How to blend traditional table service with customer self-ordering capabilities
Now that all orders must go via their app, I no longer eat at one food chain in the UK because this service style switch has led to a massive drop in standards. Something as simple as getting extra napkins has become an almost impossible ordeal. The staff attitude has changed from friendly servers to high-speed food distributors, out of sight in the kitchen, darting out with plates of food, dropping them at tables, then running straight back to the kitchen. Although it is a challenge, I believe that we already have the solutions to meet our guests’ technical and hospitality requirements.
Customer care is still important
My first experience in the hospitality industry came when I was fourteen. I was a glass collector at my local Working Men’s Club, where, for the princely sum of five pounds, I worked Saturdays from 6 pm -11 pm, collecting, washing, and restocking the beer glasses. I was instantly hooked, not just because a fiver bought an awful lot of sweets back then, but because of the constant chatter and interaction with the customers and the feeling that I had helped make it a great Saturday night out for everybody. I have been employed in or involved with the hospitality industry ever since, so why am I taking this trip down memory lane? When discussing plans with customers, or as a customer eating out myself, I see the rise of self-ordering and mourn the decline of traditional service from an assigned server. It concerns me that we are doing away with what I believe is a key part of the ‘dining’ experience. Can ordering apps ever fully replace a good server?
If we are not careful, personal service, staff knowledge, and customer care will disappear at an app’s tap, but does it have to be this way? Most people I know who work in hospitality do it because they have a passion for interacting with guests, the lack of which will impact their earnings which come in the form of tips. From a customer perspective, if all the server does is bring me my food, is that even worthy of a tip? If customer self-ordering reduces personal interaction, then surely the best servers will leave due to the tip decline, which will accelerate a further lowering in service standards. When new staff joins, they will never be able to learn the art of guest interaction from experienced professionals or spend any time with customers.
Technologies for better customer experience
This is not meant to be a rant; I am not my dad yet. I love technology and acknowledge its importance in the hospitality industry, where I have made my career. A full complement of servers with pen & paper and a bank of fixed POS terminals is not what I would recommend, but how do we keep customers faithful to the ‘eating out’ experience? Good service will encourage this and demonstrate that fine dining is more than just the food itself.
However, we must address how to blend traditional table service with customer self-ordering. Can we use technology to improve the speed of service, keep overheads down, and yet still offer the customer a personalised experience? Is there a solution where both options are possible — where customers decide their preferred service style at the start of their meal?
An efficient POS system is both customer-facing and server-facing, communicating between the two in real-time (it can also be a fixed POS or a kiosk). It can host separate user interfaces, one back office for configuration & reports and the other for processing payments. It can allow a server to generate a bill in QR code format for the customer to settle on their smartphone after receiving the complete table service experience. A POS system can accommodate multiple service styles under one roof where different restaurants or concepts in the enterprise can pick which one works for them. It can also retain the human connection between the server and customer, so dining out can still feel special. If all I am doing is placing a delivery order whilst sitting in a restaurant, then I may as well take that delivery home and watch TV…. do you see my point?
We seem to be at a crossroads between ‘going out’ or ‘staying in’ for restaurants, and service plays a vital role in how this situation plays out (so will French Fries, but that’s another topic!).
I wonder if fourteen-year-old me would have been so keen to work in hospitality if customer interaction had not been such a big part of the job. So is there a perfect spot to combine the traditional with the new? Perhaps, and technology is where this conundrum will be solved.
Dean Davis
Director of Sales and F&B Solutions, HRS UK
