8 ways technology can raise your game

When it comes to technology, restaurants lag behind lodging, retail and other consumer businesses. But as customers embrace more technology in their lives, restaurants are catching up, incorporating devices and applications that help them run more smoothly and better address the guests’ needs.

Most restaurants have at least taken baby steps, creating e-newsletters and online loyalty programs and setting up a Facebook page or Twitter account. “These require the fewest resources to get up and running, and they are relatively easy to administer in-house,” says Maeve Webster, a senior director at Datassential, a menu research firm that surveyed operators and consumers on their technology habits. Far fewer, on the other hand, have embraced online ordering or digital loyalty programs—even though many consumers say they use or would like to use those capabilities.

What kind of technolgy (and how much of it) makes sense for an individual restaurant?

NoWait allows guests to place themselves on a waitlist even before they reach the restaurant.

NoWait allows guests to place themselves on a waitlist even before they reach the restaurant.

3. Schedule and train staff more effectively

While many restaurants prefer to handle scheduling using more traditional tools, newer apps that replace low-tech strategies can resonate more with younger, mobile-savvy staffs. “Hourly workers are increasingly Gen Y, and if they don’t want to come to work on a Friday, they don’t,” says Anthony Lye, chief product officer of Red Book Connect, which specializes in technology for restaurants. One of its solutions, HotSchedules, appeals to the flexibility Gen Y types prize. It allows them to check their schedule, but it also empowers them to arrange shift swaps with fellow employees and provides managers and team members access to the most up-to-date schedules from their computers and phones.

Restaurant guests seem more willing to open up about their experience on a tablet rather than a comment card.

Restaurant guests seem more willing to open up about their experience on a tablet rather than a comment card.

4. Market to Millennials and other demographic groups in a way they can relate to

By now, it’s common knowledge that a mobile presence is crucial for a restaurant, and everyone knows why: Many Americans, especially younger generations, are joined at the hip to their mobile devices. A study in the U.K. found that mobile is the only source consulted by 49 percent of mobile restaurant searches, and three-quarters of those searches result in booking, often on the same day. What are the three most important factors in those decisions? Online reviews, location proximity and a mobile-optimized website.

Spanish-speaking customers are another audience that can benefit from the magic of technology. “How do you ease the process for some of these consumers so they can come to your restaurant and not have to worry about a stressful engagement with a waitstaff that isn’t fluent in Spanish?” Webster observes. “If they can order through a tablet that is all in Spanish, the experience immediately becomes better for them.”

5. Rebound from slips and foster loyalty

Bareburger, a growing chain based in NYC, uses a tablet system called Tuee that captures guest data at the point of sale and then automates email, social media and loyalty campaigns. The app provides immediate feedback from the vast majority of Bareburger guests, says George Mathew, a franchisee. “But rather than just stopping there, it enables us to use that data to enter into a dialog with our guests. If a guest has a great experience, we can send them a different email than a guest who has a poor experience. Also, if a guest is upset, we get instantly alerted so that we can resolve issues in-house.”

Alondra Hot Wings uses Check Point, a tablet-based survey that customers receive with the check, to solicit feedback. “This has helped us curb a lot of potential complaints that would go on sites like Yelp. As soon as a negative response is received, a manager is notified by cell phone text and is able to turn the experience around before the customer leaves,” Kazarian says.

An instant feedback app called DropThought that was paired with the Clover point-of-sale device helped reduce negative Yelp reviews 8-17 percent for three restaurants over a 16-month test. A one-star jump in Yelp ratings translates to a 5-9 percent bump in revenue, according to research conducted at Harvard.  

Nipping negative reactions in the bud is a good way to contain the damage and turn a bad situation around. “Research shows that customer emotions become permanent with time,” says Baba Shiv, professor of marketing at Stanford and a DropThought board member. “It’s best for an effective intervention to take place as close to the experience as possible.”

A bonus? Customers seem to enjoy providing feedback on tablets. “We find that we are getting much higher response rates than we did with the comment cards—about 80 percent,” Kazarian says. “Employees love it too, because it creates a healthy competition to get better feedback."

6. Facilitate ordering and payment

In a recent National Restaurant Association study, 52 percent of consumers said they would use a smartphone or tablet to order takeout or delivery meals from a restaurant. Yet Datassential’s study suggests that a mere 7 percent of restaurants offer the option to order online. Clearly money is being left on the table.

And who wouldn’t want the option to get the check and be able to depart faster, rather than play the standard check-credit card relay with the server? NYC’s Gotham Bar & Grill, for example, uses a checkout app called MyCheck that allows customers to view, split and pay the bill in real time directly from their mobile device.

“People may question the impact that this kind of technology would have in an upscale environment like Gotham,” says managing partner Bret Csencsitz. “The flow is very classy and only enhances the dining experience. Servers can focus on providing optimum service and don’t have to worry about the right time to drop a check.” MyCheck users reportedly tip 15-20 percent higher than average and vacate their tables 3 to 10 minutes sooner, too.

Natural Epicurean at Colorado's Broadmoor resort provides tablets that dive into details about each dish, including allergens.

7. Target deals to lure new guests and court regulars

People who are hungry are looking for something nearby. Why not give them one more reason to choose your restaurant? “By dangling a special incentive to save money or get a free appetizer or drink, you can implement a highly relevant, low-cost acquisition strategy that ‘speaks’ to customers in the moment they are looking for a place to dine,” says Kristen Gramigna, chief marketing officer for BluePay, a payment processing company that works with restaurants.

Guest management systems, which collect dining and service preferences, purchase history and more, are the latest tactic in creating customized messages. Fig & Olive, a six-unit concept, uses a system developed by Venga that has had measurable results; as of March, the company was tracking more than 500,000 guests and saw a surge in open rates for automated marketing campaigns. A recent “we miss you” promotion, sent to guests who had not dined at Fig & Olive for 30 days, yielded nearly 300 visits and more than $36,000 in sales.

It’s one thing to read a menu; quite another to see a stunning image of the same dish. The popularity of Instagram, SnapChat, Pinterest and other photo-oriented websites has elevated the expectation that a restaurant website or app will provide great-looking photos of food. Do they need to be professional shots? That depends on the restaurant’s typical audience, Datassential’s Webster says.

“Gen Xers and boomers are looking for well-curated sites with high-quality photos that let them see what the food is all about—think glossy magazine spread,” she says. “Millennials, on the other hand, want to see a photo of everything they can get on the menu, and quality isn’t as important.”

And when it comes to showing, technology offers the perfect way to audition servers. The new Sober Lane D4 pub in Dublin, Ireland, recently challenged job applicants to submit photos or videos of themselves to Snapchat in lieu of a resume. Owner Earnest Cantillon says the social media site is the perfect way to make a first impression and a good fit for a new restaurant trying to make a splash. He advised applicants to get creative and work on convincing the viewer “this is a person I would like to meet.”

Ultimately, while technology can make a restaurant manager’s life easier, its impact on the guest experience is arguably more critical. “The point should be to enhance the experience and eliminate pain points,” Webster says.