QSR May 2022

INNOVATE / CONTINUED FROM PAGE 96

OUTSIDE INSIGHTS / CONTINUED FROM PAGE 98

THE WIDEST RANGE OF CUTS

is working with Rich Tech Robotics, which developed Patty, to add RFID capabili ties. This way, the employee simply puts a table topper number containing an RFID chip and Patty will read it and deliver food accurately. A representative from Rich Tech came out to this BurgerFi location initially, to set up Patty, and map out the restaurant to give it an initial awareness of where home and the tables are. Custom ers enjoy the novelty factor of interacting with Patty. When it delivers food, it thanks them for coming to BurgerFi and if people are in its way, it politely asks them to move. “There are different speech texts we can put in there,” Goodhew says. “It’s a little play ful and some customers are coming in just to see Patty, especially if they’ve got kids.” Bringing fun toanoperation Carlos Gazitua is using Servi robots in six of his full-service restaurants in the Ser gio’s chain and, like other operators, has been struggling to f ind staff during the pandemic. The introduction of the robots was so successful he’s now considering implementing them in his two fast-casual restaurants, Sergio’s Cuban. “We keep the servers rocking out getting the tables and doing the hospitality and it has made a major impact for our guests,” the chief executive says. Gazitua leases the robots for about $1,000 per month each. “At first, the serv ers were a bit nervous because they didn’t understand if it would work, but after two hours they loved it because they don’t have to be running back and forth. They now have more time with the guest and can pick up more tables.” He’s even added a second robot in two of his restaurants, and says one had to assume a more dominant personality so the robots know which goes first in a narrow hallway or between guests. Gazitua charges the robots overnight and between shifts. Although Gazitua has been in business for 45 years, his locations are now known as the “robot restaurants” by local children. Due to this appeal, he’s looking to add more phrases to the robots to increase their interaction, which might include singing happy birthday, speaking Spanish, and celebrity voices. q AmandaBaltazar is a regular contributor to Food News Media and is based in Washington.

juggling a dining room full of patrons changing their minds, sending dishes back, and arguing over the bill. During that sort of rush, don’t turn off your delivery-only menus, or you’ll diminish your reputation with potential customers. You need to walk and chew gum to seamlessly handle both sides of the equation and make sure overall customer satisfac tion—in store or out—is a priority. Beall-in for customer andvendor service Today’s consumers are hyper-specif ic about what they want to eat. The days of ordering a pizza to share with friends are long gone. Now, it might be eight teenag ers in one home on a Friday night ordering eight vastly different food items via mul tiple delivery apps. But they all demand quality, so you need to treat your deliv ery-only customers with the same high level of service and quality food as your on-premises guests. And never gloss over the importance of forging good relationships with deliv ery drivers. These are the people who often get rel egated to an unseen area near the back of your kitchen and must wait around for deliveries to be ready. Smart restaurateurs are now build ing waiting rooms with couches with free sodas avai lable for drivers whi le they wait, encouraging them to accept deliv ery orders from their restaurant. Today’s restaurant industry is a multi faceted and complicated business and will only continue to become more so. Embrace your new delivery-only custom ers, and be prepared to meet their needs as they become more savvy and particu lar about the quality, presentation, and variety of food they order and pay extra to have delivered. The good news is, if you provide for a great off-premises dining experience, they will return and, importantly, spread the word to their friends. By sticking to these three rules, you can be prepared for the next revolution in the industry and set yourself up to win in the delivery-only business. q Geoff Madding is the Chief Growth Officer of Nextbite, where he oversees all aspects of sales, business development, partnerships and strategy. Focused on helping restaurant partners successfully enter the virtual restaurant space, Madding began his career in the industry working for Rock Bottom Restaurants.

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MAY 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com