Connected Technologies: Transforming the QSR Guest Experience

For today’s quick service restaurants, nothing matters more than providing a great experience to every guest.

How can we expect employees to collaborate effectively if the technologies they use are not connected?

A great guest experience depends on the ability of the QSR crew to work as a team. It is essential that crews, in the back and front of the house, as well as the management, effectively collaborate to ensure great food is delivered to the guests quickly and that their experience is positive and enjoyable.

The same goes for technology. How can we expect employees to collaborate effectively if the technologies they use are not connected?

Today’s QSR crews rely heavily on technology to drive performance. These technology solutions range from point of sale systems and digital menu boards in the front of house to kitchen management and drive-thru solutions in the back of house. Not to mention the restaurant management solutions that pull everything together.

These technologies have advanced in recent years, but they often still operate in isolation. It doesn’t have to be this way. If all of these powerful solutions are connected, then imagine how empowered the crew and management will be with insightful information at their fingertips. And integrated technologies can produce the kinds of improvements—reduced redundancies, increased performance levels—that are needed to provide every guest with a great experience.

Here are three examples of how connected technologies can take your QSR operations to the next level.

Inventory Management + Digital Menu Boards

Running out of food can destroy the guest experience. When guests order a chicken sandwich, only to find out the restaurant is currently out of chicken, they are likely to go elsewhere. However, if the menu board is updated to reflect current inventory levels, this negative experience can be avoided.

By integrating inventory management solutions with digital menu boards, QSRs can ensure automatic updates are made to the menu boards when products are out of stock, or if there is excess stock of an item, the menu boards can highlight these items for the guests.

Point of Sale + Kitchen Management

Today’s point of sale systems have the functionality and reliability for crews to process high volumes of orders quickly and effectively. And kitchen management solutions have enabled quick service kitchen crews to connect to the real-time information and insights they need to improve food quality, increase efficiency, and significantly reduce food waste. Put these two powerful tools together and you eliminate the need to guess how much food to prepare each day.

Preparing the right amount of food means the customer can get what they want quickly. Preparing too much food results in waste. And not having enough food on hand may cause delays that end in upset customers. The exact right amount of food prepared for each day part is critical to enhancing the guest experience.

By connecting point of sale systems and kitchen management solutions, kitchen crews can prepare and cook the correct amount of food based on historical usage and live data from the point of sale. As a result, costly food waste is reduced and guest satisfaction is improved.

Point of Sale + Order Confirmation Systems

Order confirmation systems can provide big improvements to the experience for your drive-thru guests. These solutions not only help ensure the accuracy of the order, but provide cross-sell and up-sell opportunities to drive sales. When integrated with a QSR’s point of sale system, order confirmation systems offer the ability for greater personalization to provide for a more engaging customer experience.

For example, if a guest orders a combo or a la carte sandwich, order confirmation systems, by talking with the point of sale, can highlight high-margin complementary items that increase average ticket sales and give guests a customized experience that complements their specific order.

The Power of the Connected Restaurant

By connecting the technologies in the front and back of house, as well as above the restaurant, not only will the crew and management be empowered with invaluable insights, they will be able to transform the guest experience into a memorable event that builds lifetime loyalty and drives long-term sustained growth.