Another Vista Mar unit follows suit….

You just can’t keep “a good idea down.”   This has proven the case at Vista Mar where gEye continues to “carry its weight”.

Unit owners continue to converse among themselves about high energy bills and how to manage them.   GeckoTech’s gEye energy conservation system is always one of the “hot topics”.  New unit owners are not waiting for the ICE rates to bite them.    As is the case in GeckoTech’s newest gEye subscriber, Unit 4D.  This unit owner has heard the horror stories about $2,000 electric bills with nominal occupancy.  He has also heard wonderful things about gEye:  How it reduces energy consumption.  How it allows remote monitoring of thermostats, doors and occupancy via the web.   etc…    Needless to say, the new owner of Vista Mar 4D is now able to relax knowing his gEye system is keeping a vigil on air conditioning units and ensuring his guests do not abuse their rights to enjoy them.

Side Street.. A promising bistro and gPOS user

The wonderful thing about having successful customers?   They grow, prosper, and become repeat customers for new venues and business.   Such is the case with Danny Clark.  Owner of Graffiti.  Unequivocally Jaco’s trendiest and tastiest dining spot.   Well we are expecting Danny to “hit another homerun” with his latest venue “Side Street Bistro”.   Side Street is purportedly a great sandwich spot.  And I hope so as I love a great sandwich.  At any rate, Danny recognizes that one should “stick with what works”.   And in this case it is relationship with GeckoTech and his reliance on GeckoTech to deliver and support technology to streamline his operations and make him even more competitive than he might already be.  To this end, GeckoTech has been asked to recommission a 2 terminal, 3 printer gPOS system for the property.   We are excited to do so, and expect that with Danny’s continued success will be the addition of other GeckoTech Technology amenities to improve the diner’s overall experience. Such as gLoyalty for branding and rewarding those frequent diners..  Or gStream to allow real time streaming of restaurant activity to the Side Street Web Site.   Well, the list goes on and on.

High End PTZ to monitor Los Amigos ingress/egress

Los Amigos, like all popular restaurants, is a bastion for thieves “looking for a an easy target.”   The original patio area was surveilled by a single fixed view camera that was not capable of covering the dining area as well as detailed imagery of entrance.   So owner Chris Mandel asked GeckoTech to add yet another camera to his Milestone System.   The new camera being a PTZ with low lumens capability and one that could be controlled by the Milestone operator to change pan, tilt or zoom…    After collected detailed user requirements (what did owner Chris Mandel hope to achieve with this new camera/view) GeckoTech selected a high end Toshiba PTZ with a 180′ Panning FoV.   Now the property has imagery capable of providing irrefutable ID of all people entering the property through the main gate.   Thus continuing to prove that Los Amigos is one of the safest (least # of incidence) to dine out.

BeachClub (aka JacoBlu) adds more gPOS tablet licenses

JacoBlu’s phenomenal success as a local beach club for “out of towners” (specifically folks from SJO) has led to a requirement for more POS terminals to facilitate order taking.   Wait staff our able to roam the property freely with various BYOD (bring your own device) tablets that JacoBlu’s management team sourced independently.    The BYOD concept of gPOS helps customers keep upfront deployment costs to a minimum.. BeachClub’s clients now experience a much better level of customer service in that orders are expedited.   Waiters are able to take order on the beach, the order is printed at the bar/kitchen printers.   Items are prepared and ready before the waiter even  returns to the prep area to pick up items.   This is truly “win win”.   Sales have improved as has customer satisfaction.

Flutterby Hostel deploys gPOS/PRMS for its hostel operations

Kim and Pam, owners of Flutterby, have managed a thriving hostel in Uvita.   Aggressive web presence and online booking services ensured their hostel’s beds and dorm rooms were always filled.  In Q4 of 2013, the two decided to add food and beverage operations to the hostel to allow them to capture this extra revenue stream that would have otherwise been lost to other local businesses.  Because of GeckoTech’s presence in Uvita and GeckoTech’s reputation the sisters decided to “give us a call”.   gPOS stood up to all challenges the sisters throw at it during the demonstration and within a matter of days decided to move forward with gPOS because of its capability as well as GeckoTech’s support reputation.   Flutterby House uses a single laptop for the reception area (hostel bookings and folio management) and a “BYOD” (bring your own device) tablet for the restaurant’s order taking.   The beauty of the integrated gPOS system is that hostel guests can transfer the restaurant/bar charges to their “bed” folio..  Similar to transferring a restaurant charge to your hotel room. The overall gPOS implementation has been so well received, the hostel has decided to integrate GeckoTech’s gPOS to its CheckFront web service (online booking service).   This integration is expected to be complete sometime in Q2 of 2014.

HD Set Top box integration for Los Amigos distributed video

Technology changes at an alarming rate,  and to be competitive in the hospitality industry you must stay on the bleeding edge.     Such is the case with Los Amigos’ video distribution system.   During the original deployment of an “easily controlled” video distribution in the Los Amigos Sports Bar, GeckoTech used CATV cabling infrastructure and Composite video injectors to send the multitude of “on demand content servers” to any number of the sports bar’s TVs.   This solution has served Los Amigos well for the past 6 years…..  But all good things must come to an end.  Or must they?  Can’t we simply make a good thing better?  In this case yes.   Los Amigos upped its Cable Tica subscription to use High Definition Set Top boxes.   This allows a better experience for the customer on “fight night”.   However the HD Set Top boxes posed an integration issue as compared to the legacy video distribution technology.   No worries.  GeckoTech to the rescue.   GeckoTech engineered a hybrid solution that allowed limited distribution of high def content without disrupting the distribution of legacy content/services.

Poseidon takes aim at easier control of SkyLounge TVs

The problem is as old as time itself.   Countless TVs, countless sources of content, countless remotes.   And no one who knows how to operate them all!!   That is why Tim Odom, owner of Hotel Poseidon, decided to call in the “big guns” to help unify his control points for the 7 TVs he recently installed in his Sky Lounge Sports Bar.  Step in GeckoTech.   We designed a system that used commercial off the shelf components to redistribute HD video over CAT5 cables to each of the TVs.   The key components were a video switcher and a URC KP900.   These two components will allow the most naive wait staff to push any content to any TV in the SkyLounge or Poseidon Restaurant.  Gone are the days of the 10PM calls to Tim’s house asking “how do I get ESPN2 on the TV4?”.    Life only gets easier with GeckoTech

RoadHouse opens Coffe Shop in Uvita. Exploits gPOS system

Bob Swanson learned a long time ago that it is a safer to “Call in the pros” than to try and build your POS.   This was also the case for Bob’s newest venture “The Road House Coffee Shop”.  Bob turned to the experts at GeckoTech to help him with his second POS system deployment in Costa Rica..    “RaodHouse is a spectacular little sandwich shop off the caratera in Uvita.  Bob’s past experience with GeckoTech, “do as you say and say as you do”, made it an easy decision to “go with GeckoTech” again for his new coffee shop.   GeckoTech helped Bob deploy a single SeePoint terminal running gPOS as both a server and terminal.   A single rcpt/command printer serves the small operation quite well.  We believe that Bob’s delicious sandwiches will turn the town upside down, and he will need to increase his restaurant floor-space and eventually require more terminals to support the increased revenue.   Good luck Bob, and thanks for being a valued repeat customer!!

Arigato Sushi leverages GeckoPOS for its restaurant operations

Arigato, undoubtedly Jaco’s most popular “Casual Sushi” restaurant has decide to take the technology leap. In early October of 2013, Rudy (owner/operator) visited GeckoTech’s office for a first hand demonstration after hearing how other local successful restaurants had benefited from GeckoTech’s gPOS software. After a brief demo of the system itself and a more detailed discussion of the necessity of support Rudy had pretty much made up his mind that the benefits and ROI would be quickly realized with the effective deployment of GeckoTech’s gPOS. Arigato purchased a two terminal license. One license for the fixed-bar-terminal order taking, and the 2nd license as a mobile license for a portable tablet to support table side order entry. Two command printers: one for the kitchen and one for the sushi prep area, while the Bar Terminal’s receipt printer will serve as both receipt and bar-command printer. Saling has been smooth since the installation, and the owners are able to run reports from home at their leisure. Ahhh…. the wonders of the internet and a smoothly running business!!

JacoBeachBar (aka The Point) installs gPOS

The Point is a great little restaurant/bar right on the beach..  It seats only 40 people so you gotta get their early if you want a “good view” of the sunset.   Location makes The Point a great gathering location for both locals and tourists alike.   The result?  A busy bar in desperate need of a Point of Sale system that would eliminate guest/waiter confusion and improve the overall customer experience.   Voila….   gPOS!!   The Point, like so many of GeckoTech’s current customers opted to take advantage of the “bring your own device” concept and hence sourced its own Asus 10″ android tablet.   This saved them a significant amount in upfront costs, while ensuring a more robust (and if necessary, easier to replace) POS terminal for the waitstaff.   Since the deployment of gPOS, the restaurant’s accountability has improved immensely.   The owner’s Tod and Tatiana are able to see sales real time, as well as spot trends on items and “days of week”.    It is hoped the savings in operational overhead (as afforded by gPOS) will generate a funding source for their gStream project/requirement slated in 2014.