Why Restaurants Are Seeing a Decline in Customer Satisfaction [And How to Fix it]

The need to help staff while keeping up with customer demands has never been more important.

Rising prices and labor shortages continue to challenge quick-service and fast-casual brands in many ways, particularly in effectively fulfilling orders and customer experience. According to the Restaurant Industry Guest Satisfaction & Opinions Report, there’s been a steady decline in guest satisfaction.  

What’s behind the decline? In short, according to the co-founder of Merchant Centric, whose company issued the report, “Many brands experienced an influx of clients while they were simultaneously experiencing significant new operational protocols and staffing challenges.” 

He points out that “complaints about staff demeanor have increased, indicating that understaffing is stretching resources and frustrating staff, while guests become less tolerant of negative behavior.”

Improving customer service with limited staff

Restaurant kiosks are an effective way for quick-service and fast-casual brands to help staff fulfill orders while ensuring fast and convenient experiences for customers. 

While restaurant kiosks have been around for quite some time, iPad-based kiosks, like Aila’s Interactive Kiosk, offer quick-service and fast-casual restaurants, a reliable and seamless way to automate key transactions such as ordering, pickup, and checkout. 

These modern restaurant kiosks provide a frictionless, tech-powered experience that allows restaurants to continue delivering high-quality flavorful food and warm and personalized customer service.

Restaurant kiosks work with staff and customers

Self-service restaurant kiosks make the ordering process more efficient for guests and staff. Easy-to-use self-service options empower guests with the speed and convenience of online, which continues to surge in popularity since the pandemic.

It also frees up already limited staff to better respond to customer requests, offer personalized recommendations, and guide more sales by offering upsell items and delivering a superior experience to customers. 

For example, Aila’s Interactive kiosk can be used for ordering, allowing guests to order exactly what they want in just a few clicks or by scanning a QR code or barcode from the restaurant’s mobile app. Meanwhile, the “order taker” is now in front of the counter in a customer satisfaction role instead. They can also easily swivel the Interactive Kiosk around to help with the order when needed. 

Aila’s Interactive Kiosk can help quick service and fast-casual restaurants by automating:

• Order taking: reduce lines and give guests control of their ordering process
• Online pickup and takeout: handle pickups and takeout orders digitally
• Checkout: provide secure, self-service payment options

The combination of speed, convenience, and excellent customer service is now part of the customer’s experience. 

Offset labor shortages and enhance customer service

Now that it has become clear that the labor shortage issues aren’t going away anytime soon, quick-service and fast-casual restaurants are actively looking for alternative ways to serve their customers while providing excellent customer service. 

Self-service restaurant kiosks, like Aila’s Interactive Kiosk can help. By automating key front-of-house experiences like ordering, pickup, and self-checkout, restaurants can provide their guests with the fast and convenient digital options they prefer while continuing to provide high-quality food served by friendly and attentive staff. 

Aila’s Interactive Kiosk provides a versatile and user-friendly self-service solution for enterprise fast-food restaurants. Contact us to learn more.