What are self-ordering kiosks? And why should fast food restaurants consider deploying them?

 

Providing a great customer experience with high-quality service became a very essential aspect of the buying journey for every business. Restaurants are one of the industries that started recently to consider transforming the way they serve their customers.  Customers value instant services, convenience, and having everything available at a click of a button.  Self-ordering kiosks can change the way orders are placed at high-traffic Quick-Service Restaurants (QSR) while increasing ROI.

So what are self-ordering kiosks? And why should fast-food restaurants consider using self-service solutions? Continue reading to find out.

What are self-ordering kiosks?

A self-ordering kiosk is a self-service machine that empowers customers to make their own food orders directly at a touchscreen kiosk without the involvement of a restaurant cashier or waiter. Customers can customize their orders, make payments, and get receipts through the self-service kiosk.

Self-ordering machines can be deployed in several locations and in different forms. The machines function particularly well in quick-service restaurants, fast food places, and casual dining establishments with heavy foot traffic, but any type of restaurant can make use of such machines, as an additional fast sales channel.

How do self-ordering kiosks work?       

Self-ordering touchscreen kiosks display the restaurant’s food menu and offers on the screen, where customers can view the available meals and select the desired item. Integrated with restaurants’ Point of Sale (POS) systems, customers can choose their preferred payment method, either with a card straight through the kiosk or cash at the counter, receive a receipt, and then collect the food from the counter when it is ready.

Some restaurants employ dual point technology, where they enable customers to order their food at one location and pick it up at another. Other restaurants enable their customers to even customize their orders at the kiosks.

Self-ordering kiosks simplify the long process of queuing, waiting time, and payment to just one single stop. They give customers greater power and help in avoiding any ordering confusion that might happen in regular customer-employee interaction orders.

Why should fast-food restaurants consider using self-ordering kiosks?

Self-service ordering kiosks are considered to be a part of the digital transformation for Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) to enhance the customer experience as follows:

Reduce waiting time and decrease human interaction

Long lines at QSRs make it difficult to place an order, especially during peak business hours. A self-ordering kiosk serves to redirect some individuals away from the counter to avoid waiting in long lines. It also makes it easier for customers to navigate the menu and make rapid purchases.

Moreover, as some customers might prefer to contribute to social distancing, self-ordering kiosks help in decreasing customer-employee interaction as it ensures a safer ordering and payment process.

Best utilization of restaurants’ staff

Installing a self-ordering kiosk allows restaurants to reallocate their staff to places where they can be more beneficial to the business, such as the kitchen, while more orders can be taken and more people can be served with a reduced total service time. Additionally, these self-service machines help in increasing sales and profit, while lowering labor costs.

Experience a lift in sales of up to 14% with SEDCO’s self-ordering kiosk

Nowadays, QSRs seek to improve the customer experience while also increasing their sales and profit. This can be done with SEDCO’s self-ordering kiosks.

The kiosks help in expanding restaurants’ serving capabilities and increasing their sales. The self-service ordering kiosks reduce queues, waiting time, and allow customers to place their orders quickly, even during peak hours, expanding the number of orders and people that can be served.

Above all, SEDCO’s self-ordering kiosks provide a great opportunity to emphasize on the restaurant’s brand while keeping good space for the customers to navigate the items on the screen. It is simple, smart, and easily configurable to facilitate self-ordering and payment services. It also offers payment flexibility, allowing customers to pay with cash or securely with a credit card.

 

Flexibility to relocate kiosks

SEDCO’s Self-ordering kiosks can be easily relocated to another location. This enables restaurants to take the most advantage of the kiosks, and deploy them in the branches with higher foot-fall.

Targeted upselling

A self-service food ordering kiosk helps restaurants show current promotions or targeted marketing messages based on the purchasing habits of their customers. It displays the restaurant’s menu, advertisements, offers, and discounts with appealing graphics and descriptions of the new food items, which subsequently increases the probability that the customer would order them.

Help in monitoring and managing restaurants

SEDCO’s self-ordering machines are powered with an advanced business intelligence platform that generates useful insights through reports, such as kiosk visit detailed reports, customer transaction log reports, payment logs, and transaction errors reports, allowing for better restaurant management and future strategic plans.

As mentioned earlier, the self-ordering machines are integrated with the backend POS system of the restaurant. This helps in monitoring and managing processes and orders, to ensure the availability of raw material for highly requested meals.

Additionally, SEDCO’s business intelligence (BI) tools can provide valuable insights including but not limited to reports about the peak hours, revenue reports, orders volume, etc., which enable restaurants’ management to increase branches’ productivity, enhance customers’ satisfaction, and make data-driven and well-informed decisions.

SEDCO’s self-ordering kiosks are fast, adaptable, and provide a great customer experience, making them essential for all QSRs.

Contact us for more information about SEDCO’s Self-Ordering Kiosks.