The restaurant business is poised for a technological revolution, but could trouble be imminent?

Having new technology like mobile 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 enhance the customer experience sounds like a great idea. … but are they? ?

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

There is no doubt that technology can improve the customer experience. There is a substantial percentage of customers who do not know anything about the use of technology and that is a problem. Keep in mind that the value of UK fast food restaurants in 2017 for fast food alone, including takeaway, was £5.1bn, but totaling across the sector over £14bn and even what appears to be a smaller percentage of leads adds up to a massive loss of business.

While 56% of consumers between 45 and 64 years old use technology in restaurants that goes away a massive 44% of that age group not using technology. In fact, for the US about 65% of customers over 55 prefer to be served by waiters.

Careful consideration of how and where technology is used to enhance the customer experience is a key consideration to 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 that sector of customers to your restaurant or business. .

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

Focusing on mobile phone orders is fine for the younger generation, but most readers will know friends over the age of 55 who struggle daily with their mobile phone. Deloitte suggests that there has been a substantial increase in smartphone users aged 55+ between 2012 and 2017 with a change of up to 71%. but that’s certainly not a true reflection of how many of the 55+ are using the phone for smart apps. In fact, Deloitte estimates that at least 1 in 4 consumers over the age of 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 currently remain high on the agenda, but developers seem largely unaddressed and, more often than not, restaurant operators ignore them.

It’s also worth noting from a recent “green light” survey that when it comes to the Internet, the The 55+ currently spend over £14bn through online shopping and are the fastest growing demographic in that area but they tend to be largely ignored by retailers and restaurant customer-facing technology. development by manufacturers. Also note that ‘greenlight’ also commented that for the 65+ demographic, spending 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 consequent 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 staff tracking. which can provide key metrics on staff efficiency to improve service. levels and reduce costs accordingly.

Thinking of current trends when it comes to this same 55-64 demographic, the the payment process can also be an obstacle. While many of the newer payment methods may include mobile payment, or server tablets, kiosks, or apps, consideration must be given to the effects those technologies will have in dissuading the 55-64 age group from visiting any restaurant.

It’s clear that younger generations will eventually migrate to become more tech-savvy patrons over time, but ignoring the all-important 55-64 age range is not recommended if your restaurants already cater to that demographic.

Of course, there are other technologies that ARE friendly to the 55-64 demographic that don’t involve ANY hard use of client-level high-tech by the client, such as a table tracking system By LRS of Dallas TX, USA Their ‘Table Tracker’ is easy to use and the only customer involvement is to place a ‘puck’ on the table they choose to sit at. Service is dramatically improved and it’s a fact that 55+ people love great service demonstrated by his love for waiter service.

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

• Are you limiting your own customer base to millennials? But:

• How does customer experience technology affect potential customer engagement between the ages of 55-64?
• Are you happy with the fact that the highest disposable income bracket 55+ might not visit your restaurant due to technology issues?
• Have you seriously considered the customer-facing aspect of technology that affects your restaurant sales?
• Do you propose further investigation of the technology products you currently use?
• Review currently installed customer-facing technology to address the 55+ customer sector
• Consider customer base of 55+ BEFORE committing to technologies that might not appeal to the 55+ demographic due to the technical complexity when presented to them.

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