Brunel University, located in Uxbridge, West London, is home to over 12,000 students and 2,500 staff. As the students increasingly demanded technology-driven conveniences when dining out of the university, Brunel saw an opportunity to enhance their restaurant customer experience and operations with the use of technology on their own site.
With three popular food and beverage outlets on campus for the students to choose from, Brunel asked us to develop a digital interactive ordering system for their customers, negating the need for them to go to a till point within the restaurants.
Bespoke Solution Delivery
We worked with the university’s food service provider and long-term Evoke partner, Compass Group, to assess each restaurant’s challenges and designed solutions to address their specific needs.
For the first location, the 1966 coffee shop, we designed a bespoke free-standing kiosk based on the popular EV Slimline 27. Two wall-mounted units were installed outside the Hola Pollo chicken restaurant, and an additional wall-mounted unit inside the students’ union bar, serving Izzi’s Pizza.
The logic behind each kiosk choice is simple. 1966 was prone to queues, particularly during peak times, so the kiosk helps to streamline the ordering process and reduce wait times. As Hola Pollo is the busiest of the three outlets, the new kiosks allow customers to place their orders before they even enter the restaurant, enabling the staff to focus on preparing their much-loved, spicy chicken faster and fresher.
Izzi’s Pizza, meanwhile, had a different challenge. Located above the bar and therefore out of sight, many students would order off-campus takeaways from apps on their phones rather than from Izzi’s. The installation of a kiosk in the bar allows customers to order their food while enjoying some drinks and have their pizza delivered direct to their table. When the unit is idle, its branded splash screens serve as a powerful marketing tool, reinforcing Izzi’s presence and promoting special offers.
After the design and build process, we were able to immediately deploy the units as they can operate separately to the existing POS, allowing the restaurants to reap the benefits of the kiosks very quickly.
An Instant Hit
As the students have become accustomed to ordering via self-service kiosks outside of campus, the new technology was an instant hit. In the first year of operation, the average order value across the restaurants increased by almost 20% – the result of making the ordering process simpler and engaging, which makes the choices available more visible to customers and encourages them to supplement their order accordingly.
Similarly, the restaurants’ teams have welcomed the installation. With every customer now using the kiosks for ordering, the existing till points have been removed, freeing up time for team members to focus on prepping the food and drinks, and serving customers at their tables.
Brunel University is a shining example of how self-service technology can be utilised by small food and beverage outlets to deliver a better customer experience, improve operations and boost revenue. This technology is definitely not just for the big chain restaurants anymore!
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