With all of the dining options available to today’s consumers, restaurant owners need to use every technological advantage to draw and keep diners. Great food is important, but food is just part of an overall customer experience that includes speed, accuracy, and personalized service. One key technology that can help to accomplish those goals is the self-order kiosk. Let’s look at the benefits of adding kiosks to your technology profile.
- Increased Upselling and Larger Ticket Sizes
You can train your staff to upsell by asking the customer “Do you want to make that sandwich a combo?” or “Would you like to try New Item X today?” But odds are, they aren’t going to remember to ask those questions every time. With self-order kiosks, you never miss an opportunity to upsell, because the ordering process automatically includes multiple suggestions for customers to augment their orders. And the upselling prompts contribute to increased ticket sizes: kiosk checks tend to be higher than cashier orders by 15 to 30%.
- Enhanced Order Customization
One of the most important factors in customer satisfaction is the ability to get orders prepared exactly the way customers like it, whether that means extra toppings, additional cook time, or different side items. With self-order kiosks, customization has never been easier. The kiosk can display all menu information (including nutritional and dietary stats) and all customization options, so your counter staff doesn’t have to memorize every possible combination. Customers can also see how their customizations (substituting a salad for the fries, or adding more cheese) affect their ticket in real time, without having to wait until the order is complete.
- Improved Order Accuracy
Placing an order with an actual person is a bit like a game of “Telephone”: the more people involved in the transmission of a message, the more chances for errors to be introduced. With self-order kiosks, there’s no opportunity for things to be mis-heard or miscommunicated. Diners input and customize the orders themselves and can visually check the accuracy before completing the purchase, assured that they will be receiving exactly what they requested.
- Reduced Wait Times/Line-Busting
You want to make ordering as easy as possible for customers, and that includes reducing or eliminating long waits in line. By offering an additional path to purchase, self-order kiosks will break up the long lines that could deter potential diners and cost you business, especially during peak times. Research has shown that if the line to order from a cashier is longer than 5 people, 75% of customers would choose to order from a self-service kiosk instead, if available. And reducing lines and wait times also leads to higher throughput, increasing your revenue.
- Reduced Front-of-House Labor Costs
Despite what many people may think, self-order kiosks are meant to be used in addition to your front-of-house (FOH) staff, not to replace them. Some customers will still choose to order from traditional cashiers (who won’t feel as pressured to keep long lines moving), and someone should be available to assist with the kiosks as needed. However, you won’t need as many FOH people, and you can reassign some of them to the kitchen for more efficient prep of the increased number of orders that will be coming in.
If you haven’t yet implemented self-order kiosks as one of your paths to purchase, you may be losing customers to restaurants that have. SalesVu can help you upgrade your technology profile with a variety of POS solutions, including the OrderUp App, which can turn an iPad into a self-order kiosk. Schedule a demo today and see how kiosks can benefit your customers and your profits.
