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Restaurant CRM Demo Checklist: What to Test Before Buying

Run a structured restaurant CRM demonstration using fictional guests, visit outcomes, staff roles, segments and consent checks.

REZERVEM CRM · WITH MANAGER · Rezervem

What should you test during a restaurant CRM demo?

Ask the vendor to complete a real host-and-manager workflow rather than present a list of promised features. Rezervem CRM works with Rezervem Manager for guest context and reservation operations, while Rezervem Connect manages eligible WhatsApp campaigns. A useful demo should prove the handoff, the permissions and the limits of each product.

Set aside fictional records for a new guest, a returning guest and one who canceled a reservation. Use the same cases across vendors so the comparison stays fair.

1. Show the guest card from a reservation

Create a booking and locate the correct guest card. Check whether the host can read relevant past visits and current booking notes without opening several disconnected tools. Record whether the action is demonstrated, requires setup or is unsupported.

2. Distinguish visits, cancellations and no-shows

Create a canceled reservation and a completed visit with a verified arrival. Ask the team to explain why the two outcomes should not produce the same visit history. The demo must use actual workflow states, not just an attractive example chart.

3. Test one manual and one calculated classification

Assign a service label to the returning guest. Then inspect a calculated smart segment, if available for the configured account. Ask which source records power its membership and when the underlying data was refreshed.

4. Check POS data with a known transaction

Ask whether your POS vendor, software version and configured integration are supported. Show one linked visit and one transaction with no verified match. Do not accept a claim that every guest's spending is complete without evidence.

5. Compare permissions for two roles

Sign in as a host and then as a manager, using test accounts. Check who can edit notes, export lists and access records from another venue. Any requested cross-branch sharing should be verified against legal-entity boundaries.

6. Confirm campaign eligibility independently

Show a guest whose reservation can be confirmed but who is not approved to receive promotional messages. Explain how campaign eligibility, opt-outs and approved WhatsApp templates are checked in Rezervem Connect. A CRM profile should never bypass these controls.

Document the decision

For every scenario, mark 'demonstrated', 'needs configuration' or 'not supported'. Note training, integration dependencies, data migration and contractual terms. Ask for pricing in the actual proposal rather than relying on invented published amounts.

How Rezervem fits the demonstration

Rezervem Manager runs reservations and tables; CRM adds guest context; Connect is the messaging layer. A meeting request is an opportunity to review these workflows together, not a promise of an unrestricted self-service demo account.

Turn demo answers into decisions

Make the test outcomes measurable. For each step record the user role, the expected result, what actually appeared and whether the feature depends on a supported integration or account configuration. A convincing demonstration should include the edge case: a canceled booking, two similar guest names and a recipient who has opted out of marketing.

When comparing proposals, do not treat an automated-looking screen as proof that the venue's historical data is complete. Ask the vendor to show the source of a visit total and explain when smart-segment data was last calculated. A small, verified sample is more useful than a large dashboard with unexplained numbers.

Give the results to the future operator, not only the purchasing team. The host should understand the guest-card workflow, the manager should understand the permission model, and whoever manages campaigns should understand why CRM membership does not grant WhatsApp marketing consent.