The Pityme Inn saves time and money with an integrated tech toolkit
Introducing The Pityme Inn
St Austell Brewery licensees
One of four managed sites, based in Cornwall
Winners of the BII’s Licensee of the Year Award 2021
Pub and restaurant with 4 B&B rooms and apartments
3 large outside areas, including covered dining pods
“As we’ve grown, we wanted a more centralised view of the business. We’re now able to access the most up-to-date reports quickly – while other tech solutions don’t offer this, with Zonal we can look at reports live if we want to.”Jason Black, Landlord, The Pityme Inn
The business challenge
Combining a traditional pub offering, restaurant and accommodation, the Pityme Inn team were looking for a connected suite of technology to join up their operation – both in the Pityme Inn and its three sister-sites.
As the business grew, the team knew they needed an EPoS and integrated suite of tech that would grow with them and provide a centralised overview of the business as a whole, as well as at an individual site level. With aims to better monitor and manage cash and stocks – something which they had not previously been tracking, to implement a more effective way of managing their overnight rooms, as well as to use marketing tools successfully to old, new and prospective customers, access to a comprehensive dataset would be vital.
“If you are looking to expand and grow your business, Zonal will be there, along with you for the ride.”Jason Black, Landlord, The Pityme Inn
The solution
After weighing up their options, and having prior experience with the technology, Chris and Jason decided to implement Zonal’s suite of connected technology in their pubs. A range of solutions were implemented across all four venues to enable the team to easily manage all sites centrally, review cash and stock levels in real-time as well as automate tasks to help boost profits and save time. Zonal worked with Chris, Jason and St Austell to implement their tech in all four sites:
- A powerful EPoS system with robust reporting functionality
- Handheld ordering devices connected to the main POS, removing the need for staff to rekey orders taken at the table
- A fully integrated stock and order solution with real-time visibility over the whole supply chain
- Centralised reservations diary, allowing customers to book at any venue easily
- Order and Pay apps (integrated with Uber Eats)
- Loyalty
- Kitchen IQ (Kitchen Management System)
- HLS Property Management System connected to the EPoS
Having all tech solutions integrated and connected has allowed the team to have an easy-to-understand, yet detailed view of every aspect of the business as well as their customers, to make key strategic business decisions based on the customer data they acquire from the systems.
“Zonal has been great in getting us set up as well as sending people to our sites to help. The support they offer is really good – you can phone them all the hours that the business is open and they can also log in virtually to fix your system quickly. Our Account Manager helps me with anything we need and points us in the right direction if we have any questions.”Jason Black, Landlord, The Pityme Inn
Results
The business was having issues with cash loss and had no way of tracking it. Now, thanks to Zonal’s connected tech, they are able to see cash flow updates every day. Using the in-built stock system has also given them a better GP than having to do line checks and stock checks every week. Zonal’s online ordering also helped to streamline a process which staff at The Pityme Inn often found to be laborious.
Having a fully connected set of tech solutions also means that they can get an overview of the business quickly, while its integration with partners has enabled the business to have an overview of everything – the pub’s management team looks at the data a lot!
“Since implementing Zonal tech, we’ve managed to save valuable time and money, thanks to their in-built stock and cash functions. We no longer need to pay for stock takers and have a better GP as we’re able to do line and stock checks every week.”Jason Black, Landlord, The Pityme Inn
