Over the past ten years, the restaurant sector has seen significant and swift transformation, mostly as a result of new technology and changing customer tastes.
The food that patrons of restaurants eat, how they eat, and where they dine has evolved. They don’t want to wait long and want their food quickly. They want to be able to eat in the restaurant, order takeaway, or have it delivered. Additionally, they want their cuisine to satisfy their expectations and taste preferences while also adhering to all of their dietary limitations.
These changes in customer preferences coincided with the last ten years’ tech boom, and the restaurant sector, which was previously dominated by pen and paper, had to adapt as best it could.
1. Touchscreen Terminals for Point of Sale
The purpose of contemporary point of sale (POS) systems, such as touchscreen terminals, is to boost productivity. With sturdy hardware, they should be able to endure the demands of the restaurant and guarantee that you and your staff are always working at restaurant speed.
The restaurant POS software that powers the majority of touchscreen terminals has an intuitive, user-friendly interface that makes it easy for staff to move rapidly and for new hires to pick things up quickly. You can place more orders more quickly and make more money by streamlining the order-taking process with touchscreen point-of-sale terminals.
Guests may follow along as they place their orders, make quick payments, and leave tips on the screen thanks to the guest-facing screens found on many point-of-sale (POS) systems nowadays, which are usually utilised by quick-service restaurants. This increases order speed and accuracy, allowing your staff to maintain queue flow.
Today’s top-tier point-of-sale terminals may also accept mobile and credit card payments through a reader that is incorporated into the POS. Make sure the payment processing device you choose supports Europay Mastercard and Visa (EMV), Magnetic Stripe Card (MSR), and Near Field Communication (NFC), such as Apple Pay and digital wallets.
2. Pay and Place Your Order at the Table
Efficiency, quickness, and safety have long been crucial aspects of dining. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic,
In the Restaurant Guest Guide According to 34% of patrons at COVID-19, the option of contactless or mobile payments is now crucial to their dining experiences. Additionally, according to 33% of patrons, pay at the table technology plays a critical role in their eating experiences.
Your visitors may order and pay for their meal with Toast Mobile Order & PayTM, all from the comfort and security of their own device. In addition to providing your visitors with peace of mind, it also helps you save labour expenses, increase table turnover times, and gain a deeper understanding of your guests through useful data.
Find out more about how your restaurant might benefit from Toast Mobile Order & PayTM.
3. Portable Point-of-Sale Devices
Instead of asking a party if they are ready for the bill, bringing them their bill, taking the bill back to the POS machine and bringing their change back if they paid in cash, what if your waiters could finish a bill with just one visit to the table? Your employees can streamline operations by enabling visitors to place orders and make payments at the table with handheld point-of-sale (POS) devices.
Servers can increase order accuracy and speed and turn tables more quickly thanks to portable point-of-sale (POS) systems that enable at-the-table ordering and payment. Additionally, patrons wait less time for their bill and food.
In addition to these operational enhancements, handheld point-of-sale devices enable your staff to improve the visitor experience. How? Because they can spend more time interacting with guests rather than rushing to a terminal or trying to remember orders.
Find out more about the benefits of handheld point-of-sale systems and discover how Austin, Texas’s Odd Duck utilises them to boost yearly sales by $500,000.
4. Payments via Contactless
The availability of contactless payment methods is becoming increasingly crucial to the eating experiences of patrons, as we discussed above for Order and Pay at the Table. According to 34% of patrons in the Guide to the Restaurant Guest During COVID-19, the availability of contactless or mobile payments is now crucial to their dining experiences.
By enabling your guests to pay for their orders by tapping, dipping, or swiping, contactless payment systems help you keep them safe and secure. This keeps visitors and employees from making unwelcome or needless physical contact at a time when social separation and safety are crucial.
For a more thorough explanation of contactless and mobile payments, as well as how contactless payment solutions might benefit your business, see this article.
5. Kiosks for self-ordering
Self-order kiosks are becoming a popular feature in fast-casual and quick-service restaurants. Self-ordering kiosks were rated as either somewhat or highly important by 53% of patrons in the 2019 Restaurant Success Report.
There are several reasons why self-order kiosks are becoming more and more popular. With their excellent digital experiences and user-friendly interfaces, they enable restaurants to satisfy patrons’ expectations. Additionally, they allow customers greater influence throughout the ordering process, facilitating menu review and order customisation.
In addition to enhancing the visitor experience, a well-designed kiosk may help restaurants minimise wait times, raise average bill size (by using upsell prompts), and increase order volume—all while assisting your team in avoiding staffing and productivity issues.