Food and Drink International - Winter 2016 Volume 1 - 96
r RESTAURANTS Getting Acquainted to be the grill. Otherwise, it's all pretty much a fast-casual set-up. >> Adding intuitive technology to enhance diners' experiences is more of a benefi to restaurants than having a large box on the table where patrons can pay or play trivia. we don't want to stop what we're doing to figure it out, like it's a written test in a dream where you're back at school and didn't study for the finals. Frankly, that's how it feels the first time you encounter Which Wich?'s set-up. There's too much pressure to learn their system - rather than just telling a Subway "sandwich artist" what I want on my sandwich, I have to sit down and write it. Often I've seen a manager out front helping new customers work through the unusual process where the customer has to stop talking to their friend, locate a sack and mark preferences by looking up at menu boards mounted high on the wall. Meanwhile, newbie has to battle the stress that accompanies the tick-tick-tick of the decision-clock 96 (while new arrivals work faster and jump ahead in line). This situation requires a different set of skills than just speaking up and saying an order - in this set-up, continuing to have a conversation is hopeless. 3. Small Changes are Often Enough A tweak to the familiar is frequently the best way to take what's known and make it new. Blaze Pizza basically asks you to top your pizza the way Subway or Quiznos or other sub shops ask you to build your sub: You move down the line, adding as you go or augmenting existing recipes. B.D.'s Mongolian Grill moves you one easy step from the familiar, but they do it twice - first they take the fast-casual concept and ask you to fill your bowl on the way to the counter; then the counter turns out food & drink international * winter 2016 volume 1 * www.fooddrink-magazine.com 4. Technology is Only the Answer if It's Invisible and Intuitive You know what's at a premium? Patience. Authentic social interactions. Table space. Beware technology that gets in the way of those literally or figuratively, or stops the flow and demands to be learned. Ever-more-common electronic play-trivia/watch-ads-for-appetizers/pay-at-the-table devices at Applebee's or Olive Garden are basically hunks of metal sitting where plates and salt shakers should go. Pizza Hut's idea for a graphic interface under the table surface where you can point-and-drag pizza toppings like a toddler with an iPad just added unnecessary complexity to the pizza-parlor schema. On the other hand, intuitive technology that doesn't add time and equipment - such as Starbucks' payment app, or the "Square" attachment to smartphones and tablets that allows you to swipe plastic at a food truck - is technology solving real problems simply. Every time you visit a restaurant - where, of course, as a restaurant marketer you're in "covert reconnaissance" mode checking the competition - you're basically taking your brain to dinner. Notice what you notice, and think about what you can change to distinguish your brand. Just as long as it's a simple tweak to the ol' schema. Charlie Hopper is a principal at Young & Laramore. He is the author of the blog SellingEating.com, and the book "Selling Eating: Restaurant Marketing Beyond the Word Delicious." Hopper may be reached at chopper@yandl.com.
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