FESmag

Introducing technology in the front of the house is tricky, as we should consider more than cost and efficiency factors. Guest reaction to these changes is a key component in their success or failure. When we change a grill or a fryer in the back of the house, guests are not even aware of the changes. But if you change the methods of ordering, you directly impact the guest’s experience.

My preference is to focus first on the opportunities that have little or no impact on the experience, where there is no negative trade-off to the benefit. Portable credit card readers fit this category as the patron never interacts with the technology while enjoying the benefit. Off-site drive-thru ordering fits the same criteria. The customer arriving at the order point is not even aware that the order-taker is not in the store, or at least we would hope nothing makes them aware of this.

When it is time to tackle the opportunities that directly impact the guest, extensive testing is critical to avoid a negative impact on sales. The benefits are significant, but perception by customers can make results disappointing. Self-ordering/cashiering and portable order taking at the customer's table fit this category.

While the most advanced technologies and processes seem very attractive, other, less glamorous, options may be the best solution. If you operate a casual- or family-dining facility, does it make sense to go to portable order taking and credit card machines? Or do you dramatically change the process to semi-serve with guests ordering at a register, paying, or leaving a credit card open and sitting at their tables until food comes?

Can we really call the concept “full service” when it takes a customer five minutes to find a server, and 10 minutes for them to return with a glass of water when in that time you would have preferred to get it yourself from a self-serve beverage station? I remember costly experiments in automating the pouring of beverages and then the self-serve beverage station became the QSR standard operating procedure.

One final consideration is that once a concept makes an investment, the operation not only needs to execute it but also operate at the higher standard of performance. Many times, I have seen new technology rolled out only to have customers indicate “it made no difference to my labor costs," or "guests did not notice a difference." This tends to be the case when operators did not change the ways they conduct their business. An implementation plan needs to be in place beforehand as well as the expectation that a higher level of performance will become the new standard.

Technology continues to enable improvements in food quality, labor productivity and guest experience. We need to move rapidly to test the options that show promise, roll-out those technologies that test well and ensure that operations leverage the benefits once implemented.