A calling system either transforms table service or gets switched off in a week[cite: 7]. The difference is almost always signal range and who carries the receiver[cite: 7]. This page shows you how to size it and the six mistakes that make staff ignore it[cite: 7].
Enter your numbers[cite: 7]. Results update as you type[cite: 7].
One receiver per server: shared pagers are the most common reason these systems get abandoned[cite: 7].
The headline product is rarely more than half the installed cost[cite: 7]. These are the parts that get left out of budgets[cite: 7].
One per table[cite: 7]. Battery powered, usually 2–3 years on a coin cell[cite: 7].
Wrist pager, handheld, or wall display[cite: 7]. Determines who actually gets the call[cite: 7].
Shows the calling table number to the whole floor team[cite: 7]. Useful even when staff carry pagers[cite: 7].
Extends coverage through concrete or across floors[cite: 7]. Most multi-room venues need at least one[cite: 7].
Separate keys for waiter, bill and water[cite: 7]. Reduces trips per table[cite: 7].
Kitchen signals that food is ready[cite: 7]. Often more valuable than the table buttons[cite: 7].
Escalation button for complaints and card problems[cite: 7].
Pagers that are not charged are pagers nobody carries[cite: 7].
The honest trade-offs[cite: 7].
| Consideration | Wall Display Only | Wrist Pager | Handheld Receiver | Display + Pager |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff must look up | Yes | No | No | No |
| Works when staff are in the kitchen | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Whole team sees the call | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Needs charging | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gets lost or left behind | No | Yes | Yes | Partly |
| Best for | Small open café | Fast service, large floor | Supervisor | Most restaurants |
| Relative cost | Lowest | Moderate | Moderate | Higher |
Walk the floor with a test transmitter. This is the only reliable way to know real range[cite: 7]. Test the furthest table, the far corner, and behind the kitchen wall[cite: 7].
Identify concrete and steel. Lift shafts, structural columns and steel mezzanines block signal locally[cite: 7]. A dead zone is usually a wall, not a fault[cite: 7].
Decide who carries a receiver. If nobody owns it, nobody carries it[cite: 7]. Assign per shift, with a charging dock at the pass[cite: 7].
Wall display sight lines. It must be visible from the service area and the pass, not only from the dining room[cite: 7].
Button mounting. Under-table fixing survives longer than a loose unit on the table[cite: 7]. Loose buttons walk out of the building[cite: 7].
Multi-floor needs repeaters. Wireless does not travel well between concrete floors[cite: 7]. Plan a repeater per floor or a receiver per floor[cite: 7].
Batteries in the call buttons last two to three years on typical use[cite: 7]. Across 30 tables that is a low but recurring cost, and a dead button looks like a system fault to staff[cite: 7].
Pager batteries need daily charging. This is an operational habit more than a cost, and it is the thing that quietly kills these systems — an uncharged pager is a pager left behind[cite: 7].
Button loss and damage. Loose table units get knocked, wet and occasionally taken[cite: 7]. Under-table mounting reduces this substantially and costs nothing extra[cite: 7].
No licence or subscription on standard wireless systems[cite: 7]. This is genuinely a one-time purchase[cite: 7].
The real cost is abandonment. A system with patchy coverage gets ignored within a fortnight, and the whole spend is wasted[cite: 7]. Range testing before purchase is the cheapest insurance available here[cite: 7].
Every one has cost a real project real money[cite: 7].
300 metres is an open-air figure[cite: 7]. Through concrete you will get 30–50 metres, and less between floors[cite: 7].
Do this: Walk the floor with a test transmitter before ordering[cite: 7]. We bring one to the survey[cite: 7].
Calls are missed whenever nobody is looking at the display — which is most of the time during service[cite: 7].
Do this: Display for floor awareness plus pagers so someone always knows[cite: 7].
A pager with no assigned holder ends the shift on a table, uncharged[cite: 7].
Do this: Assign per shift with a charging dock at the pass[cite: 7]. Make it part of shift handover[cite: 7].
They get knocked, spilled on, and occasionally leave with customers[cite: 7].
Do this: Under-table mounting[cite: 7]. Cheaper than replacing units and it looks tidier[cite: 7].
Most venues buy table buttons and forget the kitchen[cite: 7]. Food sitting under the lamp is a bigger service problem than a guest waiting to order[cite: 7].
Do this: Add a kitchen-ready caller[cite: 7]. It is often the higher-value half of the system[cite: 7].
Wireless does not cross concrete floors reliably[cite: 7]. Half the venue works and half does not[cite: 7].
Do this: Repeater per floor, or an independent receiver per floor[cite: 7].
Specifications, models and pricing sit on the product pages[cite: 7].
Rules we apply on every installation[cite: 7]. Share this with your installer[cite: 7].
Shared pagers go unanswered[cite: 7]. Each server wears their own[cite: 7].
Microwaves, refrigeration and steel shelving cut range sharply[cite: 7]. Test at the busiest hour[cite: 7].
Kitchen and runners should see calls without looking away from the pass[cite: 7].
Buttons move between tables[cite: 7]. Labels stop calls going to the wrong table[cite: 7].
Buttons run for months, then fail together[cite: 7]. A box of spares avoids a dead section on a Friday night[cite: 7].
Signal does not travel well through RCC slabs[cite: 7].
One button per table, and roughly one receiver per two floor staff plus at least one wall display[cite: 7]. A 30-table restaurant with 6 staff at peak typically needs 30 buttons, 3 pagers and 1–2 displays[cite: 7]. Use the calculator above and set the construction type honestly[cite: 7].
Advertised figures are open-air with line of sight[cite: 7]. In an open hall with light partitions expect 80–120 metres[cite: 7]. Through concrete walls, 30–50 metres[cite: 7]. Multi-floor or heavy concrete, 15–30 metres[cite: 7]. This gap is the single biggest reason calling systems get abandoned[cite: 7].
In an open hall, usually not[cite: 7]. With concrete walls and a mixed layout, at least one[cite: 7]. Across multiple floors, plan a repeater per floor or an independent receiver per floor — wireless does not travel reliably through concrete slabs[cite: 7].
Both[cite: 7]. A display alone means calls are missed whenever nobody is looking at it[cite: 7]. Pagers alone mean the team loses floor awareness and calls get double-served[cite: 7]. The combination is what actually gets used long-term[cite: 7].
Two to three years on typical restaurant use[cite: 7]. Across 30 tables that is a low recurring cost, but a dead button looks like a system fault to staff — so replace on a schedule rather than waiting for complaints[cite: 7].
Often it is the more valuable half of the system[cite: 7]. Food sitting under the heat lamp because nobody knew it was ready costs more in guest experience than a table waiting a minute to order[cite: 7]. Most venues buy table buttons and overlook this[cite: 7].
Because shared pagers get left on a counter[cite: 7]. The system only improves service when the person who can answer the call feels it on their wrist[cite: 7].
Yes, with a repeater on each additional floor[cite: 7]. RCC slabs block most of the signal[cite: 7].
Prices and figures as of September 2026[cite: 7]. Confirm with a quotation[cite: 7].
Free site survey across Dhaka and Chattogram[cite: 7]. Our engineers confirm the design before anything is quoted[cite: 7].