Kat Hoffman-Flynt’s Post

Do you prefer to order from a digital kiosk or a restaurant employee? If you visit a Panera, McDonalds, or Shake Shack you may be placing your order on a touch screen kiosk very soon, if not already. Many restaurant owners are opting for the kiosk route thanks mostly to rising labor costs and the benefits of automation. 💲 📈 However, other factors are driving quick service restaurants to hop on board this growing trend. Data shows customers buy 10 - 30% more at kiosks than compared with restaurant employees. 🍔 🍟 Zia Business Solutions has several ordering kiosk options to choose from, allowing your local food service company to compete with the national franchises in this highly competitive space. A self order kiosk can be surprisingly affordable and greatly reduce overhead. Message me, let's talk details. #merchantservices #restaurants #quickservicerestaurants #creditcardprocessing #kiosk #paymentprocessing #minimumwage

Using pricing survey data from BTIG, let's take a look at what's going on in California. As you'd expect, quick-service brands are raising prices. Fast casuals more aggressively than fast-food chains. And interestingly, McDonald's appears to be holding the line. Of course, all of this is a moving dynamic. Nobody really knows how guests will react or what's coming next (that $20 rate is likely to go higher). Who might benefit? Casual dining, third-party delivery, and robotics companies. What exactly is the value proposition these days? It's hard to understate how much all of this has shaken that equation, and basically overnight.

Relentless #inflation over the last 7 quarters and a tight #labor market are creating challenges for #QSR operators. Not only that, #fastfood is no longer an #affordable option. I ordered an Egg McMuffin the other day and it was $5.09…just for the sandwich. How can an average family afford this? The good news is that in every problem lies an opportunity. Developers of #restaurant #automation #technology like Kitchen Brains can help leverage operators very expensive labor to prepare and deliver #food and maintain the customer experience.

Many restaurants are now turning to smart food lockers to solve problems with disorganised pickup shelves. These lockers store each customer's order securely and can only be accessed with a specific code. Kitchen staff simply place the order in its designated locker, then the customer or delivery driver takes the order and goes on their way. A customisable timer ensures orders don’t sit out too long if they’re not picked up. This innovative tech offers restaurants a number of benefits, from customer satisfaction to order security, to reduced food waste and labour spend. Click here to read more: https://bit.ly/44DUhpz #SmartFoodLockers #InnovativeTech #RestaurantTech #RestaurantInnovation

"...people order a much larger — and much more profitable — amount of food when they don’t have to place that order with a human being." Kiosks are coming to fast food restaurants at a greater pace. I've posted about this before. I personally dislike how long it takes to place a simple order. For McDonald's, if I just want a 2 cheeseburger meal, it takes like 10 taps to place that order. Just finding it on the kiosk is challenging, and I feel like the suggestive selling really disrupts the process. It appears that customers; however, are ordering more because of the kiosks. For that reason alone, you'll see more and more of them. Mobile ordering is also being pushed. McDonalds, and others, ask at the drive thru if you've placed a mobile order as the first question. It's a subtle way of saying "we'd prefer you to use our app". Chipotle Mexican Grill has a great mobile app. The only problem is actually picking up your food. Just yesterday, I had my order taken from the shelf by someone else. It might been an accident and someone mistakenly took the wrong order, but it turned into a real frustrating ordeal getting it made again. The best answer so far is what Little Caesars Pizza is doing where you punch in a code and a specific window opens with just your order. One way or another, they'll figure out how to remove the register personnel. From a value perspective, I get it. The value in McDonalds is not in someone punching buttons on a register and trying to decipher what people are ordering. The error rate in order entry is much higher when dealing with person-to-person communications. The value is in the food. They would like all their employees focused on food prep and order fulfillment. If they can automate everything else, they will. They would prefer you to just walk in, or drive up, find your order, and go off to eat somewhere else. Anyone who has ever worked in a manufacturing facility knows that order accuracy is the bane of the value stream. Orders often require some accessory, some option, some customization, or some specific note that can be easily left off the order or misconfigured. Manufacturing points the finger at sales. Sales points the finger at manufacturing. Everyone points the finger at IT. The answer is to greatly simplify the product complexity and ordering process so sales (or the customer) knows exactly what they are ordering. If the order is wrong, that's on whoever placed it. To me, the point of the kiosk and mobile ordering isn't just reducing labor. It's shifting responsibility from the employee to the customer. "I didn't want pickles". It's either on the order or it isn't. You placed it. Next time, select no pickles.

Use labor management software to save on labor costs, give time back to managers, and drive transparency and trust with staff. Interested in learning more? Reach out to me for a demo today! See how SpotOn can help your restaurant retain staff, grow revenue, and streamline operations. #laborshortage #restaurantjobs #restaurant #RPOS #POS #DualPricing #PreventRevolvingDoorSyndrome

Regardless of how you feel about California's recent wage increase, there's no doubt that it's going to increase the adoption of restaurant technology! We can expect to see a rise in things we're familiar with seeing on a semi-frequent basis such as self-service kiosks, but we can also anticipate an increase in technology we may be less acquainted with, such as various food preparation robots. And on top of that, this will also bring about a wave of innovation for technology we still have yet to experience! What are you anticipating we'll see most? And what about what'll come to be? #RestaurantTech #Restaurants #RestaurantIndustry

Labor cost as a percentage of sales, a KPI you should have at your fingertips, indicates whether your labor costs are reasonable relative to your sales and overall prime costs. However, controlling and managing labor costs requires more analysis.   Labor costs can be controlled through effective scheduling and improving employee productivity, but only if you have access to actionable data and reliable reports and have the training to use that data to optimize your labor spending. Labor cost as a percentage of sales (alone) is not a good indicator of productivity and efficiency because when sales are higher, labor costs as a percentage of sales will be lower due to the fixed component of labor. Labor cost as a percentage of sales may also be skewed by wage and menu price increases.   The goal of scheduling and maximizing productivity is to provide the ultimate guest experience with no wasted labor hours while maintaining profitability. If a restaurant can’t achieve profitability based on maximum productivity, it may need to change its menu, increase prices, reconceptualize, implement kiosks or QR code ordering, or convert from full service to quick service.   I recently published an article outlining how to control and improve labor costs by setting an ideal budget and maximizing productivity. Check it out here! #cpatips #cfotips #restauranttips #restaurantfinance #restaurantoperations #restaurants #restaurantaccounting #restaurantindustry

Labor cost as a percentage of sales, a KPI you should have at your fingertips, indicates whether your labor costs are reasonable relative to your sales and overall prime costs. However, controlling and managing labor costs requires more analysis.   Labor costs can be controlled through effective scheduling and improving employee productivity, but only if you have access to actionable data and reliable reports and have the training to use that data to optimize your labor spending. Labor cost as a percentage of sales (alone) is not a good indicator of productivity and efficiency because when sales are higher, labor costs as a percentage of sales will be lower due to the fixed component of labor. Labor cost as a percentage of sales may also be skewed by wage and menu price increases.   The goal of scheduling and maximizing productivity is to provide the ultimate guest experience with no wasted labor hours while maintaining profitability. If a restaurant can’t achieve profitability based on maximum productivity, it may need to change its menu, increase prices, reconceptualize, implement kiosks or QR code ordering, or convert from full service to quick service.   We recently published an article outlining how to control and improve labor costs by setting an ideal budget and maximizing productivity. Check it out here! #restaurantaccounting #restaurantfinance #restaurantcfo #restaurantcpa #restaurantindustry #restaurants #restaurantmanagement #laborcosts https://lnkd.in/gpP6Ct86

The restaurant industry's labor situation has seen some improvement, but as highlighted by Restaurant Business Online, it's still far from perfect. Staffing shortages continue to challenge many businesses, affecting service quality and operational efficiency. At Shakeit, we're addressing these challenges head-on with our cutting-edge robotic Smoothie Stations. By automating the smoothie-making process, we provide a consistent, high-quality product while significantly reducing the need for labor. This innovation not only helps businesses navigate labor shortages but also makes fresh smoothies available in far more locations than ever before. Join us in revolutionizing the way we serve smoothies! #Innovation #FoodTech #Automation #Smoothies #RestaurantIndustry #Shakeit https://lnkd.in/gSmPZR-D