Three rescue tiers. A handful of guest-loved plays.
SmartServe escalates carefully. Soft nudges first, real discounts last. The goal is not to clear the case — it's to clear the right items, to the right guest, at the right hour.
Trigger 2× app loyalty points on the item. Encourages natural afternoon discovery without training guests to wait for discounts.
POS prompt: 'Add a warm Banana Bread to your drip coffee for $2.' Pairs surplus with the highest-traffic SKU of the afternoon.
Push app-only flash discount to neighborhood users within a 1-mile radius. Time-boxed to the last 90 minutes of the day.
Guest-facing plays
Between 2 PM and close, present a valid student ID for 20% off any pastry surfaced by the rescue engine. Brings in the 2:30 PM study crowd, moves real units, builds long-term loyalty before they're earning a salary.
A curated $6 tasting flight: three half-portions of items the engine flagged at Tier 2 or 3. Guests get to try the Bear Claw, a White Chocolate Raspberry scone, and a Banana Bread slice — three things they'd never order alone. Café keeps margin instead of writing off three units.
Sandwiches, parfaits, burritos: SmartServe flags these as modular and tells staff to hold components and assemble on demand after 2 PM. Protects raw ingredients with longer shelf life and stops finished-good waste at the source.
Tier 2 items appear as a single-tap suggestion on the cashier screen tied to the most popular drink of that hour — 'Add a Twist to that latte?' — no decision fatigue for the barista.
Tier 3 only. The app sends a 25%-off, 60-minute notification to opted-in users within walking distance. We do NOT push to the full base — that would erode full-price behavior.
Anything still flagged at close goes to a $4 community bag program or a partnered local shelter. Final stop, not first resort.