Laura Ewing is the Director of Franchise Operations at Bahama Buck’s, a thriving shaved ice and smoothie franchise. Based out of Lubbock, Texas, Bahama Buck’s began as a single location - a small shaved ice stand. In 1993 Bahama Buck’s developed the franchise, and have been opening locations every since. They have opened 42 locations, with 130 more on the way. They’ve been expanding rapidly - the majority of the aforementioned locations were sold in the last three years, and they will soon be operating in 11 states.
As the Director of Franchise Operations, Laura assists all Bahama Buck’s franchise owners, streamlining operations and helping them get up and running. Revel Systems is currently installed in 15 locations, and every new location going forward will use Revel. Laura is working on getting all locations switched over to provide a seamless overview of all franchise operations.
Allergen-free sweet treats
Bahama Buck’s offers shaved ice, smoothies, lemonade, and “Bahama sodas” - sodas mixed with flavor and cream that create a tropical appeal. Bahama Buck’s currently has locations in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, with locations opening in Florida, California, Alabama, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Louisiana. Their products are entirely gluten- and nut-free, catering to the health-conscious and those with allergies alike.
Business challenge: Slowed down by paper
Before installing Revel, Bahama Buck’s was known for their wait times. They sought a solution that would allow them to speed up service, and needed a way to do away with their paper receipts. The paper receipt system led to a lot of dropped orders, or orders that would come out at the wrong time. “We wanted to remove the paper trail,” said Laura. The receipts would “get dropped or get wet,” leading to lost orders and overall disorganization, and service suffered as a result.
The solution: Speeding up service with Revel’s KDS
Bahama Buck’s sought a cloud-based solution, but also needed a POS that would streamline the ordering process. They found Revel’s KDS - Kitchen Display System - enabled them to speed up orders while eliminating cumbersome paper receipts. According to the Bahama Buck’s finance team, the KDS “increased productivity by 17%.” Furthermore, the increased efficiency led to “a direct correlation to less wait times and higher average hourly sales.”
The preferred system from individual store to corporate operations
Laura finds that the individual franchise owners “prefer the Revel POS.” Aside from speeding up orders, owners enjoy Revel’s breadth of features. Revel’s enterprise-level reporting allows Bahama Buck’s to have a comprehensive overview of operations. “We can streamline everything under one system rather than having to pull from different systems,” said Laura. “The process of getting up and running” has been seamless as well. Laura noted that Revel has “a great team. I appreciate the install process. It’s nice having a team that understands our concept and is familiar with our process. Each time we add a new location with Revel, it gets easier and easier, and has really streamlined our operations.” Furthermore, if Bahama Buck’s ever experiences an issue or concern, the Revel support team is “really quick to respond.”
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