparts, but do they live up to expectations in the long run?

Some of the more common brands in restaurant paging:

CommTech Wireless has been around since the early 1990′s, and have been supplying wireless paging solutions to a wide range of industries, not just hospitality.

POSNation supply a wide range of point of sale (POS) hardware, including Server and Customer pagers.

LRS (Long Range Systems), another manufacturer that doesn’t just specialise in restaurant and food service pagers.

PCS (or Pager Call Systems), a UK-based company that distributes the HME Wireless products.

HME Wireless, one of the largest in the industry.

JTECH, acknowledged as the first company to develop specialized wireless solutions designed for restaurants.

Wait List Manager, developed and sold by Atlanta company Queuent.

Microframe, who make a variety of units, including the MultiPage.

So those are some of the most common brands in the restaurant communications marketplace. There are many more on the market, but I would consider the above most of the big players.

Restaurant Pager Features

Not all restaurant paging systems are equal. What is important is to determine what is the requuirements for your business, and then make your selection from there. With this is mind, there are some important aspects to consider when choosing a restaurant page.

Without going into specifics at this stage, these are some considerations I would recommend.

Range:  This will be dependent of the scale of your operation, and will need to take into account infrastructure that may be an obstacle to transmission.

Technical Support: What sort of ongoing technical support will be provided? Any initial training? 24/7 helpdesk?

Warranty/Guarantee: What is and isn’t covered if something breaks down or malfunctions?

Pager Battery Life: How long does it take to charge a pager? How long does the pager battery last between charges? Is there a back-up system for the main unit?

Anti-Theft: Are there any mechanisms built in that thwart theft of the pagers?

So, with these considerations in mind, you should feel more confident in making an educated purchase decision.

Shortly we’ll look more closely at the specifics of restaurant pager systems.