Over the past year, restaurant owners have seen the industry go through massive ups and downs. We furloughed employees. We embraced UberEATS. A horrifying 17% of us closed our doors for good. And now, we’re facing yet another unique challenge: the future.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that many of the changes ushered in by the pandemic will stick around long after everyone removes their masks and resumes dining in our restaurants. This is particularly true of the latest restaurant tech — but what exactly is coming our way? Here are a few tech trends we think will be part of the “new normal,” as well as a few that might be on the horizon.

Online Orders

When the pandemic first hit and lockdowns began, any restaurant that didn’t have a robust online presence was at a distinct disadvantage. In fact, restaurants without an online presence were at a disadvantage even before COVID-19; online food orders have grown 300% faster than dine-in traffic for the past seven years!

 

If you want your business to succeed in 2021 and beyond, you MUST have an online ordering/delivery system that’s user-friendly and accessible. If you don’t, you’re missing out on a huge slice of the market!

Paperless Menus and Contactless Payment

If you go into a restaurant today, you’ll often find a QR code on the table so customers can access the menu or even pay their bill. This technology quickly became popular during the pandemic, but it appears that it has really resonated with diners. According to research from the National Restaurant Association, 21% of customers look for paperless and contactless options when choosing where to dine.

AI-Based Supply Chains

This may sound like something from a science fiction novel, but it’s true: restaurants are starting to use artificial intelligence to determine their supply chain. Every order your restaurant takes is the data point for these AI bots, and they use that data to predict how many 8-oz sodas you’ll need, how many chicken thighs, and countless other details they can then report to your supplier. According to early adopters, this AI-based system has a 92% accuracy rate — and that means it just might be the way of the future.

 

“Cloud Kitchens”

As food delivery becomes the norm throughout the restaurant industry, some restaurateurs are looking for a way to cut costs, even if that means getting rid of their restaurant space. Rather than rent or own a specific location, some restaurants are going rogue, becoming “ghost kitchens” or “cloud kitchens” that operate off-site solely for delivery. This trend is attractive for current restaurant owners and aspiring restaurateurs alike, as it is significantly cheaper to operate a cloud kitchen than a traditional restaurant. It may be that we start seeing cloud kitchens pop up all over the country as the pandemic recovery continues.

 

Of course, no matter what kind of kitchen you’re running, you will need to offer quality customer service to keep your guests coming back. And if you’re going to provide exceptional customer service, you need to manage your training and your staff effectively.

 

With the Synergy Sync training app, you can easily provide consistent training to your employees — even across multiple locations! This will help guarantee that your restaurant staff is always properly trained and giving your customers the best.

The hospitality industry is currently facing a strange and unprecedented crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic was particularly hard on America’s restaurants; over 110,000 businesses closed during the past year (many of them permanently), and nearly 2.5 million restaurant employees found themselves out of work.

After over a year without steady income, today’s restaurant workers should be champing at the bit to get back to their jobs. But as lockdowns and social distancing mandates end, restaurant owners are struggling to rebuild their workforce. Their reasons are vast – safety concerns, lack of childcare, desire for higher wages, or guaranteed sick pay – but the result is a massive labor shortage across America’s restaurants.

This shortage is incredibly frustrating for restaurant owners. After much hard work to build your business – and keep it afloat throughout the pandemic, why should you suffer now due to a lack of workers?

Some restaurant owners are flirting with automation to solve this labor shortage – but is this idea worth the investment? Here’s what you need to know.

Is Restaurant Automation Worth It?

In many ways, automation seems tailor-made for the restaurant industry. Automated ordering guarantees better accuracy. Robot cooks ensure consistency and speed. And a mechanical workforce means fewer employees to pay, decreasing your overhead!

However, we would be remiss in not pointing out the significant drawbacks that an automated restaurant could hold. Robotic cooks and ordering kiosks are expensive to buy and install, and they require technical maintenance to run at peak efficiency. Instead of paying a workforce of servers and cooks, you could end up with a new team of IT professionals on your payroll.

Additionally, the public still isn’t quite ready for a fully robotic restaurant. A 2020 study from Ball State University and the University of Nevada Las Vegas found that survey respondents had mixed feelings about automation in restaurants, citing a desire for the “human touch” throughout the dining experience. This is particularly notable in the aftermath of COVID-19, with so many people eager to regain the social interactions they lost during 2020.

 

What You Should Do

Automation, despite its definite potential, cannot become the driving force behind restaurants today. So, how can you combat the restaurant labor shortage and keep your restaurant fully staffed?

INVEST IN YOUR TEAM.

Proper training and support are the keys to building a competent workforce – and when you show you care and invest in your team, your staff is more likely to return and then stick around. Learn more about SynergySync today to check out our intuitive and affordable training system so you can build the restaurant team of your dreams.

By: Jarrod DellaChiesa, Technology and Operations Consultant

 

If there’s one thing in common with restaurants of all shapes and sizes in our current world, it’s the need to remain nimble and the ability to react quickly to restrictions, policy changes, and guest preferences. Restaurants rely heavily on technology these days, so it’s more important now than ever that your technology stack can adapt to an ever-changing ecosystem without significant costs, rebuilding entire systems, and sucking up resources.

 

The center of your restaurant’s technology system is the POS system. It’s the source of all data and the primary system that your employees interact with as they take care of your guest’s needs. Having a POS system that seamlessly integrates with many 3rd party applications and built-in modules that can be added onto as needed is essential. This allows for a seamless, streamlined experience for guests when it comes to online ordering, participating in loyalty programs, redeeming gift cards, and the like. Having the ability to add QR code ordering, contactless curbside pickup, and processing contactless payments are features few restaurants had on their radar before last year but were able to be achieved quickly by those with a flexible ecosystem.

 

 

Employee scheduling, labor enforcement, payroll, HRIS, e-learning, food costing, ordering, and inventory also rely heavily on technology these days, but because they are often rolled out by different departments, implementing these solutions often means having as many as twelve logins and systems to manage. It’s entirely possible to implement a systems package that accomplishes all POS, HR, accounting, and F&B needs with only a few logins and fully integrated across the board. This not only saves resources, but it eliminates many typical frustrations and uses your data to the fullest – allowing you to understand your business in ways never possible before.

 

Need help getting set up for success and creating a custom technology stack with unlimited potential? Please contact Synergy and schedule a call with Jarrod. Jarrod brings a unique and refreshing perspective to restaurant technology, always keeping in mind the end-user, whether the Guest, a cashier, or management. His passion is providing clients with cost-effective, integrated, and easy-to-use systems that simply work the way they should.

By Mike Walls, Operations Consultant & Beverage Certified Cicerone

In a recent conversation with our friends at RASI, an accounting system, and educational service, we discussed the perils of implementing new technology without firmly establishing the fundamentals in systems, training, and operations to put good data into the system to get the results you need.

Many technology platforms can help to build those standards and best practices, and they’re getting better at it all the time, but there are a few issues that we repeatedly see in the field:

1. Wobble: Wobble occurs during growth periods, periods of high turnover, or in businesses with “telephone training” where information is passed from one person to the next without referencing source material or with no system of skills validation and accountability. Over time, the “why” is forgotten, steps are skipped, and what was once a firmly planted brand or practice begins to wobble from its foundation, which turns into more of a hindrance than a solution.
2. Over-reliance on technology: Sometimes, we rely too heavily on our technology solution or process and not enough on the people executing tasks. People + Process = Success. Both are needed, and one doesn’t work without the other. Try to think of your technology resource as 50% of the solution and your team as the other 50%. Train the team, tell them why, and hold them accountable. Make sure they have the tools to exceed your expectations. Refresh training regularly and make sure that no key players are left behind.

 

 

Many symptoms can be treated by addressing the underlying problem that is a lack of training. This should be the top priority of any growth-oriented company. New technology can help get you where you want to go, but to make the solutions long-term, you need to remember the other half of the equation and continuously work to keep your team empowered.

By: Rita Imerson – Operations & Training Consultant

 

We hear it time and time again…how do you retain the best employees with the industry being so competitive, compensation constantly increasing, and when the current workforce places a lower value on loyalty and job longevity?

 

The answer is complex, and there is no simple solution. Good hiring practices that truly target the Gen Z workforce, strong onboarding and training with clear expectations and management engagement, fair practices, and a positive work culture all help create an environment in which team members feel valued and enjoy working.

 

 

We all know scheduling and communication apps and checklist technology improve and simplify the workplace for team members, but now technology is stepping into employee perks.

 

With Onaroll, your team members are rewarded with points for the performance goals you set. Goals can include the speed of service, upsells, and on-time arrival. Additionally, you can reward tenure and keep your team invested in staying put working for you long term. Each week team members are given tickets with BIG winning opportunities…the longer they stay in the job, the more chances they have to win.

 

This technology integrates with your POS to award points automatically without any work for you or your management team. It is SMS-based, so there is no app or downloads, or enrollment.

 

If your leaders are looking for a simple way to improve productivity and boost morale, this may be just the answer. It’s an easy to implement option that offers a fun way for your team members to feel rewarded and valued.

By: Shane O’Brien, Culinary Consultant

 

Expanding your customer contact is a tried and tested way of not helping your business but responding to a pre and post-Covid landscape’s growing demand.

How can you be more accessible with changing customer behavior?

Church’s Chicken has developed a method with eye-popping results. 85% of their guests interact with the company using their mobile device, so they poured resources into beefing up their digital storefront.

 

“A new website, channel strategy, and mobile welcomer (location finder) were rolled out to help guests go from first impression to desired action within three clicks.”

Return business is an elusive dynamic with many factors affecting why guests return. But having an appealing, fun, and ultimately easy-to-use digital experience can vastly improve your chances. Dictating the ease of use within digital interactions is highly effective at driving return business.

In addition to their freshly overhauled web experience, Church’s took steps to develop their mobile app and email platform.

Along with a loyalty program upgrade, Church’s “launched a new customer database in order to create more personalized and dynamic communications.”

Important to note that in addition to all of the benefits that Church’s saw with their digital renaissance, “Church’s saw an uptick in adoption among GenZ and Millennial audiences, particularly following the launch of the new Church’s Chicken Sandwich.”

Digital development can help capture existing guest’s appreciation, but a large portion of the market is already fluent in social media and virtual business experiences, so it’s a win-win.

By: Natasha Reta, Culinary Consultant

 

Squarespace has been steadily rising in popularity by enhancing eCommerce through its user-friendly platform. Last year restaurants eager to improve sales in an otherwise “closed year” increased retail offerings sales, packaged goods, and merchandise.  So it is no shock to hear the news of the $400 million acquisition of Tock, the reservation system founded by the Alinea Group’s Nick Kokonas. Kokanas commented about the merger, “Combining Tock’s unified platform and years of hospitality industry expertise with Squarespace’s reach resources, and design-forward products, in our view, creates an opportunity to deliver a best-in-class solution to millions of entrepreneurs and small businesses around the world.”

Tock, awarded in Most Innovative Companies in 2021, has offered users a platform for reservations, take-out, and delivery. Designed by a professional team of restaurant hospitality enthusiasts, designers, and writers, The Tock platform not only delivers food but also delivers hospitality chosen by you through an easy-to-navigate platform, including experiences of art and culture, wine tastings, and fine dining.  It’s the only unified system with reservations, take-out, delivery, and events all in one.  In March 2020, Tock to Go helped thousands of restaurants and wineries rebuild their operations, lower costs, re-employ staff and eliminate the use of high-priced third-party delivery apps. They even included COVID-friendly floor plan customization and advanced waiting lists. With only a 3% commission of delivery orders and carry out, it was more affordable for restaurants than the 15-30% in fees that other third parties like Grubhub and DoorDash are charging their clients.

 

This new partnership with Squarespace means Tock can expand its premium hospitality service to a local area near you. Nick Kokonas of Alinea Group will remain CEO of the newly acquired reservation platform, saying, “the entire team will join Squarespace to support our clients in digitally connecting with the world- elegantly and with the same spirit of innovation we’ve fervently embraced.”

 

On the app or the web, Tock and Squarespace will be delivering exquisite hospitality through events, packages, dining, and more.  Get ready to enjoy the art and culture in your local community.

The word restaurant comes from the French verb restaurer, meaning, “to restore oneself.” As early as 1100 A.D. in China, public eating establishments began to come into existence in densely populated areas. Serving tradesmen who were traveling through the area, eating establishments offered ethnic foods and demonstration plates for patrons to sample before ordering. Waiters would take orders and sing them out to the pot masters in the kitchen and then carry multiple trays to customers with one hand. Even then, eating out could be about entertainment as much as it was about food.

Eating at a restaurant, became popular in America in the 19^th century. With the large influx of people living in New York, the first fine dining establishment in the United States opened in 1837. Delmonico’s, in Manhattan, offered an impressive wine cellar and popular dishes. They became known as the first restaurant in America to use tablecloths and to offer ordering a la carte from their menu. These personal touches added to the dining experience of the time.

The dining experience has much evolved since then with new technology! And today, especially because of Covid, making use of online ordering and delivery through businesses like Uber Eats and DoorDash has protected the restaurant industry. Eliminating touchscreens and manual ordering has improved order accuracy and reduced labor costs.

 

 

Helping with Point-Of-Sale (POS) integration, ItsaCheckmate connects restaurants with over 100 third-party delivery and ordering systems. Restaurant Operators can sign up for this platform which includes menu adjustments, pricing updates, and order flow management.

Digital ordering and payment is here to stay, even for time sensitive orders like ice cream. Handling orders 24/7 Cold Stone Creamery managers can update menus and store information easily on the OLO Dashboard. They have also been able to enjoy higher volume and after-hours support. Ordering through the web, mobile, kiosk, or in-car the digital experience is safe, convenient, and accurate thanks to the technology.

The GoParrot platform automates digital order and delivery while mimicking the restaurant’s brand and marketing. Fonts, logos, colors, and images are “parroted” for the user to order the way the restaurant intends for them to order. This restaurant technology tool also includes cart recommendations, loyalty programs, coupons, and promotions.

Yumpingo, a restaurant intelligence platform, uses real-time customer feedback to develop data analytics for restaurant POS systems. This information is used for operations, product development, and marketing for delivery and pickup.

Analyzing data between the multitudes of digital platforms is of interest to most restaurant operators. Keboola is the platform to use for large scale business comparisons like this. The single-integrated platform uses data from the ever-changing landscape to inform decisions about customer preferences, inventory management, and better staffing and planning.

Although the days of singing waiters may be over, technology has a lot to offer the restaurant process. Our restaurant training program can help streamline training and improve the restaurant experience. For less than a daily cost of a cup of coffee at Starbucks you can take control of your business with Synergy Sync.

By: Chef Natasha Reta

Drive-ins and drive-thrus hardly seem like an innovation of our current time. Drive-in movies, drive-thru dairies, and drive-thru pharmacies have all been around for decades now. And as some counties considered limiting drive-thrus due to carbon emission levels, we were hit with a worldwide pandemic that required the public to utilize the “safety bubble” of their vehicle to receive testing, vaccines, medications, and necessary groceries.

As restaurants slowly reopen, the industry will need to shift the guest’s dining experience to protect their community’s safety and health. The need for distanced and contactless service demands increased as the public resumes “normalcy” while returning to work and under strict health guidelines. Many restaurants have utilized this time to improve their takeout and delivery and incorporate curbside or drive-thru services.

 

 

Houston-based salad fast-casual location Salata says drive-thru has become a priority in expanding into the future. It will utilize a new mobile ordering app in hopes of facilitating an order-ahead drive-thru window.

Pokeworks is also developing a prototype drive-thru concept to fulfill third-party delivery and mobile app-based orders. The Pokeworks drive-thru lane, also known as their “Cruise Thru” lane, will not allow on-site ordering. This option will speed the pickup process for delivery drivers and customers who use the Pokeworks Rewards App. It also minimizes order mistakes and multiple contact points.

Multiple other chains have announced reinvention of their drive-thru and takeout services such as Chipotle, Sweetgreen, Burger Fi, El Pollo Loco, and La Madeleine. Checkers & Rally’s also recently announced it was testing stores with dedicated drive-thru lanes. While many chains and franchises have drive-thru prototypes in the works, several independent restaurants are challenged by their drive-thru counterparts.  Several operators have embraced the need for enhanced takeout by incorporating takeout windows for walk-up customers. Many even utilize this window to allow for a ghost kitchen pickup during off-hours of the restaurant.

This has indeed been a challenging year for us all. Still, in time of unprecedented challenges, we will utilize creative thinking and innovation to rebuild business in the restaurant industry’s ever-changing future.

By Rita Imerson

Over the last year, smart operators have modified their business model to be successful during the pandemic. Whether you operate in an area with many or few restrictions, takeout/order ahead and contactless experiences have likely been more popular than ever.

The challenge with this type of guest experience is the absence of human interaction, making it almost impossible to build guest relationships. Your team may not even interact with your guests at all, or if they do, it’s through a mask, a partition, or a pickup window.

Like many have done this year, we must be creative and think outside the box. It’s more important than ever to create and foster a more personalized experience with off-premise sales within the hospitality industry.

 

Consider introducing the following:

• Include personalized notes in takeout bags. If possible, use a branded notepad and train the takeout team to write a quick note for each order. Something like: “I hope you love the Crispy Brussel Sprouts! They’re my favorite!! Have a great night, Michelle.”
• Add photos of your team members without masks and smiling at the takeout pickup area with short bios.
• Consider management follow up on takeout orders. With most online ordering platforms, you have access to guest contact info. Train managers to take the time to personally reach out to 5-10 guests each day and ask about their takeout experience. A quick text or email:  “Hi, this is Steve, the General Manager of Fireside Grill. Just making sure your takeout order last night was great! Please let me know if you have any feedback. We truly appreciate your support!!”
• Post photos and info (of course, nothing too personal) about your team on your social media channels.
• Consider technology that notifies the guest of which team member is preparing their order (see example below).

Although we are looking ahead and planning for post-Covid operations, it’s clear that off-premise sales will remain a large and essential part of the restaurant industry. Including these types of service steps in your training can improve gratuities, improve online reviews, and impact return visits. Any investment in personalizing this part of your business will surely be valuable long term.

 

Salt and Straw includes personalized, fun messages on their takeout bags.

Philz Coffee app notifies guests of who is preparing their order.