Digital self-service is revolutionising the hospitality industry, with customers craving more and more convenience in their daily lives. The demand is understandable, of course, but sometimes this can be a daunting prospect, especially to hospitality managers who are new to the concept as a whole. The idea of technology taking over these spaces can be overwhelming to all of us, but rest assured, the benefits will quickly alleviate those fears.
What is a Self-Service Kiosk?
Kiosks are a great way to start exploring the realm of self-service, with successful businesses such as McDonalds having constant plans to integrate them into all of their thousands of outlets worldwide. They're great for use in both retail and hospitality settings, existing as stationary ordering screens that customers themselves can interact with rather than waiting on staff using terminals.
The general public has quickly learned to adapt to this sleek style of ordering, and they've started to be welcomed just about everywhere. They're becoming increasingly hard to avoid and for good reason, but what exactly are those reasons, and why should you be taking notice?
Contactless Efficiency
Contactless menu browsing and payment methods have already become the new norm within the hospitality industry, helped along even more by the effects of the pandemic. Everyone knows it's quicker for customers and staff when those extra little steps are eliminated, and with a kiosk in place, it's never been faster to pop in, get what you came for, and pop back out.
Staff not having to take orders not only reduces queue times for customers, but it also means employees can spend what time they would be using up at POS completing other tasks that require human labour. Implementation of a kiosk means you can be less wasteful with human resources, allowing your staff to put their all into giving the best customer service they can elsewhere.
Enhanced Customer Experience
Ordering food at a quick-service can be quite the stressful ordeal, especially during busy hours. How many times has your server accidentally misheard your order, but it was too awkward or too late to correct them? How many times have you felt pressured when faced with deciding your order with a queue of five people trailing behind you? The harsh truth is that while people may want your products, they'd rather spend as little time as possible on the path to getting it.
With self-service, these become problems of the past. A kiosk won't judge you for lingering on your decisions, and it's far easier to evaluate your options when you're presented with an immersive, interactive menu. A queue looming behind you is less of an issue than ever, and less opportunities for human error will keep your business running smoothly. At SPARK, our kiosks even have a multi-language feature to allow guests to order accurately and avoid any awkward language barriers that could negatively affect their experience.
Increased Basket Sizes
A kiosk's digital menu is packed to the brim with upselling possibilities, allowing for baskets to fill up more than if customers were ordering their food traditionally. An obvious reason for this is that the process is all automated, so staff don't need to remind themselves to implement them through their own service.
When ordering at a kiosk, customers are more frequently prompted on if they want to add any bonuses to their basket, such as a drink or an extra topping or side, which they are far more likely to consider when not faced with the pressure of a human asking or a queue trailing behind them. The accessibility and ease-of-use of a digital menu also allows for deals and bundles to be more effectively communicated to customers and more efficiently applied to their bills.
Is a self-service kiosk right for your restaurant?
If you want to run your business more efficiently during those stressful rush hours while allowing your customers a quicker, contactless ordering experience, then yes, there are many benefits to be found with introducing a kiosk system in your restaurant. More and more businesses are reaping those benefits every day, so why not join them?
The question then becomes how to implement them efficiently and effectively, which we can help with here at SPARK with our own line of self-service kiosks and hospitality expertise.
