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Loz Blain: Ziosk E-Menus: Improving The Restaurant Experience For Owners, Diners AND Waiters
Loz Blain: Ziosk E-Menus: Improving The Restaurant Experience For Owners, Diners AND Waiters
seeing the benefits of the technology as well. Freed from much of the lug work of writing and
relaying orders, and ferrying cash or credit cards around, they're able to deal with more tables
and spend more time chatting and building relationships with customers. There's fewer ordering
mix-ups, and customers tend to be happier since they're much more in control of the timing.
So the average server is dealing with more tables full of happier people - and the payment
system makes automatic tip suggestions. The result? Many servers arereporting a boost in tips.
This may be a rare case of a win-win-win technology.
Or it may not. Chains will likely work out exactly how many extra tables their wait staff can
handle with a Ziosk or similar system on board, and cut down on jobs in response. Not a big deal
for a single restaurant, but something like Olive Garden represents more than 800 restaurants
across America. A change in policy might affect thousands of jobs. This kind of thing is likely to
gather steam as customers become better trained to do more of the work themselves, like they
have with self-service supermarkets and petrol stations.
And it doesn't take much to imagine this kind of thing being rolled in with robot waiter
technology sometime in the future, to the point where a restaurant could begin to operate on a
skeleton human front-of-house staff. There will always be smaller restaurants offering a more
human experience, but when big chains go automatic, there's a far greater chance to affect the
employment landscape. Still, it's hard to argue Ziosk and its competitors aren't smoothing some
sharp edges off the casual dining experience.
Now, for god's sake, let's start deploying this thing in bars and nightclubs so we can get a
drink without having to fight for elbow room on some sticky counter.
These initiatives have had a considerable impact, says Selby. "In our last four or five
sites, there's been a 15% reduction in our energy bills." He adds: "We've not yet retrofitted the
other restaurants as we'd need to close the restaurants for a few days, but it's in all of our new
sites."
By keeping a close eye on energy usage the company is able to spot where it is being
wasted. It uses the data from half hourly meter readings to track electricity consumption. "We
noticed that at 3am the air con in our Canary Wharf restaurant kicked off. With the half hour
measurements we can see where we're using energy efficiently."
Selby says they are continuing to research new equipment and technology. One area
they're interested in is floor tiles that generate energy when stepped on. "As a business we're
constantly looking at how we can keep pushing boundaries." Looking to the future they have big
ambitions for reducing water use. "Down the line we're looking at collecting rainwater and using
that as a water supply," says Selby.
Mister Singh's India in Glasgow has also been improving its green credentials. The
restaurant has been working with Zero Waste Scotland to establish where and how it could be
more efficient. The restaurant has recently introduced an initiative to reduce its food waste. "If
customers can't finish their food they get to take it away with them in recycled containers,"
explains Mark Singh, managing director of the business.
One relatively straight forward measure that has proved effective is having a timer on the
fridges behind the bar. "Once you've closed at night, you're not using the bar area or fridges.
However the fridges stay on overnight so that the beers are cold and the cola is chilled." They
decided to put the fridges on automatic timer, so they went off at night and came on in the
morning, allowing a couple of hours for the drinks to chill before they open their doors to
customers. Some fridges will need to be left on depending on the type of drink. "You just need to
use common sense," says Singh. "Don't change the temperature for beer or wine, but something
like cola, it's not going to affect the taste."
Trewin Restorick, founder and senior partner of the charity Global Action Plan, which
helps businesses and communities become more sustainable, says: "Behaviour change alone can
reduce energy bills by as much as 20% so the first thing to start with is to get your staff engaged
so everyone can get involved. We worked with the Cinnamon Club in London, where they were
able to save 124 per year by just simply switching off drinks fridges overnight, when they didn't
need to be running. Another simple top tip is fitting tap aerators which can considerably reduce
the amount of water and gas used by businesses."
The British Hospitality Association advises restaurants to make sure all electrical
equipment is regularly serviced as old and underperforming equipment, for example fridges, can
be very inefficient. "Sometimes swapping old for new will be more efficient from both an energy
and money saving perspective." Also: "Ensure your team are energy smart and aware. Instil tips
and guidance on energy saving into your induction and training, for example switching lights off
when not required."
Consumers are generally reluctant to make changes to their morning routine, Senatore
said. Beyond that, egg prices have soared since a U.S. bird flu outbreak forced producers to cull
millions of chickens.
Starbucks said it got a sales bump from its bakery expansion, new drinks like the flat
white, an Australian import made with whole milk and more concentrated espresso.
Paneras breakfast business grew faster than lunch and dinner during the latest quarter,
but breakfast sales came with a lower margin.
McDonalds, which dominates the fast-food breakfast category and is working to end a
U.S. sales slump that has persisted for more than a year, said its breakfast business has proven
resilient to the industrys intense competition.
Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook expects McDonalds third-quarter global sales at
established restaurants to grow, but warned that all-day breakfast is no silver bullet.
Some franchisees are concerned over the additional cost of serving breakfast all day,
while others worry it could dent sales if diners opt for lower-priced Egg McMuffins over higherpriced burgers.
Elsewhere, privately held Golden Corral is considering extending or making permanent
its traffic-boosting summer Breakfast for Lunch and Dinner promotion. Dennys, whose
breakfasts are legend with the late-night party crowd, is in turnaround mode and has seen its
traffic rise for the last three quarters.
Pancake chain IHOP, which has been in the business of all-day breakfast for more than 57
years, in May took direct aim at the movement, launching an ad campaign celebrating
Breakfastarians.