Quick-Service Restaurant (QSR) leaders reading this know that the labor crisis in their sector is no longer a temporary challenge, but a permanent challenge to their operating conditions.
With 83% of restaurant operators still unable to fill essential QSR roles and nearly half (45%) reporting they’re understaffed, unable to fill consumer demand, these businesses, which are no less popular, are being forced to adapt.
And while restaurants are dealing with this staffing crisis, on the other side of the counter, diners still want fast food, and they want it quickly, accurately, and to enjoy a great experience while ordering, too.
Smart kiosk technology has proven to help QSRs achieve this. A smart, scalable solution, kiosks combat rising labor costs while helping to meet evolving guest expectations.
Here, we’ll explore how kiosks are helping QSRs combat deep-rooted operational inefficiencies while, at the same time, enhancing customer service.
QSR operators across the US are facing a perfect storm of economic pressures. Rising wages mean more is spent on staff, and the staff themselves are far more transient, with many likely to move on quickly, with far less loyalty to their employer.
Entry-level positions in fast food have never been harder to fill and then retain for a reasonable period, either. As well as higher hourly pay expectations, the competition for similarly paid jobs that offer greater flexibility and freedom has arisen in the last 10 years or so (Amazon warehouse work or delivery drivers are just two examples), which has seen potential staff pick jobs more suited to their personal lives.
Once hired, the cost of induction and training has ballooned, too. Recruitment fees have grown, as have the costs of bringing new employees up to speed so that they can make an impact from day one. Then, if and when that employee leaves, QSRs have to invest that money to find a replacement all over again.
A lack of staff on the ground creates clear operational frictions. Fundamentally, fewer staff means orders take longer to be received and then to be processed. And with fewer staff having to deal with greater responsibilities, stress increases, leading to mistakes and more dissatisfied customers. All of which leads to lost revenue, ingrained operational problems and eventually, dissatisfied customers.
In a modern QSR setting, a reliance on front-of-house staff is no longer sustainable, and there is a greater need to reduce the responsibility on existing staff without sacrificing the customer experience.
Self-service kiosks are proving to help alleviate this pressure.
Self-service kiosks have helped turn inefficient QSRs into high-performing revenue generators and have become just as essential as the grills and the point-of-sale systems.
Today’s customers, used to ordering on screens in their hands, now actively seek out self-service kiosks, with the autonomy and speed of self-service proving appealing, especially to younger demographics who expect digital-first interactions.
As well as appealing to customers' preferred way of ordering, kiosks have broken the dependency on limited front-line staff by allowing guests to make their own orders without sacrificing the quality of customer service.
With kiosks offering a familiar customer experience, staff are no longer facing long queues of disgruntled guests and can instead be allocated elsewhere.
It’s clear that when kiosks are available and used, they deliver measurable results both for customer throughput and the average order value. Self-service kiosks have quickly become a business necessity for forward-looking QSRs who want to survive in the current labor market.
Kiosks directly reduce the pressure on staff by moving the responsibility of the ordering process from them to the customers. With customers happily making their own orders (and, on average, spending more while at the kiosks), employees can focus on higher-value interactions that add to the customer experience.
Whether that's as simple as keeping areas clean and inviting, to having the time to deal with more complex requests from less tech-savvy customers.
Ultimately, the old-fashioned ordering process was just about getting customers' orders in. They weren’t outstanding experiences in the first place, so removing them doesn't take away from a QSR. It adds to it.
This shift in what employees do day-to-day improves labor efficiency and keeps teams happy because they’re not dealing with disgruntled customers or carrying out repetitive tasks. Their roles become far more proactive, allowing them to express themselves more to the benefit of the brand alongside dynamic digital signage, which can promote real-time offers.
Something often overlooked is that during peak times, kiosks allow orders to be processed simultaneously rather than sequentially, meaning that not only can more customers be served at the same time without headcount, but kitchen staff can complete more orders by batching items.
And those simultaneous orders are more accurate, too. With customers inputting their orders, some of which are more complex or require greater customisation, staff aren’t wasting food by having to redo incorrect orders or increasing friction at pick up by having to double check orders.
Finally, kiosks unlock more consistent upselling opportunities with customers having more time to consider prompts like ‘Make it a meal for $4’ or ‘Add a dessert for $2’. They’re also more likely to indulge or explore add-ons when ordering privately, without the social pressures associated with face-to-face ordering.
QSR operators tasked with embracing digital tech too often believe that all kiosks are the same, with off-the-shelf solutions being seen as ‘just as good’ as tech that’s perceived as ‘too expensive’.
Smart kiosk solutions are designed to align with a QSR’s unique operations, whether they need the new estate to sync with a kitchen display system (KDS) or adapt to a limited floor space. Unlike a $500 investment in standard tablets on a counter, bespoke self-service units include remote telemetry and often come with comprehensive support packages that maximize uptime, essential when you consider every minute a kiosk is out of action is a minute a QSR isn’t making revenue.
This is the difference between buying hardware and transforming your operations with a full-service digital partner (such as Evoke, for instance).
So, after reading everything we’ve discussed, you might now be ready to invest in kiosk technology, or at least begin the journey toward improving the customer experience.
No matter where you are in the process, these five considerations must always be front and center if a successful implementation of transformative kiosk technology is going to happen.
Define the operational and experiential problems you’re suffering from, whether it's too long of a line at peak times, staff burnout, or missed revenue opportunities.
Carry out a short proof-of-concept trial to test the tech and how customers react to it. This stage also helps to build internal momentum with leaders and staff on the ground.
Choose a provider that supports remote diagnostics and custom software journeys.
Consider installation times and spare part availability, especially if multiple sites are receiving a kiosk estate.
Finally, ensure that you build a relationship with a supplier so that they can adapt and scale as you grow.
Kiosks are a competitive advantage in North America, so if you’re ready to reduce your dependency on unreliable labor and put the control back in your customer’s hands, speak with Evoke today.