QSR January 2023

S P ON S O R E D B Y R E S T A U R AN T T E C HNO L OG I E S

In an already-strained labor environment, operators look to automation to increase profitability. KeepYourHeadAboveWater WhenLaborCostsRise

OnSeptember5, 2022, the Fast Food Account ability and Standards Recovery Act (better known as the FAST Recovery Act) , was signed into law. Under the new law, the minimumwage for California fast-food workers could increase by 41 percent—from $15–$22 per hour—in 2023. The lawwill have a significant impact on the nearly 15,000 franchisees in California—and likely restaurants in and outside of California in the not-too-distant future—compounding the challenges they already face. Commodity infla tion, increased labor costs, labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions are already putting pressure on restaurant profitability. “With rising costs, operators have had to hike prices to maintain margins—but there is only so much room left to do that ,” says​ Carlos Benavides, national account manager at Restaurant Technologies. With the new law, the

International Franchise Associationwarns that food prices could rise as much as 20 percent. “For many diners, there simply isn’t wiggle room left in their budgets to dine out.” With such competitive wages, there is less staff loyalty, and workers are more likely to leave for a job that pays more. Without enough workers, chains with extended hours may not be able to staff shifts adequately, forcing them to sacrifice revenues from one or more dayparts. For operators facing staff shortages and increasing labor costs, automation is critical. One of themost strategic decisions they can make is to automate manual tasks and reallocate labor to guest facing, revenue-generating roles. Using automation tomaximize the efficiency of the existing labor pool, managers canwork with smaller crews. “Manual cooking oil handling is truly one of the worst jobs in the kitchen,” Benavides says. “Employees are lifting heavy jugs of oil and moving hot oil from the fryers to rendering tanks—both of which have potential for injuries. Total Oil Management, our end-to-end oil management system, eliminates all of that.” Another Restaurant Technologies solution, AutoMist®,

automatically keeps hoods and flues clean, eliminating grease buildup—and the potential for a catastrophic fire. When restau rant operators create a safer work environment with fewer inju ries and workers’ comp claims, they might qualify for insurance premium credits. “Insurance companies look at restaurants with our solutions in place and reward them with insurance premium credits,” Benavides says. “Operators can unlock valuable savings—espe cially in California where a 5-percent reduction in premiums is a significantly lower expense.” Automating onerous back-of-house tasks has numerous ben efits for restaurant operators. Not only can labor be reallocated to guest-facing tasks where a human element is needed, it creates a safer environment. And staff loyalty is boosted by eliminating manual oil handling, which is arguably the worst and most dan gerous job in the kitchen. “In the face of a national minimum wage increase, our solu tions save operators money,” Benavides says. “With these inno vative tools, they can offset labor costs and subsidize any type of incremental spend.” RET

To learn more, visit rti-inc.com .

RESTAURANT TECHNOLOGIES

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JANUARY 2023 | RESTAURANT EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

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