Restaurants Revolutionize Customer Experience with Digital Strategies

Imagine you are taking the family on a summer vacation to Grandma's lake cottage. The kids are unruly and hungry after six hours on the road, so you take the next exit to get a quick bite. A cheerful employee with a tablet taps your window to collect your order and asks you about your travels before you can put the car in reverse and look for faster options in the packed drive-thru of the chicken sandwich restaurant. The order comes at the pickup window five minutes later, the sandwiches are hot and delicious, and there is a small bonus cookie in the bag with a letter wishing you a successful fishing trip. Long delays, incorrect orders, and impersonal service may have been a nightmare. Still, instead, it was a lesson in gracious hospitality—excellent customer service combined with cutting-edge technology created the chance to offer a revolutionary experience. Few industries place as much emphasis on the customer experience as the restaurant industry, whether it is the quickness, effectiveness, and convenience of fast food, the customization of high-growth fast- casual chains with "choose your toppings," or the way the waitress at your neighborhood diner knows exactly what you want for breakfast. Everyone who enjoys eating out understands the value of being treated with respect, and restaurants are utilizing digital technologies to transform their operations from serving hash to providing unparalleled experiences.

Follow up on your pizza

How significant is dining patron experience to restaurants? Enhancing digital client engagement is the top strategic priority of food service firms, overtaking "efficiency" for the first time in ten years, according to Hospitality Technology's 2017 Restaurant Technology Study. The focus this year, according to more than 60% of food operations, is on digital innovation. Experience is the culmination of a person's contacts with a business, according to Brad Rencher, EVP, and general manager for digital marketing at Adobe, during the most recent Adobe Summit. Companies that are tuned into making customers feel special upending the status quo. "Experiencing your business is beneficial to business.

He continued by characterizing Domino's as an experienced company because it has revolutionized getting a pizza delivered. An app, a Facebook Messenger bot, a tweet with an emoji, or even a phone call are all options for placing an order. Then, they may use the smartphone app to monitor the location of the delivery person or how long their pizza has been in the oven. Dominos currently receives 60% of its orders through the app, and it is always searching for ways to make it better.

A new way to order

They are not alone either. Pizza Hut made a stir during this year's March Madness with a special set of "Pie Top" sneakers that could be used to order a pizza, but the entire quick-service restaurant segment—or QSR, the industry term for fast food—is rejuvenating the experience, as is its posh cousin "fast casual." Chili's now offers tableside tablets for ordering and payment. To improve its customer experience with true, data-driven personalization, Subway also established a 150-person digital team.

Everything is changing, even at McDonald's. In March, the Golden Arches introduced an app that diners could use to place orders for curbside or drive-thru pick-up and developed in-store kiosks that could access customers' app profiles, which contained their personalized orders and payment options. The long wait for a Big Mac withoutonions is over. At the time, McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook remarked, "The overallidea is to make customers' lives easier, more convenient, and more pleasurable. "It is not intended to change your life. Simply said, it is intended to improve and modernize the McDonald's dining experience. Fine dining

Long before technology entered the kitchen, a wonderful eating experience was a crucial component of fine dining.

For over three decades, Union Square Café has been a top dining destination in New York, known for its excellent service and delicious food. Today, all the restaurant's managers and sommeliers—who recently moved to a new location—wear Apple Watches. It is not to follow orders or appear hip rather, when a VIP walks through the door, when a bottle of wine is ordered, or when a menu item runs out, every manager gets an alert via the computer on their wrist.

Another option to speed up some of the restaurant's time-consuming tasks is through technology. The sommelier can now be swiftly informed when a bottle of wine is ordered, and the coat room can also be notified when a check is being paid so that diners will not have to wait when leaving. Rest, the company that created the Union Square system, also offers options for restaurants to wow their patrons through their reservation app, which works similarly to OpenTable. The app enables customers to share their preferences with servers, so they are aware of things like dietary restrictions or drink preferences before the user even places their order. Most of the "regulars" used to have access to this information in the reservation book upfront, but it is now available online. A superb chef or server will not be replaced by technology. Additionally, it will not improve the flavor of your hamburger or prevent the roof of your mouth from burning off your pizza. However, it will propel restaurants into a time when offering a genuine, customized experience will set you apart from the competition. There is food for thought there for all enterprises.

Unlock your digital door now and seethe future of customer service.