Self Service Kiosks is on the Rise in Singapore’s Restaurants
Is your restaurant ready to incorporate self-service kiosks?
Self-service kiosks were once a thing of science fiction. People were unwilling to trade a human experience for that of a machine when being greeted at a restaurant. However, these days, with everyone having smartphones, personal computers and using e-payments, it’s become more convenient and efficient to interact with self-service kiosks than staff. In Singapore, especially, which is consistently ranked as a top technological city in Asia by Google, there is little doubt that the self-service kiosk’s implementation is on the up.
Singapore’s Lack of F&B Staff
Singapore’s fast food industry is facing a shortage of manpower, which has led to outlets like “Yoshinoya, McDonald’s and BurgerUp in adopting self-ordering kiosks.” Dickson Low, Popeyes Singapore’s group chief operating officer, said, “We used to have three cash registers at the outlet, but we were able to hire only up to two people to man them due to the tight labor market. This led to long queues and frustrated customers.” After implementing a self-service kiosk system, Popeyes saw“a 10 percent to 15 percent increase in sales.”
Benefits to Restaurants
Self-service kiosks do not necessarily require a hefty up-front investment, and will certainly be beneficial in the long run. Given that customers can visually browse through the menu, add combos and modifiers, place their orders and then even pay for everything from one single location means that restaurants can save on staff costs. The reduced number of staff required to run operations with a self-service kiosk present means that the investment in a self-service kiosk will pay for itself quickly. Not only that but the reduction in human errors when order-taking will help boost turnover and increase business.
Benefits to Customers
Customers benefit from faster experience in general. Given how used to interacting with screens and technology the average consumer is -especially in a metropolitan hub like Singapore- there is a minimal learning curve. The ability to easily see all menu items and have a visual representation of how much the cost is, also creates a smoother experience for the customer. Finally, integrated payments mean that customers can complete every stage of the ordering process rapidly, even by using locally-preferred payment methods. The addition of multiple languages is also an advantage as kiosks can be equipped with the most relevant languages in Singapore.
How are POS systems part of the equation?
Well, a self-service kiosk system still needs a POS system of some type to keep track of sales data, be it in one restaurant or across multiple locations. The best POS systems will be able to communicate and share data directly with your self-service kiosks and even be able to change their menus instantly. Inventory tracking and plenty of back-office tasks still require a POS, so why not find a system that can integrate a robust POS system with the convenience of a self-service kiosk?
