FSR March 2023

F U T U R E O F QU I C K S E R V I C E

and page through. Shake Shack saw this translate through orders as kiosk users tacked on premium offerings. Guests viewed LTOs and navigated order f low with upsell throughout. “We’re hav ing a burger, we’re going to have our shake and our fry and our lemonade,” Fogertey noted ear lier. “And they can visually see all of that.” “Our digital team developed a kiosk experience that helps guests navigate our menu and premium add-ons more easily for some than the traditional menu board,” she says. “… Kiosks also help our teammembers be more efficient and, over the long term, our investments will allow us to expand our digital and omnichannel ecosystem.” More than anything, it’s become a conver sation that considers all parts to the equation. Digital can unlock ways for brands to provide experience through improved levels of access, convenience, and connection. “Hospitality is at the center of everything we do at Shake Shack,” Fogertey says. “That used to be limited to just in Shack. Now, with digital tools and more channels, we are focused on delivering hospitality across the omnichannel.” ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL Something that also can’t be disputed about COVID’s harshest stretch, when dining rooms went dark, is that quick-serves discovered labor optimization through digital means. Zach Flanzman, president and COO of 17-unit Brown Bag Seafood, says, despite the chaos, the fast casual was never as efficient as it was during that rocky period. You could manage an entire operation with three people in the kitchen. “So coming out of COVID, it’s a hard shift to go back to accepting a higher labor figure when we had gotten used to running things really effi ciently,” he says. And that’s not to mention the continual climb in labor costs these days, from what it takes to recruit to hourly pay and broader benefits. It’s why, Flanzman says, it makes sense for a lot of brands to divest a bit from the in-store expe rience and let customers have a second-f iddle experience in favor of digital traffic. “I think, largely, it’s what has created a situ ation where we now see many brands find their way into a middle ground where they accept the fact the guest experience in-store is not what it used to be,” he says. Some brands, he portends, are even being deliberate about diminishing dine

in so guests will head to digital channels. With that in mind, Brown Bag went the other direction. The company has a culture card called “10 out of 10” that’s clear from day one of orienta tion and throughout training, from dishwasher to manager. It’s an uncomplicated notion that guest experience comes f irst. Flanzman says Brown Bag consciously, at times, sacrif ices f inancially to make this happen. “Could we take a couple of bodies out of our stores if we were willing to sac rifice that? Absolutely,” he says. “But in general, we still believe the in-store experience is extremely important to maintaining loyal guests and, for that matter, our business f low.” It starts with a realization that Brown Bag’s dining room is its best customer acquisition tool. If Flanzman wanted to impress a guest, he’d bring them inside and let them experience the circu lar offering. What the store smells and looks like, how the food presents coming out. The effect is far different than getting a bag dropped off on your doorstep, or even taking food from the counter and racing back outside. “I trust our team. I trust our operations. I trust the dining rooms. I trust the atmosphere,” he says. “Everything, to actually lend to that expe rience and enrich it versus just having a quick pickup order.” On a weekly and monthly basis, Brown Bag measures those “10 of 10” traits and informs teams how they’re doing. Unlike Shake Shack, Flanzman doesn’t see kiosks vibing with what customers expect of Brown Bag. He wants peo ple to be able to grab a laptop and sit down, and know they’ll engage with employees from start to f inish of their visit. There’s no assembly line at Brown Bag, so the idea of customers seeing digital orders prioritized isn’t as much a visual concern as it’s an operational one. Brown Bag has set tings on its KDS and different ticket time goals for off-premises orders. Employees are trained on prioritization, which generally means third-party delivery or digital orders are placed under in-store. The latter are the only ticket times Brown Bag measures, tracks, and evaluates operations on. The fast casual’s in-store and off-premises business splits evenly. That’s hardly an easy mix to manage but it comes down to setting the bar where it needs to be set. “It’s a question of, do we care? Or are we OK that the bar has lowered because there are financial benefits of [off-prem ises] and customers are ordering more online now and most of them don’t care?” Flanzman says. “If

 SHAKE SHACK’S DRIVE-THRUS HAVE HELPED IT SCALE UP IN THE SUBURBS.

Brown Bag’s dining room is

its best customer acquisition tool. If Flanzman wanted to impress a guest, he’d bring them inside and let them experience the circular offering.

SHAKE SHACK (3)

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INDUSTRY-WIDE ISSUE

MARCH 2023