Toast POS

Pros

Compared to POS systems I've used in the past, Toast is a lifesaver! It has tremendously improved efficiency and flow of our Taproom. We now have the ability to swipe a card and store credit card information; which is a huge benefit for those of us in co-op spaces. Although they look bulky, their handhelds fit into your back pocket and allow us to close tabs out table side. They are shock and water resistant, plus you can log into more than one device at the same time so if you're working alone, you can close out multiple parties at once. As a GM, I'm grateful that Toast is not only cloud-based, but allows me to access the back end from my laptop or smart phone so I don't have to be onsite to make system changes. Updates are incredibly quick so there's not a ton of down time. There is also Toast Central, where you can troubleshoot issues yourself rather rather than immediately calling Support. They are helpful instructions with screenshots and videos.

Cons

Customer Support is hit or miss. I always get an answer, it's just a matter of when I get it. After hours and on weekends, I feel like their staffing is very limited which leads to delays in getting immediate help. Thankfully it's only happened once where I needed a quick answer and wasn't able to get it.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Toast POS

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Toast POS

Pros

I love that Toast supports their product. You can call and get someone on the line that will help you answer your questions. They also provide the hardware necessary to run their software. They are constantly updating their software to meet the needs of their users and are staying current with the technology. One option that is particularly useful to us is printing individual labels for each shake. In other words, we could have a bus of individuals come to our restaurant, and we need to print individual labels on each shake to identify what is in the shake so that it gets to the right person. In the past, we had to individually write on each cup.

Cons

The most difficult part to swallow is the fact that you have a monthly payment for the software--even if you are a seasonal business and only open for less than half the year. Toast will make some concessions for that, but it still seems costly since our other solution we used was free and pretty much did everything we needed short of printing individual labels for the shakes.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Toast POS

Pros

Toast has been a serious upgrade to our establishment. It is very user friendly and operates off a more "in the times" type of software than some other very outdated POS systems. All of their staff is friendly. The third party integrations are endless and offer something for all kinds of businesses. Online ordering and the ability to have an unofficial doordash partnership is very helpful and easy to use.

Cons

Support is not always the most efficient or informative. We often find where they simply cannot help us during odd inquiries or glitches, or we get multiple answers from different people. We also would like to see toast work on a table management and waitlist system that is actually functional for the restaurant. Currently, they offer third party table management integrations, but we have done trials with a few and none have quite what we are looking for.

Pros

Affordable
Customer facing customization

Cons

1. Their technical support is AWFUL. Every time we have a major support issue- now only does it take them DAYS to respond via email, but they almost always find a way to deflect the blame.
2. You cannot process voids or refunds properly through the system. We have tried countless times to do this, only to have the ticket not void, causing the customer to file for a chargeback. Keep in mind, TOAST charges you a fee every time they have to refund a customer via a chargeback claim.
3. For TWO YEARS now, our delivery receipts keep printing to our self-ordering kiosk's printer instead of our cashier facing printer. TWO YEARS!
4. Every single time they do an update on their system, it almost always crashes, freezes, or goes offline, causing our employees to freak out when they can't get it back up and running.
5. Despite us paying a premium for our monthly subscription, they still cannot get the gift card or loyalty reward program working properly.
6. We have our delivery zone set to a certain zip code, yet we still receive orders outside of this zip code, causing customers to get upset with us.

Overall, from a price point, with how much your monthly subscription will run you and the amount of headaches and acid reflux you will deal with- it's not worth it. Go with Revel or Clover. Pass on this. You end up paying more in lost time, chargeback fees, and waste money on a subscription that doesn't even provide you with enough support.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Toast POS

Pros

The customer service with toast system is amazing. I have called at least once a week for the past two months learning features and everything there is to know about the POS. I have never waited longer than 1 minute for a real live person to answer on their customer support phone number. Every time the guys are so helpful and quick. They explain everything and are available 24/7 seriously it’s 3:08AM and they just got done helping me set up scheduling through the system. I highly recommend

Cons

The only concerns that has come to our attention is the processing fees. But all processing fees no matter what system you use is high and adds up every month. It’s nots toast fault credit card fees are high and that’s the banks not toast