By Nancy Wood
Technology in restaurants has been and is essential for fundamental operations like ordering, accounting and training. But there’s no question that the past few months have pushed owners and operators to reassess and, in many cases, invest in tech solutions to increase efficiency, convenience, safety and sales.
In one regard, concerns for safety and hygiene have put technology front and center with digital ordering systems, contactless payment solutions – even air filtration systems. On the flip side, technology in restaurants has become increasingly critical in creating and building relationships with customers. Even before the pandemic put a hard stop on traditional dine-in and restaurants shifted to delivery and carry-out, the industry was facing – and addressing – changes in consumer behavior.
Estimates reveal that pre-pandemic, digital orders were already growing by 23% annually. Even as dine-in restrictions began to ease during the summer, a July survey by Dataessential found that more than half of consumers were avoiding eating out.
While the onset of the pandemic sent restaurants of every kind scrambling to hook up with third-party delivery vendors, elevate their own pick-up systems or create their own branded online ordering apps, ongoing concerns about the impact of restrictions on the industry linger. But through almost every challenge, the common factor in finding a solution has involved technology.
Leverage What You Have
“The restaurant industry has had technology since it started,” says Dan Gertsacov, chief commercial officer for Focus Brands, “but a lot of that technology had to do with operations or connecting with the POS to monitor the back office.” With so much technology already in place, restaurateurs have been looking at ways to leverage what they already have.
For the seven concepts under the Focus Brands umbrella, including Jamba, Cinnabon, Moe’s Southwest Grill, McAlister’s Deli and Scholtsky’s, Gertsacov says the pandemic has accelerated technology adoption. What would have taken 3 years to move forward has progressed in just six months.
“We accelerated what we were already doing and improved upon what we had. Some of our snack brands that have less frequency, like Cinnabon and Carvel, were already on their digital journey, and the franchisees have already realized that we’re going to need to accelerate that journey to be part of this.”
Utilizing technology in restaurants has always been paramount at Sizzling Steak Concepts.
“We’ve always been technology heavy and focused on profitability,” says Wilson Oswald, director of beverage for the largest Ruth’s Chris Steak House franchisee worldwide. At its 11 locations across the Southeast, along with its rooftop restaurant Up on the Roof in Greenville, S.C., he says “We’re microscopic at looking at our numbers and controlling our inventory. We really leaned on what we already had and weren’t using as well.”
For example, Oswald uses quality management software Rizepoint® for cold and hot line checks, bar line checks and daily walk-throughs. “We were already doing it,” he says, “but started putting a further emphasis on that to make sure everything is done and recorded.” Managers use a specific tablet designed for that purpose, and the information is tracked and reviewed from a central location each day.
As far as the front-of-house goes for Sizzling Steak, technology was already in place there as well. At each location, iPads have been used for beverage lists and menus for years, and Oswald also uses inventory tracker software, Tastevin. “Once you sell a bottle,” he says, “it removes it from the iPad.”
In addition, while QR codes are becoming ubiquitous for allowing customers to use their own devices to review menus and place orders, Oswald was an early adopter and has them at the tables. But he doesn’t let customers order from their own devices. “We don’t want our servers to just be order takers – we still want that interaction,” he says.
Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, Gertsacov is adamant about the real value of technology in restaurants. Whether it’s order ahead to pick up or to eat inside – or order for delivery, “you have to have the capability to do that,” he says. “It isn’t just about transactions, it’s about driving demand. So we need to understand who our best customers are, what we need to do to get them to come back, and how to find more like them. That is also enabled by technology.”
Depending on the type of restaurant, using software to track customers and create a database is an important factor in connecting with customers and building loyalty. “You need to be able to access and understand who your best customers are,” says Gertsacov. Gathering that data from websites, apps or customer surveys – and safely storing it – can lead to building loyalty programs that encourage more sales.
The Cost of Doing Business
In an industry with razor-thin margins, investing in new technology has given a lot of owners and operators pause. One of the biggest changes in the use of technology in restaurants has been the proliferation of online ordering. While restaurants across the spectrum already had some sort of technology to deal with online and carry-out orders, streamlining the process and investing in new applications has become critical to maintaining a revenue stream.
But different types of restaurants are approaching this in different ways. Gertsacov says over the years it became clear that consumers wanted to go beyond a “brochure” website and conduct digital transactions. By making investments in technology early on with on-the-go brands like Jamba, Focus Brands was able to extend that into some of the restaurant brands like McAlister’s and Moe’s.
“Then we started working across our portfolio,” he says. “Everybody needs this kind of consumer-facing technology that enables digital transactions.”
But consumer-facing technology can have its own set of issues. With a plethora of online ordering apps, like Toast and ChowNow, popping up daily, Riccardo Ullio, owner of U Restaurants (Sotto Sotto, Fritti, Escorpion and Novo Cucina), cautions owners to beware before making large investments. He recently switched from ChowNow to a system by Heartland that integrates more easily with his POS and is Apple compatible.
“ChowNow has an ordering system that basically integrates with itself,” he says. “You can’t use other providers’ portable screens, and theirs can’t be repaired.”
The challenge of this industry,” says Gertascov, “is there are too many vendors and you don’t know who is a good company to deal with. We really need to be able to know enough to ask ‘are they solving my problem’?”
Gertsacov advises looking for adaptability and flexibility. “I don’t want to sign a three-year contract because I get 10% off,” he says. “This industry is changing so quickly. The costs are coming down, and the options are increasing. You don’t want to fall in the trap of taking a short-term discount that will bind your hands together long-term. You marry your life partner – you don’t marry your tech vendor.”
One solution has been to move toward first-party channels for online ordering. Sizzling Steak Concepts recently added a platform called 9Fold. “It’s more in-house,” says Oswald, “instead of ordering through an app.”
The platform offers more flexibility and, according to Oswald, “there’s more transparency and ability.” Although 9Fold is a new addition to the franchisee’s ordering options, Oswald says it provides another solution. “Our employees were spending a lot of time doing phone orders,” he says. “With 9Fold, it’s already rung in and paid.”
For large operations like Focus Brands, the investments in first-party channels, as well as third-party channels like Uber Eats and DoorDash, were needed to transact directly with their consumers. Obviously there’s no need for third-party channels when it comes to curbside pick-up, but as Gertascov says, “We’ve got the customer, but we need help in the last mile when it comes to delivery.”
Many larger operations like Focus Brands and Sizzling Steak Concepts were early adopters of third-party delivery and in some cases were able to negotiate more advantageous rates. But every operator, especially those who had to rush to add third-party delivery options last spring, is now taking a closer look at the costs associated with it.
For example, Oswald says they currently have five tablets to cover the four third-party delivery apps they use ((UberEATS, DoorDash, Postmates and Grub Hub), as well as 9Fold. “My guess,” he says, “is we’ll figure out the winners of our delivery apps and move away from some of the lower performers.”
While first-party channels generally require pick-up by the customer, Focus Brands uses technology to integrate with DoorDash for delivery. “The data comes through our online ordering system,” he explains, “and DoorDash knows which order is coming in. They will actually do the delivery, but you’re not paying DoorDash fees.”
As he says, “I think the future in this convenience economy is partnering with these vendors and tech places, but not being dependent on them.”
The Value of Employee Input
Not all restaurant owners are tech savvy, and in many cases owners and operators are turning to their employees for solutions that can help streamline operations. “What we’re really doing in terms of technology,” says Oswald, “is leaning into our team members as much as possible – using their ingenuity and their abilities to show us new ways of doing things.”
As Ullio puts it, “To do it on your own takes a lot of time and programming skill.” At Ullio’s Novo Cocina in Dunwoody, his manager created a program to help expedite pick-up orders by using car tag numbers. “We take tag numbers when someone orders, then when they pull up, they put in their tag number. When expo sees that, the order gets expedited and we bring you the food.”
Getting new ideas from the inside is something Gertsacov is familiar with, too. When a Moe’s franchisee came up with the idea to install an ordering kiosk in a store with a small footprint, they worked with the franchisee to launch a pilot program. “That was a result of changing consumer expectations before the pandemic,” he says. Calling the Pittsburgh franchisee “future leading,” the company worked with him to select the right vendor at the right cost that would make sense for the volume of the restaurant.
The kiosk allows customers who already know what they want and don’t want to wait in line a different, more convenient way to order. Now that store locations and dining rooms are reopening, he says it’s starting to pay off and “we’re learning as we go.”
For Gertsacov, this is another example of adapting to the needs of customers by providing different consumer touchpoints. “The more you provide, the better experience it is,” he says. “I think kiosks will coexist with front counter and ordering on the app. I generally think for all of our brands and all of our franchisees, the pandemic has shown that the investments in digital convenience are investments that pay back, both in transactions, but also in making our consumers’ lives better.”
What the Future Holds for Technology in Restaurants
Technology in restaurants may not hold all the answers to the industry’s current challenges, but few are denying the need for using it to drive business and keep customers happy. “People are considering what’s next, what trends are coming down the road and what they can take advantage of right now,” says Sizzling Steak’s Oswald.
“This is a journey, not a destination,” adds Gertsacov. Responding to the pressure on people’s attention and time, as well as the ever-evolving need for safety and security, he says, “You never get there; you continue to adapt and evolve.”
Despite all the advantages that technology – and changing technology – have provided for every kind of restaurant, at the end of the day, it’s still about the customer. Whether changes implemented before or during the pandemic will be long-term across the board, as Ullio says, “It’s just speculation. Technology is always about change. Some things change, and some people stay the same. They’re still human beings – they just have some new ways of communicating.”
As far as this moment in time, Ullio believes it’s a temporary change. “Perhaps some people will do more to-go, but once this is over, I personally think it’s more likely to be a pushback towards more traditional ways of dining – and it may even come back stronger than before.”