Today’s eatery businesses are all about delivering speed and efficiency. This is because they serve customers who are always on the move, coming in to pick up a meal amidst their busy routines. A self-ordering system for restaurants can play a revolutionary part in this move from slow, manual ordering processes to something that lets customers order independently, rapidly and comfortably. Self-ordering kiosk machines process orders themselves, freeing the staff from a huge part of their daily restaurant chores. Ordering kiosks come with multiple ways in which they can tackle the challenges faced by understaffed restaurants.
Staff shortages in restaurants
After the recent pandemic, restaurant businesses have had to start afresh. With a drastic business cut down during the pandemic, restaurant businesses suffered a lot. Following this downfall, staff shortages started to crop up. Waiters, cashiers, cooks and other staff members from various restaurants have now found other ways to earn their living. This is not only caused by the pandemic-induced harm but also because of the reduced willingness of people to work at restaurants in general. These are some of the challenges that can be faced by understaffed restaurants:
- Extended waiting time:As fewer staff members will be engaged to take and process the orders; customers will have to face extended waiting times. This will lead to large-scale dissatisfaction with the service of the restaurant. Again, seeing longer queues, potential customers will be more likely to step out of the restaurant, thus directly affecting sales for the worse.
- Poor user experience:As a handful of staff will be working for the entire restaurant, they will easily get tired of the exhaustive work. In such a situation, they will not be able to keep a jovial and enthusiastic front with the customers. Together with long waiting times, tired staff will create a poor experience for customers who are expecting to get their meals delivered on time.
- Increased rotation of staff:Having not enough staff will put increased pressure on those that remain. This will make the restaurant even more exhausting and tedious. Even the employees who remain in such a situation are more likely to sign out of their jobs and look for a less demanding and tiring job environment.
- Increased costs of particular employees: Competing for a staff member with the rest of the market will only lead to further pressure to increase salaries. This may be very burdensome for those restaurant owners who are working with trimmed margins and increased maintenance costs.
How self-ordering kiosks manage understaffed restaurants?
A self-ordering system for restaurants can support and organize the entire ordering process to make placing orders seamless for customers. This system is especially helpful for understaffed restaurants. Using self-ordering kiosks, customers can browse every aspect of the menu just by tapping a screen, customize their order and make contactless payments without the intervention of a third party. With this technology, customers can take charge of their orders themselves. Hence, the ordering process becomes much quicker and more accurate as the risk of human error in the case of manual processing is eliminated. As orders go directly from the kiosk to the kitchen, the food is delivered fast, queues are cut down and sales are given a boost. Let us see how kiosks tackle staffing challenges at restaurants:
- Managing queues:A kiosk can be used at a stretch without any breaks or free time (which is needed by manual staff). It can thus be used to manage queues and support staff during rush hours.
- Tireless service:Kiosks will work as long as there is steady internet and power supply. Hence there is no risk of it suddenly stopping working, unlike manual staff who can abandon work to find new jobs.
- Integrations:Kiosks can be integrated with payment systems, third-party and legacy systems. Therefore, they make it easier for customers to use their chosen methods of payment and interact better with the brand.
- Scalability:As the business expands, its kiosk technology can be accordingly scaled. The devices can be added or removed within hours, saving time and extra operational costs.
Conclusion:
Self-service kiosks are the perfect solution to staffing challenges faced by restaurants. Rather than becoming a replacement for staff, kiosks are designed to empower the existing staff members with greater speed and accuracy in processing orders. With self-service systems, customers too can take their eating experience into their own hands, ensuring satisfaction and retention.
