NEW YORK – The CEO of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s says he sees automated restaurants as the future of the industry and a solution to rising minimum wages. “I want to try it,” Andy Puzder told Business Insider.
Source: pix11.com
More news from CKE owner (Hardee and others)
Recently, a few (very few) restaurants have begun offering a fully automated, Jetson-like food experience (think eatsa). The futurism is pretty cool, but what does today’s workplace automation really look like?
Source: www.foodabletv.com
Excerpt: “At a bank, you can opt for traditional teller service, an ATM, a drive-thru, or online/mobile banking. Restaurants are doing the same by offering traditional counter service, ordering kiosks, touchscreen/video drive-thru, as well as online/mobile ordering. All orders are funneled to production for fulfilment and real-time inventory management,” explained Tommy Woycik, founder and president of Nextep Systems, whose tagline is “Order Food Faster.”
“Automating the ‘simple’ tasks like order entry and counting change will allow restaurants to provide improved speed-of-service and more value to their guests,” Woycik said. “Customer service means different things to different guests (e.g., Baby Boomers versus Gen X versus Gen Y) and doesn’t have to be face-to-face (e.g., eatsa and drive-thru). All guests value food quality, order accuracy, and speed of service, which is what smart technology is improving.”
Rest of the story on Foodable.
Since 2012, Panera Bread has been driving growth in their restaurants and have invested in tablet kiosks (which is part of their Panera 2.0 initiative) to increase their sales and customer experience.
Source: www.linkedin.com
Nice breakdown on the positive “consequences” of expanding customer choices (aka omnichanneling if I may). In Panera’s case the increased rate of return is what counts to investors (and the Board of Directors).
More ways to order mean more orders in this case right?
You often hear that the likes of Chipotle are destroying the likes of McDonald’s. But it’s more nuanced than that.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com
Customer distribution between the chains and how they are siloed and also overlap.Chipoltes and Paneras example given.
Wendy’s will make self-service ordering kiosks available to all of its franchises later this year as minimum wage hikes help market push labor costs.
Source: www.investors.com
6,000 plus restaurants getting selfservice kiosks. Adoption rests with the franchisees. Most have been raising prices. Most of minimum wage is phased in years from now and virtually unchanged in California.
Wendy’s President Todd Penegor said, “wage pressures have been manageable both because of falling commodity prices and better operating leverage due to an increase in customer counts. Still, the company is wary about both wage hikes and a possible recovery in commodity prices and is “working so hard to find efficiencies” so it can deliver “a new QSR experience but at traditional QSR prices.”
In addition to self-order kiosks, the company is also getting ready to move beyond the testing phase with labor-saving mobile ordering and mobile payment available systemwide by the end of the year. Yum Brands and McDonald’s already have mobile ordering apps.
HUNTS POINT, N.Y., July 19, 2016 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Baldor Specialty Foods, the premier ingredient source for NYC’s best chefs, today announced a collaboration with Whole Foods Market’s Northeast Region that will make the company’s selection of unique culinary items available to home cooks for the first time through an in-store, digital kiosk called The Baldor Forager which will launch exclusively on July 26 in coordination with the grand opening of Whole Food Market Williamsburg. – News from Baldor Specialty Foods, Inc., issued by Send2Press Newswire
Source: www.send2press.com
Interesting example of completely custom online food service moving into bricks and mortar?
McDonald’s is simply responding to competition from other chains that have offered “enhanced burgers,” said Hilda Fahey, a company representative who was in Simcoe to help with the changeover to the new services at the Queensway East restaurant.
Source: www.simcoereformer.ca
“We have 35 different people we didn’t have before,” Maskell said on a Wednesday afternoon while preparing for an opening that night for the new services.
More people are needed in the kitchen, he explained, to service the customers out front.
Ingenico Group the global leader in seamless payment, and Datacap Systems, an integrated payments middleware provider, announced today the installation of its Pay-at-the-Table solution at Uncle Oogie’s, a New Jersey and Philadelphia-based chain of pizzerias. Using Ingenico Group’s smart terminals, Datacap’s point of sale partner, PDQ Signature Systems was able to streamline the Pay-at-the-Table implementation for Uncle Oogie’s.
Source: ingenico.us
Table solution include:
Restaurants such as McDonald’s and Panera Bread are leading the charge toward automation in the quick-service food industry, which offers an important example of how the labor market is transforming.
Source: www.zdnet.com
Nice article by ZDNet. “The $15 per hour wage talks spooked a lot of fast food companies and forced them to look at ways to cut head count and augment labor costs,” said Frank Olea, CEO of Los Angeles-based kiosk manufacturer Olea Kiosks. “This technology has been available to restaurants for years, but price was high and labor was cheap. Now it’s getting to the spot where brands can see the ROI.”
The row of four iPads is right inside the door, across from the traditional cashier station. Customers can order from their history and favorites, customize menu items, redeem rewards and pay with credit cards, just as they can at the regular check-out.
Source: npbc.blog.palmbeachpost.com
The Panera at 3186 Northlake Boulevard doesn’t have the fast-lane kiosks yet, but it will eventually. Most stores will have four to eight kiosks, according to an article by USA Today detailing technology-based efforts Panera is making to reduce wait times.
The St. Louis-based company started rolling out its “Panera 2.0” improvements in 2014.
They are gigantic touch screens that let you customize your burger with toppings like guacamole, grilled mushrooms, onions, and bacon.
Source: www.businessinsider.com
Good point on the oversize smartphone. Writer says the units are expensive but never notes a cost. Looking at them with the Verifone “wart” I personally think they are in the B- range when it comes to design, which usually equates to cheaper.
They are gigantic touch screens that let you customize your burger with toppings like guacamole, grilled mushrooms, onions, and bacon and sauces like sriracha mayo. But the kiosks have drawbacks, like not working in the drive-thrus that provide 70% of McDonald’s revenue and being relatively expensive.
McDonalds Kiosk Raises Earnings Expectations by Analysts Cowen says McDonald’s will upgrade 2,500 restaurants to its “Experience of the Future” technology by year-end, which includes digital ordering kiosks. The firm raises its rating on McDonald’s to outperform from market perform and price target for the shares to $180 from $142. Same store sales estimate for 2018 raised to… Read More »
NRF – In the Wild McDonalds Kiosk Before heading out to Newark for NRF show, Frieder Hansen of Pyramid Computer stops to order some food at McDonalds. That looks like a Polytouch unit to me. Editor Posts2025: 896
Caught in the Wild – Subway Drive Thru Kiosk Steve Evans Account Manager for the World’s Fastest Drive Thru™ Kiosk Solution at NEXTEP SYSTEMS Hello folks! Please help me congratulate Tara Hill and her staff for her implementation of our World’s Fastest Drive Thru™ Solution at her brand new Fresh Forward SUBWAY® Restaurant located in Lower Sackville, Nova… Read More »
From Pymnts.com article QSR Ordering Kiosks Evolved From A 1980s Solution For Out-Of-Stock Shoes As a college student in the 1970s, Murray Lappe heard that his fellow students wanted to promote their organizations through a new medium. During a retreat, the students thought of having a traditional bulletin board, but Lappe had an alternate take: Why not digitize… Read More »
Coca-Cola’s Marketplace Connects Customers to Leading Technologies for Every Aspect of Business to Increase Customer Revenue NEWS PROVIDED BY Coca-Cola North America ATLANTA, June 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Coca-Cola North America is launching a digital marketplace this fall that connects its foodservice customers to pre-vetted, industry-best restaurant technologies with competitive pricing. The marketplace of solutions for front of house, back of… Read More »
Taco Bell is trying to convince customers to order via kiosks instead of cashiers at restaurants across the US — and it’s drawing inspiration from an unlikely source From Business Insider Aug 3, 2018 Taco Bell is installing kiosks in all of its restaurants. Hollis Johnson Taco Bell is set to install self-ordering kiosks at all locations across the… Read More »
Global Payments to Acquire SICOM Systems, a Leading Provider of Enterprise Technology Solutions to Restaurants September 27, 2018 04:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN), a leading worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions, announced today an agreement to acquire SICOM Systems, Inc. from LLR Partners. SICOM provides enterprise, cloud-based software as a… Read More »
Published March 25th Yahoo News [April 1st update — McDonalds makes a second purchase. This time it is mobile software. The burger giant is making a $3.7 million minority investment in the New Zealand-based company Plexure] Excerpt The Golden Arches revealed Monday its biggest acquisition in more than 20 years, acquiring privately held tech platform Dynamic Yield. McDonald’s… Read More »
Excerpt from Wannado Dunkin’ announced it will host a grand opening celebration on Tuesday, February 4 to unveil its newest Next Generation Store in Nashville located at 400 21st Avenue South. Attendees will get a glimpse at the store’s new modern design and in-store innovations, including a cold beverage tap system and Dunkin’ on Demand digital kiosk. With fully… Read More »
Excerpt from TimeOut NY Taco Bell keeps ringing the bell with additional Taco Bell Cantinas set to take over New York City. The latest opening, reported earlier this week by the Commercial Observer, is located at 976 Sixth Avenue between West 35th and 36th Streets in Midtown and will be the first multi-level Taco Bell Cantina in the city.… Read More »
Reported on Vital Vegas Feb 20202 – MGM Resorts testing automated beverage dispenser in casino. It appears to be situated in service area so it would actually be operated by employees. The bartender remains. It’ll be awhile before conversational AI (and customer charge method) are developed. Thanks to Frank at Olea Kiosks. While everyone involved with the roll-out of… Read More »
Noted on Presto.com March 2020 –the Learn More link provides PDF with following information. Not sure if it is standalone kiosks or it is tabletop. Worth noting that most restaurants for next 6-10 weeks are likely closed to in-store traffic. Another site checked with Presto and was told — The free kiosks will be available for the duration… Read More »
BigHospitality article Feb 2021 — Self-Service and following lead of QSRs article Excerpts from: Says QSR sector has been quickest but that is not true. QSRs always toyed with the idea with most of them watching McDonalds experiment while patient check-in and ticketing at Disney went right ahead. Kiosks for self-order in Vita Mojo Pyramid Computer makes the… Read More »
From Retail Systems Nov2021 Amazon Go & Starbucks Cashierless Store NY From CNBC Nov2021 Click for full size Amazon Go Check-in KIosk In Brief Coffee is just one deliverable. A complete range of other “related” goods such as protein bars, chewing gum, salads and sandwiches available Stores like these will have longer hours. That counts. Decor set for solo workers… Read More »
Outside Order Terminals Editor Note: Nice note on LinkedIn on using countertop kiosks for outside ordering during COVID-19 shelter time. The example below is from Habit Burger who is using countertop kiosks from Olea Kiosks. Mike Repetti at The Habit Burger Grill is a genius! Because he chose to deploy our Austin model kiosks he was able to… Read More »
Published by NRA April 2020 — Advice include relying on your automated ordered systems in order to maintain social distancing. The purpose of guidance is just that, to offer you direction and provide a framework for best practices as you reopen. But as the saying goes, the devil is in the details, and not every restaurant is the… Read More »
Learn about efficiency and convenience in the QSR industry by Intel Corporation with self-service kiosks by Pyramid Computer GmbH showcasing technology frontrunner Hesburger. Blog Link Kiosks: automatic for the people 05-Feb-2021 By BigHospitality Self-Self-serve kiosks have become a regular sight in fast QSR operations as restaurant groups awaken to their benefits – and the Coronavirus pandemic has only served to expedite their uptake… Read More »
McDonalds Kiosks “Next” Concept for Hong Kong Full article on Seeking Alpha Excerpts and photos Upon entering one is directed to ordering kiosks or to registers. While one may order regular items from the kiosks the benefit is to secure the waiter service and a lit numbered disc, (used at other quick served restaurants). The benefit is to… Read More »
This may be a smartphone age, but our lives are becoming a series of kiosk stops, from ATMs and supermarket checkouts to airlines and gas stations. And now, increasingly, there’s the fast-food kiosk. Kiosks have one main purpose: to save time. And an industry that dubs itself “quick service” has zero choice but to pay serious attention to any device that espouses to shave seconds—if not minutes—off each order. That might explain why such familiar names as McDonald’s and Panera Bread are spending millions of dollars to roll out touch-screen kiosks in stores.
Source: www.qsrmagazine.com
For Panera, it’s all about giving consumers digital ordering choices.
Then there’s that 500-pound gorilla in the room: Aren’t kiosks really about cutting back on labor costs? “How much labor can we remove from the service package until customers finally decide that self service means no service?” Muller asks.
Hurst insists this is not at all the case at Panera. In fact, he says, Panera locations that have kiosks typically spend more on labor costs than those without them.
On the whole, customers mostly love touch-screen kiosks, Hurst says, adding that “the kiosk is basically an iPad.”
Which is why Millennials, in particular, can’t keep their mitts off of them. “Kiosks are a way for us to be even more isolated from random human contact,” Muller says.
By integrating Evoke’s digital kiosks with Radius Networks’ customer location technologies, businesses can dramatically improve both the in-store and curbside experiences for customers and employees. Radius Networks and Evoke Partnership Washington, DC — Radius Networks, a leading provider for location services, and Evoke, an interactive digital technology provider, announced a partnership to help businesses across Europe provide innovative… Read More »
Approach Video Showing How Unique Needs Met by Self-Service Kiosks GRAFTON, WI – Recently, Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc. released a promotional video for the company’s self-service kiosk Approach, featuring why the self-order kiosk is a simple solution for businesses seeking additional convenience for customers as well as new revenue opportunities. With multiple industries embracing the digital experience for… Read More »
After discovering the Costco food court kiosk at a location local to us, we decided to try it out for ourselves. Here’s what we thought.
Source: www.foodbeast.com
Nice video of food self-order kiosks being tested at Tustin, CA Costco. The hotdogs are legendary and the pizza (pepperoni) is top rated by Consumer Reports actually.
That’s a belief driving the startup Bite, which creates facial recognition kiosks for quick service restaurants (QSRs). Using a combination of iPads, proprietary software and machine learning, Bite’s tablet kiosks can recognize your face to unlock loyalty programs, bring up food preferences and provide opportunities for restaurants to upsell.
Source: thespoon.tech
Jack in the Box CEO, Leonard Comma, made news this week when he said “it just made sense” for his fast-food chain to consider switching from human cashiers to machines. To be sure, there are big societal implications if every restaurant made such a shift, but what if automated kiosks provide a better customer experience?
How much better is it than regular McDs? Here’s our comparison.
Source: www.delish.com
Great review going thru the entire process.
