Sponsored by Bite Kiosk
Self-order kiosks rollouts are increasingly common as operators seek to improve front-of-the-house efficiencies through line-busting and order throughput.
Yet as the restaurant industry pivoted sharply to remain open amid the COVID pandemic, operators began to view kiosks’ abilities more expansively: as suggestive upsellers, transaction boosters, sources of menu information, socially distanced order takers and suitable tools to maximize human resources.
That exact scenario unfolded in late 2019 as 15-unit, St. Louis-based Crazy Bowls & Wraps (CB&W) launched a kiosk rollout. Labor savings was a core driver of the rollout, but as pandemic-related shutdowns hit shortly after it began, chief operating officer Kim Reitzner says the company’s self-order strategy changed.
“With COVID, we suddenly had some curveballs to work with,” Reitzner says. “We were forced to look at (our kiosks) differently. Labor became just one part of that.”
A concept focused on paleo and keto dieters, CB&W charged its cashiers with knowing a lengthy list of diet-specific menu items to suggest as guests ordered at the counter. Given customer desire for quick service, Reitzner says even the best cashiers were challenged to go deeply into the list.
Its Bite kiosk platform, however, could list every ingredient in any item a guest selected instantly and accurately. It also can make suggestions for substitutions or add-ons within strict guidelines for paleo and keto diets.
“Why expect the cashier—especially if it’s someone’s first job—to be responsible for all that when we know the kiosk could do it?”
By 2021, as dining room shutdowns eased and foot traffic returned, CB&W resumed its kiosk rollout more strategically, considering which units would benefit the most from the self-order units. Restaurants struggling to hire or retain employees got them first; high foot-traffic units recieved two kiosks while heavy drive-thru units got just one.
As customers gradually used the kiosks more often, store managers began to realize some labor benefits. Orders placed at kiosks reduced the pressure on cashiers and freed up personnel. Those hands now were free to monitor and maintain the dining room, help expedite orders or prepare food. Additionally, Reitzner says moving staffers around the operation increased cross-training opportunities and improved service.
Make the option attractive
When a kiosk was introduced at a CB&W restaurant, “kiosk ambassadors” encouraged and instructed guests to use it, letting them choose whether to follow their instructions or attempt to navigate it on their own.
“For us, it’s all about the guest experience,” Reitzner says, “and we knew we had to make using the kiosk appealing if people were going to use it.”
Reitzner said ambassadors gauged each guest’s comfort level with the kiosk to help them as much or as little as they wanted.
“If they weren’t comfortable at all with it, we placed the order for them as we talked them through the process,” she says. “If they got comfortable quickly, we either stood back and guided them or let them figure it out.”
Precision ordering, upselling and loyalty programs
Each Bite kiosk uses facial recognition to record and recognize guests’ faces. Knowing who’s placing an order prompts the kiosk to search the restaurant’s POS database for established purchases and specific preferences.
“If Joe comes in a few times a week for a Caesar wrap, when he presses start on the kiosk screen, it recognizes him and asks if he wants a Caesar wrap,” Reitzner says. Based on that order, the kiosk will make programmed recommendations such as proteins, vegetables, sides, sauces or dressings. “The POS data also includes loyalty data, so if he gets this item regularly, he’ll get a reward.”
Relative to CB&W’s diet-specific menus, the kiosk also is programmed only to recommend modifications that meet the requirements of paleo or keto diets.
“If you pick a keto fajita bowl, it’ll let you only pick modifications that are keto,” Reitzner says. “It’ll ask you for a protein choice, but only give you keto options. It can’t deviate from that plan.”
Reitzner says customers are amazed to see the number of menu modifications listed on the kiosks—options busy cashiers likely couldn’t offer quickly enough.
“To hear them say, 'I never knew there were all those options,’ tells us a lot about the kiosk’s abilities,” she says. “Our customers come to us because they follow these specific lifestyles, and we started to see the kiosk as a source of knowledge for them.”
Reitzner also credits easy-to-read lists of menu modifiers with raising kiosk transactions above counter transactions.
“Checks on the kiosk are hovering around $17, which is up to a dollar higher,” she says.
As Crazy Bowls & Wraps prepares to begin franchising in 2022, Reitzner says kiosks will play a crucial role in the 27-year-old company’s growth.
“With staffing being an issue that isn’t going to change soon, we will rely on kiosks to help us staff for the business we want, not the staffs we currently have,” she says. “We really expect these to be an important tool for growth.”
