Looking out for each other

[u/Guitar-String]

[u/bobbymoonshine]

John Denny needs to learn SQL

[u/downtownclowns → u/bobbymoonshine]

I wonder if they really have views storing every single franchise transaction right now. Call me crazy but I have my doubts about corporate Denny’s data architecture.

[u/fkdjgfkldjgodfigj → u/downtownclowns]

It's common practice to have some system that stores all the receipts history, that is how business deal with returns or refunds.

[u/Aeseld → u/fkdjgfkldjgodfigj]

Depends on the company structure really. Frankly, because it's a franchise, Denny's is notably less likely to have something like that. Each franchisee likely has their own records, but there's a good chance corporate only gets the totals.

[u/fkdjgfkldjgodfigj → u/Aeseld]

Why would each restaurant have different software, surely the Dennys company can provide register software, same as any store or business can.

[u/ManaSpike → u/fkdjgfkldjgodfigj]

If you're running a restaurant, you need to process payments with as little dependency as possible.

"I'm sorry I can't process this payment because HQ's internet is down". Yeah, no.

Maybe they could upload the full history every day. But probably not. HQ probably doesn't care that much, and wouldn't use that data for anything.

A monthly aggregate of products bought / sold would be plenty. Though even for a franchise, that's more data than they'd use.

[u/sarcazm → u/ManaSpike]

Ill just confirm right now that Dennys corporate has access to all tickets. Out of the 1400-1500 dennys restaurants in the US, only around 20 have their own proprietary registers.

Source: Used to work on their digital marketing team and worked closely with their IT team. I have had them pull many tickets. They also have snowflake and could locate this ticket if its a priority.

[u/fkdjgfkldjgodfigj → u/ManaSpike]

I don't know about Dennys specifically but every store I've been to has had the ability to look at past transactions. https://www.reddit.com/r/McLounge/s/J4qigjJX90

[u/AzKondor → u/fkdjgfkldjgodfigj]

Yeah, every store have access to its transactions. Not hq having access to every possible franchisee data.

[u/Aeseld → u/fkdjgfkldjgodfigj]

Store by store, yes. But is it uploaded to a centralized data base? Often no. 

[u/danius353 → u/ManaSpike]

HQ would want to know product combinations well w.g. which sides went with which mains

[u/TheMauveHand → u/fkdjgfkldjgodfigj]

Who said different software?

[u/Aeseld → u/fkdjgfkldjgodfigj]

Because running a linked infrastructure like that costs money. It makes sense for some businesses. Big retailers, grocery chains, that combined information pile has logistics implications. Routing and ordering optimization.

Franchise businesses on the other hand are more like semi independent restaurants that share a menu and theme. The operations aren't connected all that strongly. Central warehouses and supply hubs aren't always a thing. 

Basically, it's a cost that doesn't add enough value to matter for franchise restaurants. If the restaurant fails, the main business is only minimally affected.