Are QSR's really 'Quick and Fast'?
Salwa Al-Tahan
24th May 2022
You have just finished work late again with no leftovers in the fridge. A parent whose had a tough day with the kids. Perhaps a student who still hasn’t got the hang of cooking…what ever it maybe, you want to eat something ‘Quick and fast!’ And that is exactly what is expected from a QSR (Quick Service Restaurant). Everyone simply wants to be in and out with their meal QUICKLY!
But with an increasing demand for fast food that we can just grab on the go to satisfy our hunger, habitual taste buds and fast paced lifestyles, comes increased pressure on restaurant staff and managers to meet the demands for high quality and improved customer satisfaction. Add to that, many restaurants introduced home delivery service through apps like Uber Eats and JustEat- either to compete with other brands offering the same, or to make up for lost business due to Covid lockdowns. The overall combination is a greater workload on kitchen staff, and frustratingly longer wait times for customers- meaning they are NOT getting their food as FAST as they want!!!
According to a study by Revenue Management Service in November 2021 it was reported that:
- 40% of QSR visitors were unhappy due to longer wait times
- 26% were unsatisfied due to order inaccuracy
- 17% experienced poor customer service
How can QSR's serve more customers quickly?
Even before the pandemic, well known brands in the industry like McDonalds and Burger King took the leading steps of investing in touch self-serve kiosks to help with processing orders faster which was greatly welcomed and swiftly adopted by consumers.
In fact we are seeing them pop up everywhere! Many retail brands globally are adopting this additional strategy of serving a greater volume of customers both quickly and more efficiently via a self-serve kiosk. So much so that we are also seeing a growing number of kiosks in airports, the hospitality industry and supermarkets to name a few.
What is a self-serve kiosk?
Essentially a self-serve kiosk is a POS that allows customers to simply place their orders independently through the kiosk without needing a member of staff to serve them.
So in the QSR setting a customer can browse the menu, place their order, add or remove options and complete payment all without needing to stand in long queues or speak to a member of staff the regular way. Orders are then sent to the kitchen, and the customer is notified on a screen when their order is ready to collect at a designated collection point.
In fact kiosks have been so popular with consumers that according to research by Palmer Retail it’s quoted that:
“66% of consumers prefer self-service over interacting with an employee because it is faster and less stressful.”
Key Benefits of Self-Serve Kiosks :
Reduced Queue Times:
Adding self-serve kiosks allows more customers to be served within the same amount of time, reducing lengthy queues and improving customer satisfaction.
Increased Sales:
Self-serve kiosks actually increase the monetary value of their existing industries.
Research by Forbes shows that customers spend an average of 12-20% more due to up-sell of additional items such as sauces and drinks, sides or dessert options with targeted prompts.
Perhaps customers spend more due to the convenience of ordering at their own pace and comfort? Whatever the reason, brands will always happy with additional sales!
Additional Product Information:
Digital menus are not only more attractive and enticing to customers, but allow brands to add a vast amount of additional information.
Things like ingredients, allergens and calories can be added alongside the product items helping customers with their choices, and allowing them to find out information that perhaps members of staff may not know or have time to answer.
Unmanned Service:
Managers are now able to fill the gaps in staff shortages due to sickness or under staffing more intuitively with these unmanned kiosks. Staff have also welcomed the introduction as it allows them to give better levels of customer service. This redeployment of staff time to other more pressing tasks means staff can deliver higher standards of quality.
Improved Order Accuracy:
Orders are far more accurate with reduced errors when a customer is placing the order themselves rather than with a member of staff. This eliminates any possible misunderstandings where staff might have mis-heard or entered the wrong information.
Improved Customer Satisfaction:
Self-serve kiosks demonstrate a reduction in basket drop or customers walking away due to frustration of lengthy queues. Customers welcome the option of ordering via a kiosk and recognise the process to be faster.
In fact, as quoted above 66% more people would rather place their order via a self-serve kiosk even when the length of the queue is the same as that of a checkout.
To conclude.....
We now know that self-serve kiosks within QSR’s improve the speed of service, reduce customer waiting times, improve and unify customer service and generally increase a customer’s spending.
Additionally self-serve kiosks are a valuable investment for businesses- the figures according to a report by IndustryArc predicts that:
“ The global Self Service Kiosk Market is estimated to surpass $35.8 billion mark by 2026 growing at an estimated CAGR of more than 6.4%”
To find out more on Sodaclick’s dynamic HTML5 digital signage content platform that allows you to create, publish and edit easily from any device directly to your POS or for any questions on integration of kiosks via our partners, please contact us below.
Be sure to look out for the next blog which will be discussing supercharging kiosks by adding voice AI to make them even faster!
Sodaclick Ltd. London, UK
Sodaclick is a digital solutions platform specialising in dynamic content and voice-controlled AI experiences at every touchpoint
© 2022 Sodaclick Ltd. All rights reserved.