The Future Is Here: 6 Restaurant Technologies to Invest in Now
With each passing year, new restaurant technologies emerge that promise to make your operations run faster, smoother, and more efficiently. There is, however, a sea change coming.
As restaurants have spent the last few years moving operations to the cloud and embracing the power of big data, operational improvements now need to be focused elsewhere. Namely, dining establishments need to provide guests with more options, create a more convenient experience for them, and accept that AI is here to stay.
If you’re unsure of what exactly that translates to, let’s look at the 6 hottest restaurant technologies your guests want and your restaurant needs.
1. 100% Self-Service
The CEO of Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, Ashley Morris, predicts:
“Self-service kiosks will become commonplace in 2018 and brands will place a greater emphasis on the experimental use of robots in both front and back of house to increase efficiency.”
But this isn’t the kind of self-service concept that’s dominated fast food and fast casual dining in the past. Restaurants are more and more making the move to 100% self-service automation. Part of this is to increase the convenience to customers and part of this is to decrease labor costs. As Morris elaborated:
“In the short term, brands that implement kiosks won’t see much labor improvement, as they will have to be supplemented by new roles to enhance customer experience. This will be a short-term step to educate consumers and will later result in labor reduction.”
2. Ahead-of-the-line Ordering
There are a number of ways in which technologies are going to open up the options for guests to obtain food from a restaurant. Technology that enables them to place orders digitally and, essentially, “cut in line” are going to become more prevalent.
As the President of Jersey Mike’s demonstrated, “We kicked off 2017 with an online promotion encouraging customers to go to the head of the line by placing their order in advance through the Jersey Mike’s mobile app or website. Momentum continued throughout the year, and online ordering sales are up 50 percent this year.”
If you don’t already have a mobile-friendly website or a dedicated mobile app for your restaurant to enable ordering ahead, you should do so now. Your guests want this added convenience.
3. Food Delivery Options
The CEO of Fazoli’s, Carl Howard, says that, “We are clearly moving into an on-demand and a stay-at-home economy, and you will have to provide every imaginable outlet for your guest to order your product and for guests to receive your product.”
The technology that will lead the way? Delivery management.
Not only will restaurateurs need to look at how to get food into the hands of in-home diners (hire a third-party service vs. hire in-house staff to handle it), but they will also need to consider smarter ways to execute those deliveries. This means being able to look at the larger picture in real time and make on-the-spot calls regarding delivery services.
You’ll want your delivery drivers to take the fastest route so the food shows up fresh, but you have to think about more than just the restaurant-to-guest part of the equation. You’ll also want delivery drivers to be able to group orders together in a way that maximizes efficiency. This will equate to serving the most amount of at-home diners correctly, quickly, and with the highest quality of food guaranteed.
This might be one of the more expensive technology investments you have to make this year, but it will pay off. The NPD Group says that around 50% of food purchased at restaurants is now eaten in the home.
4. Artificial Intelligence
The President and Co-Founder of Toast, Steve Fredette, made this bold prediction for 2018:
“You’ll see more robot restaurants opening in 2018 than last year. There will be a lot of Alexa food skills; one of the big chains will roll out automated voice ordering at the drive through…”
The “robot” (100% self-service) restaurant concept was already discussed above. But what about this suggestion that voice-controlled speakers will play a part in restaurant operations? Or that automated voice ordering will be integrated into the drive-through? Is there a possibility that these technologies mostly used in the home and for personal use will cross the divide?
For restaurants looking to cut costs, it would make sense to adopt AI technologies. For starters, voice-controlled speakers are reasonably priced, so why not give them a shot in the BOH? If they can streamline your kitchen’s workflow and help chefs make smarter decisions on the fly, then why not? Voice ordering in the drive-through will indeed require a larger investment, but may have a similar outcome as delivery technologies.
5. Facial Recognition
We’re not at the point yet where facial recognition scanners can recognize and greet guests immediately upon walking inside an establishment:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ITjsb22-EwQ?rel=0
However, with iPhones now using this technology to help users more quickly access their mobile devices (and to do so more securely), you can be certain this technology will become widespread very soon. In fact, Malibu Poke has already taken the leap in adding facial recognition to its self-service kiosks. Here is what Jon Alexis had to say about it:
“We’ve shaved 30 seconds off the experience already, and we’re also getting other data that we can use.”
While it might seem like a gimmick to some, there are clear benefits to the guests that want it: speed of service, convenience in ordering “the usual”, and a more personalized touch.
6. Customer Service and Feedback Software
And, of course, feedback software is increasingly an essential part of a restaurant’s network of technologies. With so much focus now being put on “How do we use technologies to directly enhance the guest experience”, you need a way to gather feedback — both the good and bad — on those technologies and quickly respond.
With the Pedanco customer service and feedback system, you’ll get a sense right away for how guests feel about the new technologies you’ve put before them (or haven’t yet put before them). You can then start having real conversations with them about the things that matter the most in their dining experience.
