Setup and Use the Loyalty Feature in Hospitality

Description: This article covers the Hospitality Loyalty setup, configuration, and usage instructions. Specifically, the following topics are covered:

• Basic Concepts & Program Restrictions
• A Snapshot of Hospitality’s Loyalty
• Loyalty Setup: Enable the Loyalty Feature
• Built-In Loyalty Settings
• Earning Points & Configuring Rules
• Configuration of the Loyalty Rules & Points Earned
• Rules Evaluation Precedence
• Order Procedures
• Customer Enrollment in the Membership & Loyalty Program
• Points, Current Balance, and Available Offers

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Basic Concepts & Program Restrictions

Membership features may be enabled or disabled as needed. You may elect to use multiple programs simultaneously, and each customer may be a member of any active program.

Each customer has a unique ID: Each participating customer has a unique loyalty program ID, and after the customer has been enrolled in a program, the Harbortouch system will remember the association. If additional customer information is collected, the Harbortouch standard search functionality may be used to find the customer, even if the customer does not have their ID number.

The Relationship Between Rules, Offers, and Discounts: During setup, the rules for earning and spending points must be defined. Customers may earn points by purchasing items for which there is a rule. Customers spend points by accepting 'offers.' Offers are made according to rules associated with discounts. Offer acceptance always results in the application of a discount to the current ticket.

Restrictions: Any restrictions on the discount also apply. For example, if the discount is restricted to certain items or certain times of day, those restrictions also apply to any offer made by the loyalty system.  The loyalty program consists of the collection and redemption of points, there is no mass email or mass marketing programming with this functionality.

A Snapshot of Hospitality’s Loyalty

Important: Discounts must be set up in the Harbortouch system before rules can be configured in the Loyalty section. For best practices, Harbortouch recommends setting up Discounts before configuring any items in the Loyalty section.

Loyalty Setup: Enable the Loyalty Feature

To access the Loyalty configuration screen, select the Manager button and choose Advanced to enter the Advanced Setup screen. From here, select Loyalty. This will allow you to enable or disable the entire loyalty system by touching the checkbox labeled Use Loyalty Features.

Touching this checkbox will enable or disable the entire loyalty system at any time but will not change any saved settings within the program. This means the program can be turned on and off anytime without losing any saved information or stored points.

Built-In Loyalty Settings

To enable or disable any provider, locate the desired “membership provider” in the list of available providers in the top right of the screen. Built In Loyalty will typically be the only option shown here. Touch Active / Inactive label to toggle this setting.

Note: Hospitality only supports the built-in provider, so there will only ever be one option listed here. Generally, you would never need to set this to inactive, you would just turn off Loyalty altogether.

How to Enable 1-Point-per-Dollar Spent Rule

Press the Settings button under the Built-In Provider box.

In the Settings box that pops up, there will only be one option, select Treat 0 point earn rules as point per dollar. By selecting this option, you are telling the system that anything you assign a “0 point” value to will earn the point-per-dollar rate.

Note: This is not the same as an item that has NO points assigned. Therefore, you must physically assign 0-points to the item(s) to follow this rule.

Earning Points & Configuring Rules

Adding the Loyalty Earn Rules to the Items

Go to the Manager button from the order screen and navigate to Advanced > Loyalty. Here you can click Add for the item or items of your choice and assign points for each.

Configuration of the Loyalty Rules & Points Earned

‘Points’ are earned and spent through the application of ‘Rules,’ which must be created. ‘Earning Rules’ are associated with ‘Menu Items,’ ‘Item Groups,’ or ‘Revenue Classes.’ ‘Spending Rules’ are associated with ‘Discounts.’ By default, all Menu Items, Item Groups, Revenue Classes, and Discounts are shown.

For purposes of spending or redeeming points, remember to create appropriate discounts prior to assigning rules. Rules may be added and removed or they can be created and then made inactive; they do not need to be removed. Multiple rules can be added, removed, or assigned point values at one time.

For each possible rule, an item will appear in the list. If a rule does not exist, the item will have an ‘Add’ button and if a rule exists, the item will show a ‘Remove’ button. To show the rules associated with a type (Menu Item, Item Group, Revenue Class, or Discount), touch the corresponding button.

How to Search for a Menu Item

1. Begin typing the item name into the search box.
2. The list is filtered as the word is typed.

How to Clear the Search Filter to Show all Items

• Touch the X in the search box

How to Show Only Existing Rules

1. Toggle the button labeled Show Rules Only.
2. The list will show only those items with an associated rule.

How to Select or Deselect a Rule for Edit

• Touch the checkbox at the left edge of the rule

Important: If a rule is added or other actions are performed, the rule will automatically be selected.

How to Select Many Rules at Once

Select the checkboxes for the desired rules, or choose Select All Visible.

How to Add or Remove Many Rules at Once

1. Select multiple rules.
2. Choose Add Rules or Remove Rules.
3. Rules are added or removed for the selected items.
4. Check the box marked Assign no points when Adding Rules to set a standard point value, which will be assigned whenever a rule is added.

How to Clear the Selection

1. Choose Select None.
2. All rules will be deselected.

How to Assign Points to One or More Rules

1. Select the desired rules.
2. Touch one of the numeric buttons.

How to Assign a Non-Standard Point Amount

1. Select the desired rules.
2. Touch the pound sign (#) button and enter any value.

Rules Evaluation and Precedence

When computing earnings, the system evaluates the rules in precedence order. For example, if there are two Menu Items:

• Latte
• Special Mocha
• And one Item Group:
  • Coffee Drinks

It is decided that guests will earn 2 points for each Coffee Drink purchased. To do this, create a 2-point rule for the ‘Coffee Drinks’ item group. Any Menu Item which is a member of the ‘Coffee Drinks’ item group will now earn 2 points. Individual rules do not need to be created for each Menu Item.

Example: To promote the menu item ‘Special Mocha’ for a value of 3 points for each purchase, highlight Menu Items, touch the item Special Mocha and add a 3 point rule for that item. The rule for a menu item always takes precedence over a rule for an item group. Likewise, the rule for an item group always takes precedence over the rule for a revenue class. Evaluation precedence allows for broad rules to be applied across many menu items based on membership in an item group or revenue class, with exceptions for specific items.

Order Procedures 

Standard Order Entry Procedures

When computing earnings, the system evaluates the rules in precedence order. For example, if they are to use the membership features, follow a few simple steps:

Find the member

• Look up an existing customer by using the customer search function to find the customer according to name, loyalty ID, phone number, email, or other information saved on their profile.
• Enter member Loyalty ID; if necessary, enroll the customer into the loyalty program.
• If other identifying information is collected, such as a phone number or email address, the customer may participate in the program even if they do not have their membership number with them.

Engage in the normal order entry process

• If there are offers for the customer, accept the offers to apply the appropriate discounts.
• The customer can be associated with the guest check at any time during the order entry process.
  • A guest check can be re-opened and the association can be made at a later time if needed.
• During Order Entry, the membership and loyalty features are found primarily under the Order / Customer toggle located in the upper right of the screen.
• Customer features must be turned ON in order to access the membership functions; if the button does not appear, customer features have not been enabled.

How to Enable Customer Features

1. Login as a Manager and choose the Manager button at the top.
2. Select the System option on the bottom right of the Manager screen.
3. Select the Customers button inside the System settings.
4. Clear the checkbox labeled Turn off all Customer Features.

Customer Enrollment in the Membership & Loyalty Program

Each customer in the Harbortouch system may be enrolled in any available program. Favorites will be calculated for the customer as they return to the location on multiple visits. Sometimes no information about a guest may exist in the system other than their loyalty membership ID. In this case, a blank, or anonymous customer is created in the system, which can be filled with additional information at any time.

How to Enroll a Customer into a Program

To enroll a customer, search for an existing customer or create a new one. If the customer is shown in the list, tap them to view the details. Three tabs will appear at the bottom of the customer detail (Favorites, Offers, and Membership).

Touch the Membership tab and all active programs are shown. If the customer is already a member, the Membership ID is shown. Otherwise, the Add button allows the customer to be enrolled in the program. Touch Add next to the desired program and the built-in program will assign a new Member ID.

Points, Current Balance, and Available Offers

To view the program point balance and any available offers, select the Offers tab. If the provider has determined that offers are available, they are shown here.

Redeeming an Offer Using Available Points

1. Touch Accept Offer to accept any offer.
2. If the offer could apply to more than one item, the operator is prompted to choose a specific item.
3. Once applied to the ticket, the points are deducted from the customer’s Available Point Balance.

Void Redemption of a Redeemed Offer

1. To undo an offer acceptance, touch the item on the ticket.
2. Remove the discount or the entire item.
3. Once removed, the points will immediately be put back onto the customer’s profile.
4. The customer can choose to either redeem them on other options available or save them.

Since offers are associated with a discount, the normal discount restrictions apply.

• For example, if the discount only applies to appetizers or only at certain times of the week, then the offer may not appear, or the offer may require qualifying items to be placed onto the ticket first.
• Some discounts can be created to be used as loyalty offers such as “$5.00 off total check.”

Point balances will only be deducted and/or accrued when the ticket is finally closed.