The restaurant business is ready for a revolution in technology, but could problems arise?

Having new technology like mobile phone ordering and tracking, ordering kiosks, custom mobile apps, table placement using cell phones, online-only ordering, and a host of other technologies specifically designed to improve the customer experience sounds like a great idea. .. but are they? ?

The boom and bust of the restaurant and restaurant since 2007 is wonderful and everyone loves to eat in them. But there are a substantial number of potential customers who cannot use those technologies, no matter how they try. And it’s not really their fault!

There is no doubt that technology can improve the customer experience. There is a substantial percentage of customers who are not familiar with the use of technology and that is a problem. Note that the value of fast food restaurants in the UK in 2017 for fast food, including takeaways alone, was £ 5.1 billion, but adding up to more than £ 14 billion in the industry as a whole. even what appear to be smaller percentages of leads adds up. to massive business losses.

Weather 56% of consumers between 45 and 64 years old use technology in restaurants that goes out a massive 44% of that age group who don’t use technology. In fact, for the US. around 65% of customers over 55 years of age prefer to be served by waiters.

Careful consideration of how and where technology is used to improve the customer experience is a key consideration for your success, after all. who wants to ignore up to 44% of customers because technology was it less than perfect? Remember that the National Restaurant Association says the number one feature cited by baby boomers was a loyalty and rewards program, so integrating that into customer experience technology creates a win / win situation by attracting customers. that sector of clients to your restaurant or business. .

It is noted that in the UK, the government has provided national statistics on personal wealth by age, where average liquid wealth peaked between the ages of 55 and 64, so it makes perfect sense that technology could be introduced As a customer interface technology itself does not turn away the richest people with disposable income in the UK from any restaurant or business.

Focusing on cell phone ordering is fine for the younger generation, but most readers will meet friends over 55 who struggle with their cell phone on a daily basis. Deloitte suggests that there has been a substantial increase in smartphone users over the age of 55 between 2012 and 2017 up to a 71% change. But that’s certainly not a true reflection of how many of those 55 and older use the phone for smart apps. In fact, Deloitte estimates that at least 1 in 4 consumers over 55 who own smartphones have never downloaded a single app. With that level of app usage in the 55+ age group, those issues for restaurant technology remain high on the agenda, but they seem not to have been addressed by developers and are more often ignored by restaurant operators.

It’s also worth noting, according to a recent ‘green light’ survey, that when it comes to the internet, Those over 55 currently spend over £ 14bn on online shopping and are the fastest growing demographic in that area. but they tend to be largely ignored by retailers and restaurant customer-facing tech development by manufacturers. Note also that ‘greenlight’ also commented that for the 65+ demographic, the spend is actually reduced compared to the customer in the 55-64 age group. Understanding this fact can help identify which technology will help or hinder that demographic with the resulting increase in sales.

But technology in restaurants isn’t just about the front-of-house customer experience, there are other attributable technologies now appearing in restaurants that directly contribute to the overall delivery of quality customer service, such as follow-up. of staff that can provide key metrics on staff efficiency to improve service. levels and reduce costs accordingly.

Thinking about current trends when it comes to this same 55-64 year old demographic, the payment process can also be an obstacle. While many newer payment methods may include mobile or tablet payments, kiosks, or server applications, consideration must be given to the effects those technologies will have in deterring 55-64 year olds from visiting any restaurant.

It’s clear that over time the younger generations will eventually migrate to more tech savvy customers, but ignoring the significant 55-64 age range isn’t recommended if your restaurants already cater to that demographic.

Of course, there are other technologies that ARE friendly to the 55-64 demographic that do not involve ANY difficult customer-level high-tech use, such as a tabletop tracking system from LRS from Dallas TX, USA. Their “Table Tracker” is easy to use and the only involvement of the customer is to place a “disk” on the table they choose to sit at. The service is drastically improved and it’s a fact 55+ love great service demonstrated by his love of waiter service.

So there are a number of questions that need to be addressed where the technology is or could be implemented in the future, things like:

• Are you limiting your own customer base to millennials? Not:

• How does customer experience technology influence 55-64 lead engagement?

• Are you happy with the fact that the highest disposable income sector 55+ might not visit your restaurant due to technology concerns?

• Have you seriously considered the aspect of customer-facing technology that affects your restaurant sales?

• Do you propose further investigation of the technology products you currently use?

• Review currently installed customer service technology to address the 55+ customer sector

• Consider the 55+ customer base BEFORE you commit to technologies It might not appeal to the 55+ demographic due to technical complexity when introduced to them.

Customer engagement from all adults is key when using technology to enhance the customer experience in any restaurant setting, especially when it comes to sales.