restaurant development + design is a user-driven resource for restaurant professionals charged with building new locations and remodeling existing units.
Issue link: http://rddmag.epubxp.com/i/537805
3 2 • r e s t a u r a n t d e v e l o p m e n t + d e s i g n • J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 1 5 replace servers, but to add to our level of service," Waggoner says. Digital Payment Speeds Transactions The guest conveniences of digital menus extend to payments at Carmel Kitchen, with each iPad having a credit card reader built into the case. Guests simply swipe their card without it having to leave the table, and as Waggoner points out, this provides guests with a more secure trans- action as it reduces the odds of credit card numbers being pilfered. A POS station prints out the guest receipt or the guest can elect to receive it via email. Go- ing digital also increases order accuracy, eliminating the chances of a server incor- rectly hearing items as guests speak. One concern, theft of tablets, has not been an issue at Carmel Kitchen, Waggoner says. "We keep inventory on iPads for every shift," he says. "If one disappears, we have a security track- ing feature and can also wipe out data remotely." Some large chains, including Starbucks and Panera Bread, have added smartphone mobile wallet payment systems in the past year or two. Wow Bao was an early adopter of this technol- ogy. Mobile wallets, the fastest way to conduct a transaction with no need to provide paper receipts or make change, help queues move faster, reducing their lengths and fostering higher guest throughput. In high-volume businesses, each few seconds of time savings adds up over the course of the day. Wow Bao fnds mobile wallets particularly advanta- geous at its non-conventional locations — food trucks and pop-up sites, includ- ing at music and street festivals and sports venues. "They help us to change the size, shape and form of our space for various locations," Alexander says. Mobile wallets strongly appeal to younger consumers, a demographic that restaurant chains covet and hope to con- vert into brand loyalists. "Many Millen- nials don't carry cash," points out Jason Dorsey, Millennials strategist and chief researcher with research frm The Center for Generational Kinetics. Fail to provide these young people with the ability to pay by smartphone, and you risk losing their business to others that do. This generation has short attention spans and is the least likely to tolerate long waits, Dorsey adds. Restaurants can also enable guests to use their own smartphones as digital menus and ordering devices. The tech- nology already exists, and Panera, with its Panera 2.0 initiative, and Starbucks have jumped on board. Design Implications Digital payment technology can impact interior design. For instance, Carmel Kitchen's 200-seat Winter Park location has been able to cut the number of POS stations to three from six as the payment capability of its menu pads reduces the need for traditional POS machines. What's more, the technology allows each server to handle more tables, which reduces the number of wait staff stations a restaurant requires. TECH TOOLS An early kiosk adapter, Wow Bao reports higher check averages from automated suggestive selling.