Kanazawa's French Innovative Restaurant 'Installation Table ENSO L'asymetrie du calme' Introduces All-in-One Platform 'Respo' for Restaurants

Hello Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Yuki Hariguchi) is pleased to announce that 'Installation Table ENSO L'asymetrie du calme' (Location: Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture; Owner Chef: Makoto Doi), a French innovative restaurant that pursues a unique worldview in a space utilizing Hokuriku ingredients and a historic building, has introduced 'Respo', the all-in-one platform for restaurants provided by our company.

'Installation Table ENSO L'asymetrie du calme' is a restaurant that focuses on Hokuriku ingredients and the spatial beauty of a renovated dressmaking school, offering a 'memorable dining experience.' It is supported by a wide range of customers, mainly in their 40s and 50s, and has recently seen a surge in reservations from overseas, particularly Europe. However, it faced operational challenges such as collecting cancellation fees and managing seat availability due to the use of multiple reservation channels. By introducing Respo, the restaurant has strengthened its cancellation measures and achieved centralized reservation management, while also utilizing it as a 'customizable reservation management platform' that can reflect the store's unique operational rules.

Challenges Before Introducing 'Respo'

ENSO faced the following operational challenges:

Burden of Cancellation Handling

Many of the previously used reservation channels lacked a mechanism to collect cancellation fees or were designed to allow customers to cancel easily.

When cancellations occurred, there were frequent cases where the restaurant could not contact the customer or the customer hung up the phone.

As a result, the restaurant was chronically unable to collect the cancellation fees it should have.

Inefficiency of Reservation Management Due to Multiple Reservation Channels

The restaurant was forced to use multiple reservation channels and allocate seats for each channel.

This led to inefficient seat allocation, sometimes forcing the restaurant to turn away reservations that could have been accepted.

The need to navigate between different management screens for each channel was also a significant operational burden.

Main Features of 'Respo'

'Respo' is an all-in-one platform for restaurants provided by Hello Inc. It offers a reservation ledger, site controller, POS, payment terminal, and mobile ordering on a single platform, allowing flexible combination and introduction according to the size and type of restaurant.

What Respo Can Do

Reservation Ledger: Integrates with multiple reservation channels, eliminating the need for manual data entry for each channel.

Site Controller: Centrally manages inventory across the restaurant's own website and various channels.

POS/Payment Terminal: Completes accounting and payment with a single device, streamlining store operations.

Mobile Ordering: Enables customers to place orders from their smartphones or tablets, reducing dwell time.

Customer Information Management: Accumulates visit history, preferences, allergy information, etc., which can be used to enhance repeat customer service.

Effects of Introducing 'Respo'

Effect 1: Suppression of Cancellations and Elimination of Lost Opportunities Through Centralized Reservation Management

Respo's system of temporarily holding cancellation fees has fostered a sense of responsibility for reservations among customers, significantly reducing no-shows. In the event of a cancellation, the restaurant now has a system in place to reliably collect cancellation fees that were previously missed, protecting revenue opportunities.

Furthermore, by enabling centralized management of inventory and seat availability across multiple reservation channels, the constraints on maximum reservations allocated per channel have been eliminated, creating an environment that maximizes the number of reservations the restaurant can accept.

Effect 2: 'Customizable Reservation Management' Tailored to the Store's Unique Operations

ENSO has adopted a unique operational style that combines the paper ledger they wish to retain with Respo's web-based ledger. Since Respo allows the store to customize reservation statuses, they have implemented a color-coded system that reflects the store's own rules, such as setting a 'Content Confirming' status for responses to important questions like allergies. This has enabled an operation where the reservation status is instantly communicated to all staff members.

ENSO's reservation chart screen. Color-coded by status, reflecting the store's unique rules.

Effect 3: Deep Utilization of Customer Information to Support a 'Memorable Dining Experience'

ENSO, which offers a daily chef's choice course, makes thorough use of customer information notes to provide repeat customers with a different experience each time they visit. By recording all past course content, conversations, drinks, and pairing wines, and attaching photos, they achieve personalized hospitality based on each guest's visit history. Additionally, the temporary hold function for cancellation fees has contributed to brand recognition as 'a restaurant worth visiting even if you have to pay a reservation fee.'

Comments from the Representative of Installation Table ENSO L'asymetrie du calme

We received the following comments from the representative:

"I feel that we were able to design the 'value of visiting' through the reservation system. The temporary hold on cancellation fees, especially for overseas customers, seems to create a sense that 'this is a restaurant worth visiting even if you have to pay a reservation fee.' No-shows have also decreased significantly."

"I feel at ease because Respo provides proper responses. I am grateful that they respond to our requests little by little, and the support is thorough, which I think is a point I can recommend to others in the same industry."

Comments from Yuki Hariguchi, Representative Director of Hello Inc.

"Installation Table ENSO L'asymetrie du calme is a wonderful restaurant that pursues a unique worldview in Kanazawa, utilizing Hokuriku ingredients and a historic building. The words from ENSO, 'We were able to design the value of visiting through the reservation system,' seem to symbolize the future of the restaurant industry. We aim for Respo to be more than just a tool for efficiency; we want it to be a presence that grows alongside the worldview of our stores. At the same time, by strengthening multilingual support in our Dining business, we will support the creation of an environment where ENSO's appeal can reach beyond borders."

Introduction of Case Study Article

Details of this case are published on the Respo official website as an interview article with Installation Table ENSO L'asymetrie du calme. Please take a look.

▼ Case Study Article

'Reservation Management Supporting a 'Memorable Dining Experience': Why ENSO Chose Respo'

URL: https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp/cases/enso

What is Respo?

Respo is an all-in-one platform for restaurants provided by Hello Inc. By digitizing operations such as reservation management, order reception, accounting, and sales analysis, it streamlines restaurant management tasks and reduces costs.