We’ve written previously about the transformational impact kiosks have had in the QSR sector. But for dine-in restaurants, the love affair with self-service has been much more of a slow burn.
There are some very good and obvious reasons for this, of course. Dine-in and QSR operate in very different ways. Fast food is all about, well, speed. Self-service technology is a natural fit for creating seamless flows where customers walk in, place their orders and receive their meals as quickly as possible.
In dine-in restaurants, the service model is very different. Customers are seated at a table, and then service is brought to them. The table service model doesn’t sync as easily with self-service, unless you go down the route of consoles at every table. It’s a possibility some establishments are certainly exploring. But given the additional investment that requires, you have to be certain it’s going to return a sizeable cost benefit, whether that be a hike in average order values, increased throughput of customers, or both.
However, not every dine-in restaurant relies on ‘full’ table service. In many gastro-pubs, for example, customers are asked to go to the bar (or some designated ordering point) to place their orders. This improves efficiency by freeing staff to focus on food service.
It’s this kind of model where kiosks really do present an opportunity in the dine-in sector. If efficiency is the driving reason for separating ordering from table service, then the lesson from QSRs is that kiosks can make ordering even more efficient. And it promises several other benefits besides.
Less queues, more meals
Waiting sat at a table for a member of staff to come and take your order is one of the most common frustrations experienced by diners. The benefit of asking them to order at a specified point is that they can get up and do so whenever they want. But just as annoying as being kept waiting at their table is facing a long queue at the ordering point.
This is one of the most obvious proven benefits of kiosks in QSR. Self-service radically reduces queuing. For one, instead of having one staffed POS for taking orders in your restaurant, you might, space permitting, have two, three, four or however many kiosks make sense for the size of your establishment. Especially at peak times, having this extra ordering capacity will ensure your customers really can place their orders whenever they are ready, keep them happy by ensuring they get their meals quicker, and reduce table occupation times so you can serve more customers and increase takings.
Speaking of revenue boosts, another advantage of kiosks is their ability to increase average order values through more efficient, effective up- and cross-selling. Again, this has been comprehensively proven in the QSR sector. Unlike human cashiers, who might hesitate or forget to offer add-ons, kiosks recommend upgrades, combos, and complementary products without fail. And the psychology of a suggestion appearing on a screen somehow feels less pushy than being asked a direct question by another person, which makes customers more likely to accept. Kiosks are also able to draw on sales data to look at the combinations that are most popular, or A/B test recommendations to see which work the best, and therefore target and refine their suggestions.
One final benefit to consider is that self-service kiosks help to reduce mistakes with ordering. When orders are spoken to a member of staff and then either written down or tapped straight into a POS device, there are several opportunities for things to be misheard, misunderstood or misinterpreted. When a diner gets to input their order directly, and check it on screen to confirm, they’re more likely to get the meal they want without issues. This is particularly effective when it comes to customising meals for allergies, dietary restrictions or personal preferences.
