Video Transcription

Today, we’re going to talk about the golden goose of your restaurant; that’s off-premise sales. It is the only and fastest growing segment of the restaurant business. And, why you’re flushing a lot of that money down the toilet.

Here’s the problem: in today’s paradigm, the issue, the status quo, is what I like to call the Heisman. You see you’re forcing your employees to choose between the guest who’s in front of them and the guest who’s on the phone. Resulting in this: [stiff-arm maneuver], and that’s not good for the guest; it’s not good for the employee.

It results in reduced takeout; frustrated guests; getting no data on what the guests are ordering, when they’re ordering, how much they’re ordering; they struggle with the menu; and, they don’t have time to repeat orders for accuracy or for upsell.

So, how do we get you the golden goose? The key to recapturing this golden goose, this 10 to 20 percent of takeout sales, is the bifurcation or the separation of tasks. So that your restaurant employees can focus on preparing and delivering world-class food and experience; and, our folks and our technology can focus on delivering a world-class experience in order-taking, in payment, and in upselling, giving you the golden egg.

That’s our Virtual Intelligent Automation: the final step in your takeout journey.

The Restaurant's Golden Goose: Off Premise Sales

Trends in off-premise ordering present the opportunity for restaurants to boost sales, increase brand loyalty with more focused services, recapture 10 to 20 percent of their takeout sales, and gain an edge on the growing competition in takeout food services. It’s no wonder off-premise services currently represent the fastest growing segment of the restaurant industry; and, all signs point to continued growth.

So, why is off-premise growing so rapidly? What are the benefits? Utilizing off-premise services allows for restaurants to better delegate tasks. With another entity handling takeout orders and/or delivery, in-restaurant employees can focus on providing the best service possible for the guests in front of them that way both dine-in and takeout guests receive a VIP restaurant experience. Plus, with off-premise, restaurants can eliminate dropped calls, help employees feel less overwhelmed, and increase average check through upselling and more focused service.

Several top restaurant chains have already begun using off-premise services. These restaurants are focusing time and money on ways to present themselves as go-to providers for great takeout food that is convenient, easy, and delicious.

In a Food Newsfeed article, TDn2K’s director of insights, Victor Fernandez, discusses the growing off-premise trend and why he sees it as a very important, rapidly growing sector in the restaurant industry. The article quotes Fernandez saying that out of all the trends they’re seeing at TDn2K, he believes that having and developing off-premise services is one of the must-do steps for casual dining restaurants who want to succeed in today’s market. TDn2K is a research and analytics company that tracks trends, gathers insights, and compiles reports for the restaurant industry.

Based on TDn2K research, as of May 2017, take-out and delivery made up about 10 percent of overall sales, and while that appears small now, that’s an 8 percent increase in just two years’ time, the article states. The article also states: “… the brands that are outperforming their peers in the market tend to see the fastest growth in off-premise dining.” Fernandez also states in the article that casual dining restaurants have to present themselves to consumers as a great option for takeout, particularly highlighting themselves as a convenient, fast option for food.

Brands that are seeing success in off-premise services include Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Brinker’s restaurants (Chili’s Grill and Bar), and others. In the article, Brinker’s report that they have seen significant growth in to-go orders in the last five years, a 9 percent increase, which is why they are continually looking into potential takeout and off-premise investments.

The article also quotes Red Robin’s CEO Marie Post discussing what the restaurant is doing in off-premise. The restaurant currently uses off-premise services from SYNQ3 Restaurant Solutions, utilizing the company’s take-out ordering services and off-premise ordering specialists. Post notes that they are continually expanding these services to more of their restaurants.

So, what are the off-premise opportunities and how can your restaurant take advantage of them? Check out SYNQ3’s off-premise services, which are currently being used by Red Robin, Chipotle, Noodles & Company, and several other top restaurant chains. Get ahead of the takeout curve now with the help of SYNQ3’s off-premise ordering technology and services.

Video Transcription

You know, if you’re looking for directions, this thing works pretty well, but if you want to order a restaurant meal, you better be talking to a human because most automated-speech-recognition engines are not ready for prime time. They can fail at a rate of up to 15 percent, which costs you real money and lost transactions.

Current AI is not conversational and it’s not adaptive to a restaurant environment, nor is it adaptive to driving in your car.

So, what we want to talk about is meeting the guests where they’re at in an omni-channel ordering solution, so that we can talk to them via voice, text, speech, mobile, social, and what I would call digital automation.

We want to surround the guest with the synchronization of people, process, and technology. Meet them where they are and solve their needs. We’re now doing that with an artificial intelligence solution that’s second to none.

Why Most AI Solutions Still Stink

While artificial intelligence technology has made tremendous leaps in the past two decades, most AI is still too slow for use in customer relations industries, like the restaurant industry. The majority of AI solutions are just not conversational enough. Their ability to adapt and respond to guest interactions is often lacking and can result in a failure rate of up to 15 percent, which means that 1 in 5 orders are improperly handled and lost. Current AI is lacking for three primary reasons:

1. Poor Social Skills
   They just don’t know how to talk to you! The majority of current AI tools are not “smart enough” to converse with guests. They do not have the technological capacity to adapt to guests’ needs, preferences and emotions in the moment. They’re just not advanced enough.

   Adaptability is essential for providing a great take-out-order experience for guests. You don’t want them to feel like they do when they call a government line or corporation where they just want to talk to a customer service representative because the AI keeps telling them, “I’m sorry, I didn’t get that. Can you please repeat?” You probably won’t build customer loyalty with that kind of service.

   In an article published by Wired in December 2016, writer Assaf Baciu questions the actual intelligence of the many rising artificial intelligence platforms. Baciu writes about how these technologies can appear very smart when pre-programmed for specific games or situations, but as far as adaptability to new situations without context, they’re lacking. Baciu states: “The fact is, no existing AI technologies can master even the simplest challenges without human-provided context.” Now, this article was written in December, and at SYNQ3, we’d like to offer that an actually intelligent AI that is adaptable to new contexts is now available: VIA. This restaurant ordering AI can actually adapt to human emotions and conversational elements that occur during phone calls; that’s pretty smart.

2. Packed with Seams
   Many AI solutions are not well integrated among multiple channels. To provide guests with the best experience possible, you have to meet them where they’re at, and that requires offering an omni-channel restaurant ordering solution; one that allows guests to converse with your restaurant via voice, text, speech, mobile, social, and digital automation. Restaurant AI should present guests with a seamless digital experience that is efficient, accessible, and simple.
3. Out of Focus
   The first two points ultimately fall under this third, primary issue: many AI tools have been developed with an out-of-focus view on the purpose of restaurant technology. Deploying exciting, new AI technology is great except for when the technology does not actually put the guests’ needs first. All restaurant operations should focus first on how to provide guests with the best experience possible, and that means meeting them where they’re at in the way that they want. If the guest was overlooked during the process, then the solution will most likely not solve anything. Technology can appear great when it improves operations and cuts down in-house costs, but it doesn’t look so great when guests reject it and restaurants start losing business because their new tool increases complexity for the guest.

Remember, convenience is king when it comes to serving restaurant guests. You have to provide solutions that are convenient, efficient, and simple. Providing omni-channel ordering solutions that feature advanced, conversational AI will make your restaurant stand out to guests. At SYNQ3, we’ve developed an AI solution that synchronizes people, process, and technology to provide guests with a reason to keep coming back to your restaurant. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to expand your business and grow sales with the help of advanced AI, contact SYNQ3 today for more information.