Counter staff guide

Your staff are the whole programme. A diner only collects a stamp because somebody at the counter mentioned it, and a reward only gets handed over because somebody said yes. This page is what that person needs to know, and it is written to be printed and left where they stand.

Reading this in Hindi is easier for most counter teams in India — the same page is at काउंटर स्टाफ गाइड (हिंदी).

The printed sheet has three blanks — your restaurant name, how many visits, and what they get. Write them in once on the printed copy and it is ready; nothing about the sheet is specific to one restaurant.

1. With the bill — say the card exists

Nobody taps a card they have not been told about. The opening line is the whole job:

We run a punch card here — a stamp on every visit. Six visits and the masala chai is free.

Point at the counter card as you say it. The reward and the count are printed on it, so the card backs up what your staff just said.

If they ask why bother, the answer is the reward itself — not the app. Free item, nothing to download, nothing to carry, and our deals reach their phone.

2. The tap, and what to do when it fails

Three rungs, top to bottom. Each one is only tried when the one above it does nothing.

1. "Hold your phone on the orange circle for 2–3 seconds." The back of the phone faces the card, and the end with the camera is the end that must meet the circle — that is where NFC sits on most phones. The customer holds their own phone; there is nothing to open first.
2. Nothing happened — "Switch NFC on in Settings, then try again." Android only. On an iPhone there is nothing to switch on, so go to step 3.
3. Still nothing — the counter code. "Scan the QR on my screen, sign in, and the code fills itself in."

The stamp lands on their screen, not yours — it says "Punched · 1 / 6". That is the only confirmation there is.

3. Where the code is

On your own screen: Menu → Check in, under Loyalty. The code and a QR are both on that page.

• Turn the screen around rather than reading it out. Their camera on that QR fills the box in for them; six digits read across a counter is the slow way.
• The code changes every minute, so "it says the code is wrong" almost always means they typed the one before. Show them the new one.
• Every staff member has their own code. Give the one on your own screen.
• If a tablet is left open on the counter, the code is already showing on it.

The customer needs to be signed in before the code box appears at all. If they would rather not sign in now, have them tap anyway — the tap is recorded and the stamp lands by itself the day they do.

4. Giving a reward

When the card is full, the customer opens the reward themselves and shows it to you. The order matters:

1. They open Rewards and press "Show staff" on the one they want.
2. You say yes — out loud, before anything is tapped. Check the name on it: that list holds rewards from other restaurants too.
3. Then "Use it now" is tapped — by them, or by you in front of them.
4. A green screen appears with the time and a reward number.

Nothing is spent until that button is tapped, which is why "not today, sorry" costs nothing — the reward stays exactly where it was. And the green screen is the proof: no green screen, no reward used.

After that, the app is finished and you are not. Handing over the free item, telling the kitchen, taking it off the bill — that is staff work. The app only records that the reward went through.

If it sticks