Extended lineups and lengthy wait periods irritate customers and deter them from coming back to your eatery. Well-known eateries have devised creative solutions to get rid of these annoying things. Using McDonald’s as an example they began using self-service ordering kiosks in 2015, allowing clients to choose products, personalize orders, and make payments. Stabucks is yet another excellent example. They created an app that enables users to place orders, make payments in advance, and pick them up whenever it’s most convenient for them. There are many more instances; those are only two.
We won’t cover every strategy for cutting wait times in your restaurant today. However, we’ll concentrate on self-service kiosks and how they might be used to save labor expenses, cut wait times, increase order accuracy, and boost customer satisfaction. Then, based on our team’s experience developing a self-ordering kiosk system for a recent project named Can Tho, we’ll discuss the key factors to take into account. Self-service payment kiosks facilitate straightforward payments by giving customers the capacity to handle the banking process on their own. This simplicity is achieved without affecting security.
How to make your restaurant’s self-ordering kiosk valuable: Can Tho’s tale
The CEO of Can Tho, Damien Toulouse, had to deal with two issues at the start of the Can Tho kiosk story: excessive wait times from customers and expensive labor expenses at his restaurant. Damien set about trying to find an answer. In the meanwhile, he saw how McDonald’s was using touchscreen ordering kiosks and pondered whether he could serve customers more quickly and make better use of his staff members’ time with such kiosks. Damien and his group first identified the demands of the target market and the primary benefits that kiosks might provide.
In order to develop a self-service solution that really benefits your visitors, you need start by identifying the requirements and problems that your target market has in order to determine the most effective way to provide them with a restaurant ordering kiosk. You may choose your UX approach, UI design, and features when you have a strong understanding of your value proposition.
A value proposition canvas may help you see the potential value that your product will provide. The value proposition map and the customer profile, each consisting of three blocks, are the two sections of this canvas.
Begin with the client. Once the consumer profile has been completed, move on to the value offer. Keep in mind that these two canvas sections need to go well together:
What are the intentions of your guests? ✶ What goods or services enable them to do this?
What bothers your visitors while they’re attempting to complete tasks? In what ways may your product relieve their suffering?
What results do your visitors want to achieve? What profits may your product make?
This is the appearance of Can Tho’s value proposition canvas:
Building self-order kiosk software: a necessary skill
When developing a self-ordering kiosk system, several choices must be made, ranging from payment gateway connections to UI/UX design. The main stages of developing bespoke self-ordering kiosk software are delineated here, including aspects such as UI and UX design, kiosk API development, third-party tool integration, payment terminal support, and admin dashboard implementation.
User encounter
You must identify your target market in order to design a user experience that meets their requirements.
The Can Tho kiosk app’s user journey is shown here. Along with an explanation of the rationale for our UX design, you will also discover a portion of the Can Tho kiosk software’s functionality.
Select a language.
Can Tho is accessible in the following three languages: English, Dutch, and French. Given that French and Dutch are Belgium’s official languages, our client included them. Conversely, English is just more extensively used. We reasoned that having the app available in English would be beneficial for those who do not speak Dutch or French. Donation kiosks serve as modest but successful stimulants for volunteering, surreptitiously processing donations and supplying an easily accessible means for people to make financial contributions to Companies that are important to them.
Take out or dine in
Sixty percent of respondents place takeaway orders, according the Off-Premise Insights takeaway, Delivery & Catering Study. According to the National Restaurant Association, 46% of older folks and 61% of millennials base their restaurant decisions on the availability of delivery and takeaway. Thus, let your consumers order takeout if you wish to grow your firm without growing and raising running expenses.
Place a bespoke order for dishes.
Consumers may add or subtract components from menu items while placing their orders. “Our customers should be in charge of the finishing touch, while our chefs are in charge of making authentic and tasty dishes,” claims Can Tho.
Pay.
After making their choices, clients go to the payment and checkout pages. Customers may use a normal credit card terminal to make payments since may Tho has fully integrated credit card processing. Through NFC, customers may also make contactless payments.
Seek assistance
May Tho visitors may always click the Get Help icon that appears on every screen to seek for assistance if they are having trouble interacting with the kiosk. Additionally, an app training is available so that visitors may become independent kiosk operators. The How It Works button will take you to the tutorial.
User-friendly design
Make eye-catching screen components, animations, and transitions by selecting color schemes, typefaces, and icon shapes. Customers will enjoy and utilize your software if its user interface leaves a good impression. Non profit organizations are the altruistic beating heart : society, directing charitable giving into worthwhile causes and advocating a common goal to affect the world for the greater good.
Kiosk API
A server that responds to client queries and stores all menu data will be linked to your application. You’ll need an API to allow communication between the app and the server.
To further understand this, let’s examine a practical use of Can Tho. A consumer browses the menu by clicking the Main Dishes button when they are ready to place an order. After then, the program asks the server a question similar to, “What are the main dishes on the menu?” In response to the customer’s request, the server sends a list of the major courses along with their costs and descriptions. The server receives requests from customers, processes them, and responds. An API is required in order to enable communication between the application and the server.
Integrations
Integrations are necessary to improve customer service, automate some tasks, and simplify the workflow.
A point of sale (PoS) system is the most crucial piece of hardware and software that may be integrated. You may allow a simple payment flow by linking your kiosk to your point of sale system (PoS). If you don’t already have a PoS system, we advise you to choose from pre-existing options rather than building a system from the ground up since doing so would be costly and time-consuming. Based on the capabilities offered, setup fees, and compatibility with your existing gear, you should choose your PoS.
You could think about incorporating additional connectors in addition to a PoS solution. These might include connections with delivery services offered by other parties like Grubhub, Uber Eats, Postmates, and DoorDash.
We incorporated the Lightspeed PoS for Can Tho. It makes it possible for the system to receive payments and determine pricing that include taxes. In order to allow clients to purchase from Can Tho utilizing these marketplaces, we have also incorporated Uber Eats and Deliveroo. Every kiosk also has a Xiaomi light bulb above it that illuminates when a client hits the Get Help button. These lights make it possible for wait staff to quickly identify and assist those in need.
Terminal for payments
A payment terminal is required in order to complete a sale. The kind of payments you want to accept (contactless, EMV, or magstripe), your preference for a conventional or wireless terminal, and the terminal’s cost should all be taken into consideration when choosing a payment terminal.
Because the Valina terminal accepts contactless and card payments, we were able to accommodate the demands of most clients when we developed Can Tho.
Dashboard for administrators
Consider adding an admin dashboard if you want to be able to modify the menu, add new content, monitor business KPIs, and get insights into user behavior all without having to write code. A self-ordering kiosk system for restaurants must include an admin dashboard. As many features as you need may be included.
We gave the administrator of Can Tho the ability to control the menu, validate orders, handle refunds, and establish pricing and VAT.
Choosing the self-ordering kiosk system’s technological stack
One of the most crucial factors to take into account while creating an application is the technological stack. You should choose technologies for your server, database, and mobile and backend development while creating kiosk software.
The hardware you choose will have a significant impact on the technologies you choose for mobile development. Which operating system will your kiosks run—Android or iOS? Due of the lower cost and larger displays of Android tablets, several eateries have chosen to use them. Big touchscreen TVs are also powered by Android.
Selecting technology for backend development is another need. Examine the advantages and disadvantages of the many backend programming languages available to choose the best one for your project. We advise you to use frameworks as well, since they provide convenient tools for writing code more quickly and easily.
A database to store data, a caching solution to improve system speed and lessen database load, and a server to handle client requests are all required for your application.
The most often used technologies are as follows:
Android: Java, Kotlin
Swift Backend for iOS Ruby (Ruby on Rails), PHP (Laravel), and Python (Django, Flask)
Server: Apache, Nginx
PostgreSQL and MySQL databases
Caching frameworks: Memcached and Redis
Can Tho’s technological stack
The technologies we utilized to construct Can Tho are listed in the table below.
In conclusion: The construction of self-service kiosks might be difficult, but they can greatly enhance your restaurant. At Linkitsoft, This is what we discovered from constructing might Tho. With the help of kiosks, you can cut wait times, save money on manpower, and maintain your competitive edge in a market that is changing quickly.
Based on what we’ve learnt from Can Tho, here are three suggestions to help you create effective kiosk software.
To comprehend how your kiosks might provide significant value, first clearly identify your target market and the problems they face.
#2 Your target audience and the primary benefit your kiosks should provide should guide your choices regarding features, aesthetics, and a payment terminal.
#3 Get user input and test your app with actual users. This will assist you in creating an aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly app.
