It’s a fact. No one comes to a restaurant to have a technology experience. Ask any operator, and they’ll say the role of technology is to enhance the customer experience, not take it over. Today, savvy operators are enhancing technology to ensure customers are able to be in total control of their dining experience.
According to the latest statistics from Mobile UK, the trade association for the UK’s mobile network operators, 98% of the adult population own a mobile phone. With this in mind, if we look specifically at smart technology across front-of-house, which plays not only into consumer expectations, but also that of front-of-house teams, what do we have?
ConnectSmart Host® from QSR Automations, allows customers to utilise the technology to make a reservation, add themselves to a waitlist and stay updated on their booking and ordering status, simply through two-way SMS texting. They also have the ability to automatically remove themselves from the waitlist should they decide.
For operators, it takes the role of a restaurant manager, by intuitively knowing exactly what is happening on the restaurant floor - informing the host at any given moment, what to do next. What this means is they can reduce or relocate a team members’ time and resources to other important tasks, typically saving them in the region of five hours per week or more.
Because ConnectSmart® Host is so quick and easy to use for team members, operators will find less time is needed for training and it is also possible to reduce the level of skills required. Additionally, the technology has been proven to increase staff satisfaction and retention, by as much as 82% on NPS scores, simply because it makes their jobs easier, which in turn has made them more confident in their roles.
For every operator, it is important to be able to seat guests and turn tables quickly. The ConnectSmart® Host technology not only ensures customers wait less time at the door, but that they’re also seated at an appropriate table for their party size. Intelligently, it matches both the customer and table efficiently. Importantly, what this means for operators is that tables remain empty for less time, typically by as much as 17%, when customers are queuing at the restaurant door.
Most importantly, it has demonstrated that it has been able to increase sales for operators during peak trading by as much as 5% life-for-like growth. Furthermore, customer satisfaction scores have been shown to increase by as much as 6% on their ‘greeting experience’.
Everyone knows data is king; and the vast amounts of data, insights and reporting possible through ConnectSmart® Host has been cleverly formulated to drive operational efficiencies, productivity and a seamless guest experience for operators. “No other system goes to this level of information detail,” states Nick Brown, Director of Business Development EMEA at QSR Automations.
He continues: “Subject to integration, another exciting feature of ConnectSmart® Host is the introduction of ‘Dine in Future Orders’. If an operator has their own app, the technology gives customers the ability to order food ahead of time while they are on the waitlist. On arrival, the host will mark the guest as arrived and once seated, the order will go through to the kitchen and the order prepared. Once again, ConnectSmart® host is enabling operators to turn tables quickly and for customers to be in total control of their dining experience.
“Every operator wants their current suite of technologies to effortlessly integrate with anything new they implement. We integrate with over 80+ POS suppliers and of course, our ConnectSmart® Host technology smoothly integrates with our ConnectSmart® Kitchen technology, to ensure both front and back-of-house can seamlessly communicate with one another.”
To find out more about how ConnectSmart® Host can seamlessly and efficiently manage your front-of-house operations visit ConnectSmart® Host or call 020 3870 4571.