Embracing The Cashless Revolution.
When a global technology company wanted to improve the customer traffic flow at the café on its Austin, Texas campus, it turned to Compass Digital Labs to redesign the space and infuse it with user-friendly technologies that help give employees more time to enjoy their lunch
The café now features centrally located, optimally placed kiosks which helps move the company’s 1,000-plus employee population quickly and easily through the order-and-payment process and into the comfortable seating area. This new system allows customers to get their food faster and, in turn, make room for others ready to enjoy their meals.
User Experience (UX) Design, is a design discipline that focuses on creating products and services that are useful, relevant and meaningful to the end-user. It puts the user, their needs, and the context in which they use our products and services front and center in the design process. This change in focus doesn’t mean that business and technical requirements don’t exist. They certainly do. It is that these restrictions are considered in the context of how they affect the user.
The 5 order-and-pay kiosks enable customers to make informed menu selections made to their specifications without stopping at each station to read the menu boards. Strategically placed order status screens keep customers informed about when their orders will be ready, which eliminates long lines in the pickup area. And out of the main traffic flow, kiosks with weigh-and-pay scales let customers quickly prepare their orders, pay and exit the cafe.
Just weeks after implementation, the new café layout and supporting technologies are already making a measurable impact on customer satisfaction and the café’s bottom line:
This setup enhances the customer experience in a few key ways. First, it removes the second transaction from the ordering equation, since payment is received at the time of order. This creates a more efficient customer experience with less time in line. Secondly, operators are able to focus on preparing great, fresh food without having to stop and take orders. This ensures that guests receive their food quickly and correctly, and operators are able to recognize station efficiency with a renewed focus on production. Lastly, café ambassadors are able to roam the cafes and ensure quality experiences, rather than being positioned at a cash register. Not only does this add value to the guest experience, but it also offers potential labor savings for the operation.
With any new technology, there will be a learning curve for customers. Compass Digital Labs takes a human-centric approach to all aspects of technology rollouts and seeks to make that transition as smooth as possible for both customer and client. We look at the technology journey through our customer’s eyes to ensure that we’re providing the best possible experience.
