Pagers & paging systems have come a long was since their introduction, paging systems can now be found in use in many different industries. Restaurants are one of the most obvious applications, pagers however can be found in many offices, hospitals, hotels, retail outlets, spas and factories to name just a few.

The latest guest paging systems even incorporate table management systems enabling the hostess in a busy restaurant to inform the waiting guest of the estimated table wait time from information displayed on the base station, this ensures that the guest’s expectations are managed effectively at the time the pager is handed to them. If the restaurant already has a table reservation system many of the modern paging systems can be fully integrated in to these systems. New UHF frequency paging systems have a range of up to two miles so guests are not restricted to a confined waiting area, they can take advantage of all of the venues facilities comfortable knowing that they are contactable the moment their table is available.

Large offices & factories utilise paging systems to improve communication with their staff, software is available to install on any PC terminal enabling the user to send a message to the staff member’s pager directly from their PC. With a full directory listing available on the PC operation is simple with selection of the message recipient being by way of a drop down menu. PC paging systems can be used with up to 1,000 pagers, offering communication options to even large organisations.

Hospital waiting areas such as Accident & Emergency and Out Patient departments are now adopting pagers to inform their patients when they are needed for their appointment. This frees the patient to relax in the cafeteria or stroll outside, comfortable knowing that they will not miss their turn and will be summoned with the pager as soon as they are required. This is proving to be extremely popular with patients and health staff as it removes the congestion from waiting areas and relieves the stress felt by patients who can get frustrated being cooped up in busy waiting rooms.

Paging systems are also available for kitchen/waiter communication, wait staff have a small discrete vibrating pager attached to their belt or apron, in the kitchen there is a call panel numbered with each pager number and waiters name. Once the chef has food ready on the pass they press the appropriate pager number on the call panel and this signals the waiter by a small vibration that food is ready for collection for their assigned tables. If the serving staff has not collected the food within a predefined time the pager will automatically vibrate again. Once the waiter collects the food from the kitchen they press the button on the call panel next to their name and the paging is cancelled. Systems can even have an alpha numeric pager which the restaurant manager would carry and if a member of the wait staff has not collected their order from the kitchen after three calls an alert appears on the manager’s pager notifying them there is a problem.

Server call paging systems ensure efficient handling of orders and guarantee the prompt delivery of hot fresh food to the table. Using server paging staff numbers are kept to a minimum and in many cases the requirement to have runners delivering food can be eliminated saving the restaurant owner substantial wages bills.

With the wide variety of paging systems now available it’s not surprising that so many industries are using pagers to improve communication, operate more efficiently and in many instances save money as well.