How restaurants can stay ahead of the tech curve

Restaurant owners and operators are increasingly turning to technology to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences and drive revenue growth.

A panel discussion at the recent Fast Casual Executive Summit, hosted by Networld Media Group and held in Denver, Colorado, gave attendees the opportunity to discuss how to future-proof their brands by optimizing workflow, inventory management and data utilization. This strategic approach can lead to significant efficiency gains and cost savings.

The panel session “Building Restaurant Empires: Redefining Operational Excellence Through Technology” looked at innovative strategies to engage restaurants and build loyalty and unlock untapped opportunities.

Session panelists included Geoff Alexander, president and CEO Wow Bao, Gregg Majewski, CEO of Craveworthy Brands, Chris Schultz, CEO of Voodoo Doughnut and André Verner, founding partner of Dog Haus. Ming-Tai Huh, head of food and beverage for session sponsor Square, served as moderator.

Choosing tech partners

Huh asked the panelists about their technology investments and the framework for investing in tech.

Verner said it’s important for brands to take a look at what they’re trying to solve before making that investment. “All the tech (and) all the vendors out there all help you 100%,” he said. “The question is which ones are going to help you be better and faster and help get you to your North Star, whatever you’re trying to accomplish.”

For his brand Dog Haus, it’s something the company needs to discuss with staff to determine their bandwidth, and if you sign up for a device, are you going to use it in its entirety.

“Typically, we look at three new rollouts of tech in a year, but we don’t want to do more than that because (employees) don’t have the bandwidth,” he said. “The other part – some people might be in a franchise system such as we’re a franchisor company. We have to talk to the leadership council about how much funds we have to put into it that they want to invest.”

Majewski said Craveworthy Brands’ North Star would be Restaurant365 as its back-of-house system. Knowing what your tech partners actually do is imperative as brands add tech to their portfolio. While a brand might be looking for a tech solution, one of their current tech partners may already offer it.

“You’ve got to actually know what’s out there and what they’re continuing to add,” Majewski said. “When you partner with any tech service or tech group, they’ve got to be part of your actual infrastructure and your team. You’ve got to have regular conversations with them.”

He said finding the right tech partner is paramount to a brand’s success.

Alexander said the amount of technology available can be overwhelming, but his brand looks to where they want to be and then finds the technology to get them there.

“Your technology you bring in has to serve a purpose,” he added, “and it has to create a benefit. That benefit has to be for your employees and your consumers.”

His brand Wow Bao put in self-ordering kiosks as the forefront of the digital revolution some 15 years ago, long before it was commonly used in restaurants.

Schultz said it’s important to not get wrapped up in the “shiny penny” by using tech just for tech’s sake. “I think it’s taking the time to really sit back and really talking to your peer groups and talking to the folks that use it. Get references from people that actually use it,” he said.

Guest engagement

When it comes to hearing from guests about how a company is doing, Schultz said it’s right near the top, if not the top, of importance in Voodoo Doughnut. He uses Tattle, a guest feedback company, for input from customers.

“We had to gamify it — give a reason for the customer to give up feedback,” he said. Voodoo asked for feedback for six months without gamification and got no responses.

Second, he made feedback a part of the store manager’s bonus. “The number of responses and how they scored is all part of their bonus now. We’ve seen a giant uptick in responses from customers,” Schultz added. “We not only use technology, but we also count Googles and Yelps. We do that manually.”

Finally, Voodoo Doughnut changes its customer questions on a quarterly basis to keep surveys fresh for the consumer.

Employees talking about their store’s Tattle score is one way they stay engaged.

Majewski said getting feedback from customers is one of the things restaurants must do regardless of ROI.

“If you don’t use (feedback) and actually spend the time in mining that data to actually see what the customers are saying, then you’re paying for a service that actually gives you a score to help you get a five-star review,” Majewski said.

He started seeing pricing as an issue for his customers two years ago, so he introduced lower-priced offerings without calling it a value menu.

“You will never, ever get a return if you don’t actually take the time to evaluate and read” feedback, Majewski said.

Operational excellence

Huh asked the panelists about automation and what parts they’re automating.

Alexander said there’s tech available for inventory control, back-of-the house systems, finances, speed of service, how you’re interacting with your consumers and more, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the solutions available.

“What tech creates, though, is it creates low touch and high tech,” Alexander added. “At Wow Bao, we went high tech and low touch. We created three restaurants that were fully automated. Zero human interaction. You ordered off a device, and the food got delivered to you through automated personalized cubbies.

“And, when COVID came, when people thought that was the greatest idea in the world to have fully automated restaurants, I actually took (automation) out of the restaurants. I removed the cubbies and opened up the kitchen for the purpose of having that high touch, low tech because we’re in the hospitality business and your technology can do what you want it do, but you can’t lose sight of the consumer.”

He said most tech in the restaurant space is made by non-restaurant people, so brands have to change their models to fit their tech. Tech must be used to solve problems but not at the expense of the consumer or employee.

Balancing hospitality with process and automation

Huh asked what the rules are that restaurants shouldn’t break and where should they hold the line.

Verner said his brand Dog Haus wants managers talking with customers in the dining rooms. Even if there’s a kiosk, a person is going to bring out the food to the customer. QS codes and kiosks are nice, but there’s still a bartender and food runner.

“Hospitality is the only thing that is making Dog Haus successful,” Verner said. Despite the tech they’re using, the main question to ask is if the food is perfect, on time and delicious.

Schultz said Voodoo makes doughnuts, and his brand needs to make sure that the interactions at the counter are the right interactions.

“Technology is wonderful, and everything is great, but it’s never going to — at least in our business — remove the person behind the counter helping them make their selection, saying thank you when they leave,” he said. “And I think people are wanting more and more of that.”

Verner said he goes to Starbucks frequently and instead of using mobile ordering he prefers to get in line and have a barista take his order. He seeks out that human interaction.

“I think a lot of things people are coming to our restaurants for is for the conversation,” he said.

Alexander said before COVID, restaurants were in the hospitality industry. After COVID, restaurants are in the food industry, and “we have to get back to hospitality and find ways to use AI or use that technology or use that kiosk or whatever it may be to make people feel that they are valued,” he said. “And that piece is getting lost in translation of high tech and low touch.”

Majewski cited Disney Parks as making memories for consumers, whether they’ve been there once or repeatedly. The restaurant business is no different, as employees don’t know if a customer is new or has been there multiple times.

“I love tech in the back of the house, and all four of us have said the same thing, in the front of the house (hospitality) cannot be removed,” he said.

Implementing tech with employees

Alexander said employees are also consumers. You have to explain the “why” behind implementing technology and make sure it’s fully tested before you give it to the employees to use in house.

When Wow Bao implemented technology, Alexander said he didn’t lose a single employee, but if you’re implementing tech – and usually at a great cost, especially to scale — you need to make sure it’s making the employee’s life easier and that the employee has bought into the idea that its useful.

“You can’t just bring in a new computer and think it’s going to work,” he explained. “You would never do that. You’ve to treat it the same way of getting that employee to understand the ‘why’ behind it and how to utilize it.”

The Fast Casual Executive Summit is owned by Networld Media Group.

Networld Media Group is a leading business-to-business media communications company specializing in digital media, associations and events in the mobile, self-service, digital signage, food service and financial services industries. The next industry event hosted by Networld Media Group will be the Self-Service Innovation Summit. Now in its fifth year, SSIS will examine advances in technology that are empowering businesses to provide products and services when, where and how consumers expect them.