There’s no two ways about it, the most important word in the phase “quick service restaurant” is quick. And nowhere is that more true than for the drive-thru lane, where the typical establishment earns about two-thirds of it’s revenue. 
Numerous industry-sponsored studies have demonstrated that, with other variables held constant, a brand’s overall market share will rise and fall with the average amount of time a that consumer must spend from the moment that the drive-thru queue is entered to the point at which the patron receives the meal.
Getting the Order Right and getting it Quickly
This is the key to fast service. Obviously, the simpler the menu, the easier it is to narrow down the choices. Equally true is the fact that your kitchen procedures can be simpler and more streamlined with a limited menu. So, a simple menu will speed up both communications between staff and customer and meal prep time. But this would be a very unattractive methodology, because customers demand variety. So, the other option, the right one, is to improve communications.
Enter the Digital Kiosk
A digital kiosk, aka the self-ordering kiosk, is positioned so that the driver can pull up right next to it as he moves through the queue. It can be thought of almost like an oversized smartphone screen, and it displays your menu, much like a Digital Menu Board, but unlike most Digital Signage, it responds to your customers’ touch, much like his smartphone does. He enters his choices and they are electronically relayed, directly and infallibly, not only to the kitchen crew, but also to the POS system.
This is all done with no human intervention – at all, really putting back the “quick’ in the QSR. And, that’s not all. The kiosk can interface directly with an app on the users’ smartphone, and payment can be handled thru the customer’s debit account. This shaves even more time off the process. Next step? – Now that the customer is identified through her smartphone, her previous meal choices can modify what she sees on kiosk, so if she always orders chicken, the appropriate choices can be highlighted.
Faster service, better service, and electronic intervention will even mean that you can cut down on your payroll for multiple wins on many fronts.
Origin Display Group | originmenuboards.com | origindigitalsignage.com | 888-235-2579
Gary Elinoff
