Task list manager for a fast food restaurant that would work with a hand-held device such as a Palm.

November 21, 2006 8:02 AM

I'm looking for a task list manager for a fast food restaurant that would work with a hand-held device such as a Palm.

I own two fast food restaurants and I'm interested in having a task list program that syncs between a PC and a hand-held device such as a Palm. My general idea is this.

- The restaurant manager creates the task list on a PC. The program needs to have an option to have some tasks repeated daily, some tasks repeated couple of days a week (such as every Thursday and Monday - it is important to be able to specify the weekdays, since weekends are different) and some tasks should be weekly or monthly. I also need to specify the hour of the day that the task can be completed since some tasks can only be completed after the restaurant closes.
- The manager should be able to add notes to the task to better explain how it should be completed.
- The tasks should be split into groups by location - such as kitchen area, service area, office, etc.
- The people on the floor then use the Palm device and check each item on the Palm as they are completed. It would be nice to be able to note along with each task who completes the task. As the task is completed, it should disappear from the list of the tasks remaining for the day.
- At the end of the day the Palm is synced with the PC, and the manager can see if all tasks were completed. If any of the weekly tasks were not completed, they should appear on the list the next day.

Now, is there such a program? Price is not a big issue. Bonus question: What hand-held device would be good for this? It would of course need to be fairly sturdy because the kitchen is a very active area.

posted by einarorn to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

In all honesty, I think you're investing too much effort. While I'm sure your employees are great, your average fast food worker won't know how to use the Palm, and you'll spend more time and money getting them trained to use it than it's worth. Also, there's the chance the Palm will be lost, damaged, stolen, or dropped in the fryer. I think creating the lists is great, but have the manager hand them out on paper, and make the employees initial it when tasks are completed. At shift end, manager takes 5 minutes to update the master schedule with completed chores. Disclaimer: I worked in fast food for several years, but only as a junior manager, not as an owner.
posted by cosmicbandito at 8:38 AM on November 21, 2006

Response by poster: Yeah, I understand your point.

However, my idea is mostly that the restaurant manager will handle the assignment of the tasks. One idea I had is that when he/she leaves he/she could sync the Palm and then print out the remaining task for those working the night shift.

Also, if we have everything on paper it's more difficult to collect, and it's harder to have detailed explanations for the tasks on hand.

I'd really like to give this a try, since the way we do it today isn't working so great :-)
posted by einarorn at 8:57 AM on November 21, 2006

I used to be a fast food manager, and it seems like you're trying to use technology to make up for poor training.

It sounds to me like you're trying to get a Palm Pilot to do your manager's jobs. If they aren't able to get the employees to do their jobs, what makes you think the Palm Pilot will be able to?

If your managers are having a problem remembering all the tasks that need to be done, a daily paper print out would be much cheaper, quicker to use, and be replaceable for a few cents (instead of a few hundred for a Palm Pilot).
posted by Sirius at 10:41 AM on November 21, 2006

Response by poster: Sirius, this is what we've been doing until now. I appreciate the comments, but I've been doing this for four years now, and I'd like to try a new approach. I'm not saying it will work, but I figure it's worth a shot.

Also, I figure that we really don't need a new Palm Pilot (my 5 year old Palm would work just fine for this), so we're not talking about hundreds of dollars.
posted by einarorn at 11:26 AM on November 21, 2006

I don't know if you can get it to do everything you want, but I've found ListPro by Iliumsoft to be a superb bit of software. It's available for Palm and PPC and I think they have a free 30 trail, so you can at least give it a go. Best thing I ever stuck on my PPC.

As for which device? I'd just look at the cheap, low end black and white models if anyone still makes them. Replace them as they die.
posted by markr at 12:13 AM on November 22, 2006