Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Self-Service Kiosks

Self-service kiosks in restaurants are slowly becoming a norm in many places around the world such as Japan, and for good reasons too! There are plenty of upsides to an automated system ¬– but before you contact your Singapore kitchen equipment supplier and get one installed, you may want to understand the advantages and disadvantages to installing these kiosks.

Advantage: Increased Sales

Aside from increasing efficiency, these automated kiosks help to present a wider range of optional items that consumers may select. This makes them a better alternative to human employees, who may be too busy attending to consumers to actually offer the option of more items.

Disadvantage: Customer Satisfaction

To be fair, automation can run both ways. You risk turning away customers by making them do everything on their own, but it also means that you’re giving them an entirely new dining experience. The former is likely to happen, but fortunately, you can overcome this by simplifying the user experience. This can help create a better customer service for diners, giving them much more of incentive to try out your place instead of going to another restaurant with a more humane service staff.

Advantage: Shorter Queues

This is perhaps the biggest benefit of using self-service kiosks. As machines process orders a lot faster than human cashiers, they can clear the lunchtime crowd much more efficiently and allow the diner to service more customers in the same amount of time. Since the automated kiosks cost a lot less than hiring permanent employees, you can afford to have a few of those machines around, increasing sales while reducing costs.

Disadvantage: Decrease in Customer Loyalty

It is also not uncommon for service staff to form personal friendships with regulars such as the case for café baristas or bartenders. Replacing them with machines will remove the human interaction and risk reducing customer loyalty, especially now that customers are relating less to the restaurant.

Implementing self-service kiosks in your restaurant isn’t an easy decision to make. However, with the right approach, self-service machines can aid the restaurant’s growth in the long-run.