As a restaurant owner, when you visit different restaurants in your community, I am sure you notice some small and some large technological changes. Some you may enjoy, while others may confuse or even frustrate you. Why are these technological advances even needed? Why can’t they just take your order and bring your food. Well, there are lots of reasons.
One of the most noticeable changes is the use of self-order kiosks in many QSR brands. Now, you may think that these are there to replace workers that the restaurant owner doesn’t want to pay. It’s a greedy move. If you saw the price tag on these things, you would know it’s not about being greedy. Most often, these have been brought in to address the challenge of finding people to work in restaurants. The hospitality industry has seen a large decrease in the availability of staff over the past decade, even before the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of that was due to the reputation of hard work for little pay, and not fun working environment, and in some cases, that was true. But I have worked with many restaurant owners who focused on providing a fun, positive culture environment, and truly understood that their teams are their greatest asset. So why would these owners put in these units? Quite simply – it is need.
These units do not necessarily mean that you will need less staff, either. With the combination of self-order, third party and drive-thru’s, owners find themselves busier and in need of more people to process the orders coming in. It’s a matter of using the technology to provide an overall enhanced experience for the Guests. Making sure that when they leave your restaurant, they leave feeling like they got what they came for and that they felt you appreciated that they spent their hard-earned dollars in your restaurant.
So, if they are ordering by themselves, paying by themselves and then picking it up by themselves, how do you do that? You make sure that you have people who are trained in providing high levels of Guest service at every possible interaction. The Smile, Eye Contact and Thank you’s are still a critical component of the service you provide. When the order is presented, make sure you are seeing the Guest and thanking them for coming. Invite them back with a simple and sincere “see you tomorrow”. The person cleaning your lobby should be an expert in creating connections with your Guests. Ask them about their meal, offer suggestions of featured items and make things right when the Guest mentions things were not to their liking. Service becomes an even greater importance with fewer personal touches in these systems.
That’s QSR. What about fast casual/full-service restaurants. Some of these same innovations are being utilized. Restaurants that understand the importance of being able to stay connected to their Guests, whether they are in the restaurant or at home, are taking advantage of the third-party delivery systems. They understand how to work these systems and are growing their sales as a result. But that requires an investment in systems and people. You need to do everything in your power to make sure that the experience the Guest has when ordering their favourite item at home is as close as possible to what they get when they are in the restaurant. Flavour, look and temperature. These are all things that Guests are still looking for. Ensuring your internal systems prioritize these orders properly and that someone is monitoring/managing them will be very important.
Now, what about when the Guest is in your restaurant. In the US, one of the biggest opportunities are the systems that allow your servers to take and close orders tableside. I say in the US, because in Canada, this has been part of the dining experience for many years. It was one of the hardest things for me to understand when I moved to the United States. Why would a restaurant owner not want to provide his servers with a system that would reduce their steps, reduce errors, process orders faster, suggest order enhancements, and grow topline sales, not to mention the server’s tips? It’s the fear of the unknown and the fear of cost versus reward. Unlike the self-order kiosks being used in QSR, these systems can be costly and involve possible downtime while you upgrade. You will also have some labour costs as you train your Teams to use the new system. But all of this is an investment in your business. It will allow you and your Teams to work smarter and not harder. It will also give them the time to make sure that your Guests have a positive overall experience in your restaurant. All that time spent waiting at a kiosk to place their orders, the return visits to the table to confirm items, and the time spent fixing the mistakes that were made, are now time that your servers have back to connect with your guests, provide them with things that will enhance their visit and ensure that they come back again!
Technology can be a little daunting, but to compete in today’s market, it is necessary. You need to explore and invest in the systems that make the most sense for your restaurant. Just make sure that you also create internal systems that focus on the overall Guest experience are still top of mind and important to everyone on your Team.
