The Rise of Kiosks in Restaurants
If you have been out to eat at all recently, you most likely have come across a self-service kiosk. Restaurants such as Olive Garden, Panera Bread, and even McDonalds have started to implement these kiosks as a way to provide a better customer experience and streamline the ordering and bill payment process. Self-service kiosks are an investment that will benefit your restaurant in many ways.
Self-service kiosks are used in a multitude of ways within the hospitality industry. One of the most notable ways is automating the ordering process. A customer approaches the kiosk, enters their order information, pays and waits for order completion. When you dine at an Olive Garden, you may notice a small kiosk atop the table. These are used to automate the bill payment process, which is great for both the wait-staff and the customer. Other uses of kiosks involve order pickup, upselling, and surveys.
Customer Service
Self-service kiosks have the potential to provide a better level of service to your customer base. These types of ordering platforms, similar to mobile ordering, are ideal for customers who do not enjoy stranger interaction but are also appealing to customers who do. Using kiosks also has the ability to lower the overall order time for a customer by reducing the service time involved in face-to-face interactions.
It is also generally more feasible for a restaurant to have a greater number of kiosks available for customer use than to employ the same amount of cashiers. This simple fact can lead to shorter wait times and line lengths. With the ability to include automatic surveys into kiosk interfaces, your restaurant is more likely to receive consistent feedback and therefore be equipped to improve your processes.
ROI & Analytics
One value of a self-service kiosk is the potential to provide the customer with upsell opportunities. The trick to successfully landing multiple upsells during operation is consistency; consistency in what is being offered, to whom, and how often. With human cashiers, there is a more likely chance for upsell opportunities to be missed, glanced over, or easily rejected. Kiosks provide a restaurant owner the chance to consistently and continually offer to upsell items to their customers when ordering. Studies have shown that a lack of human interaction will give the customer more confidence to order additional items.
Customer facing kiosks also will provide your restaurant with the ability to track your customer analytics and insights more accurately and precisely. Insights such as the most chosen add-on, and what items they should promote on the front page are all easily gained when you have an automated way of tracking how customers order their food. There is also potential to connect kiosks with an inventory system to aid in automatic alerts of low inventory.
Accuracy & Customer Experience
One of the most satisfying results of a customer-facing kiosk in your restaurant is the potential for better accuracy in the ordering process. By eliminating a middle-man between the customer and their order, you are clearing your restaurant of the possibility of remaking dishes and therefore losing profits.
The customer experience in your establishment can also be improved thanks to the use of kiosks. Freeing up your customer-facing staff to focus on hospitality will provide a friendlier and more helpful atmosphere for your customer base as well as cutting time spent in the restaurant and potential order errors.
Different types of kiosks are great ways to start introducing technology and more versatility into your fast-casual or even sit-down restaurant. There are many ways that this simple upgrade will help your restaurant run better and your customers enjoy their experience more.
