Can you Grow Efficiency and

Customer Satisfaction at the

Same Time?

Yes, Today's Technology Makes It Possible.

Long Range Systems, LLC

800.437.4996 • www.pager.net

White Paper

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Summary

Are your customers engaged? Are you connecting with customers through mobile technology? Do

you have operational processes that include consumer measurement and marketing capabilities?

When it comes to brand awareness and customer loyalty, there are many variables, but one guar-

anteed constant — fast-casual diners want good food, great service and will leave your restaurant

never to return after one negative experience because there are so many restaurant choices. And

the old adage “a customer who has a bad experience tells 10 people” is still true, though now they

can tell the whole world through social media. Not meeting customer expectations results in low

customer satisfaction and decreased sales, but can ultimately put your business at risk.

Logically, you can simply improve your food or service, but implementing the right technology

can raise customer service levels and promote personal interaction that encourages repeat business.

This white paper makes the case for embracing new technology to engage customers, improve ef-

ficiency and streamline operations—without sacrificing service or even raising labor costs.

Using Data to Elevate the Customer Experience

In a fast-paced environment where nearly every customer is perpetually connected, the personal

touch can be the only competitive differentiator between you and the business next door.

Capitalizing on that instant connection customers feel, as they do when greeted by name in their

favorite restaurant, is actually easy. But it requires business owners to harness the power of

customer data and new technologies that capture customer feedback in real-time. The LRS tablet-

based survey tool provides businesses the opportunity to instantly capture customer feedback while

they’re still visiting the restaurant. These mobile data collection devices may be given to customers

with their bill, and capture meaningful, raw insights from the customer while they’re still in the

restaurant. That information can be instantly shared with a manager, allowing them to change a

negative experience to a positive one before they ever leave the premises. Plus, the LRS survey

system provides measurement data and trends online and via email to help you understand

customer perceptions about operations, staff, products and the atmosphere, ultimately enabling

you to run more efficiently and effectively.

Having the ability to act instantly on customer data keeps existing customers happy. Traditionally,

happy customers act on their feelings either through repeat purchases, or more importantly, by

influencing others to buy as well. Such loyalty can range from positive suggestion to passionate

persuasion. Establishing that emotional connection to your brand begins by acting on the customer

data you collect to elevate the customer experience and analyzing the trending data to streamline

operations and gain efficiency. In 2012, Neilsen reported that earned media is more trusted than

paid media of any kind, including digital, mobile, TV and print media,4 so transforming loyal

customers into brand advocates has direct impact on revenue.

Maintain Service Levels and Increase EfficiencySimultaneously

The fast-casual sector of the restaurant industry has grown by 3.1 percent in the past year,

representing 20 percent of the entire restaurant industry.7 And fast-casual customers aren’t

compromising food quality for quick service. They want high-quality food and service levels found

in casual restaurants, but in a quick-serve setting. To combat the wave of emerging fast-casual

“In 2012, Neilsen reported thatearned media is more trustedthan paid media of any kind, including digital, mobile, TV

and print media...”

brands entering an already fiercely competitive market, restaurant owners and managers must

increase efficiency without sacrificing food quality or service. Long Range Systems (LRS), a

longtime communication technology provider for the restaurant industry, identified two trending

areas of focus related to efficiency and labor costs: food preparation speed and table-side food

delivery. Maximizing the labor dollar while meeting customers' high expectations is a primary

reason restaurateurs are implementing LRS table tracking technology, as efficient solutions enable

restaurants to use less labor, or the same labor in a more meaningful way, without sacrificing

service levels, rather improving them. For example, by tracking the consumer’s table location, the

staff knows precisely where to deliver food without hesitation or roaming the premises; allowing

the staff to engage with the customer, provide a better level of service, and check on diners during

their visit. Additionally, by tracking the production of an order, food preparation lines know what

orders are delayed and have exceeded delivery time standards, and as a result, the team can rally

together to fulfill orders in a more timely manner.

Mobile Technology Improves Efficiency

Excluding the Internet, it’s hard to think of any technological advance in the last decade that has

impacted people more than mobile phones, especially smartphones. According to CTIA-The

Wireless Association, the "app" economy employs 519,000 developers and related jobs and grew

from almost zero to nearly $10 billion in four years.6 50 percent of U.S. smartphone users have a

restaurant-specific app on their smartphone,5 and by the end of 2013, there will be more mobile

devices on Earth than people.3 Full-featured smartphones allow customers and businesses to connect

anytime, anywhere, and offer unprecedented individual personal interaction. Branded mobile apps

are a direct link to loyal customers, which strengthens that relationship and provides even more

customer-level data. The bond created by customers keeping your branded mobile app on their

smartphones is a powerful marketing tool that creates top-of-mind awareness every single day and

drives customer engagement.

Using mobile business apps can speed efficiency. Wait list apps like LRS iQueue allow restaurants

to speed up table turns, and the more tables you serve, the more revenue you’ll generate. If you

invested in a paging system, that system’s capabilities can be easily extended to page customers or

send a text or voice message to their cell phones. iQueue, the only wait list app that allows you to

text cell phones and page guest pagers, gives businesses the flexibility to engage with both cell

phone users and non-cell phone users.

Acquiring A New Customer Base With Technology

New tracking technology can open new business opportunities in the fast-casual space for exist-ing casual dining establishments. Casual concepts can become fast casual during the day and re-main casual at night with table tracking systems like Table Tracker. This advanced technologymakes table-side food delivery far faster during the lunch-hour when meal times are compressedand when table turns must be quick. Plus, this restaurant tracking technology follows and re-ports on the entire service cycle – from ordering, seating, food delivery, to table clearing. Staffcommunication is drastically improved thanks to the real-time data displaying order status andtable locations. Wait staff is able to spend more time talking with customers and less time run-ning around the restaurant finding a table, which noticeably improves customer experiencewhile speeding up table turns. On average, fast-casual customers using table management tech-nology from LRS reported that they shaved a full minute off ticket times just by having the abil-ity to prioritize orders and deliver food faster.2

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“By the end of 2013, there willbe more mobile devices on

Earth than people.”

Moving from a casual to fast-casual operation during the lunch hour enables casual restaurants to

increase incremental traffic and reach an entirely new customer base. According to foodservice

research firm Sandelman & Associates, about a quarter of casual-dining consumers

say they are eating out less often, with 40 percent of those consumers choosing to

dine instead at fast-casual or quick-service restaurants. Casual concepts getting a

piece of this business during the most desired part of the day for fast-casual service

with a table tracking technology can show quick ROI for a stronger bottom line.

“Fast casual has set the bar really high,” said Chris Miller, executive vice president

at Sandelman & Associates. “In order for a new concept to break in, [it] has to really

deliver on that great food and experience.”

Implementing the right technology is shrewd economic sense, but maintaining focus

on the customer experience is key. In 2010, Forrester Research released a study1 that

showed improving the customer experience results in significant revenue growth. Some highlights

from that study were:

• Wireless carriers, as a group, could add up to $1.7 billion in additional revenue

• The hotel industry could add $1.2 billion in revenue.

• The most significant source for revenue growth was a reduction in customer churn rates.

Technology’s Impact on Labor Costs and Customer Service

With the proliferation of fast-casual concepts, it’s increasingly difficult for restaurants to

differentiate themselves from competitors. Prices and menu offerings are easy to copy. One point

of differentiation that customers care about that’s difficult for competitors to replicate is quality of

service. From the staff taking phone orders to the waiter delivering food, consistent, professional

service sets a restaurant apart from its competitors. No matter what technology you employ, there

is no substitute for well-trained, efficient customer-facing employees. But in a sluggish global

economy, labor is one place where owners and managers can cut cost, often at the expense of

customer service and efficiency. However, by deploying technologies that identify opportunities

to improve, or better yet, technologies that directly improve operational efficiency by making

processes easier and faster, your best staff may be rewarded and retained. Streamlining operating

costs is essential to achieving a stronger bottom line, and technology with a fast return on

investment can bridge the gap so that the most valuable staff is affordable.

Conclusion

Embracing new technology will make your business more efficient by streamlining operations,

but more importantly, will allow you to engage customers more effectively. By using the data you

collect now or will connect through apps and tracking technology, you can establish a personal

connection and convert engaged customers to brand advocates. Identifying and implementing

technology that has fast ROI can actually help you personalize service while improving efficiency,

because your staff can spend more time with customers and less time managing the chaotic process

of calling waiting guests, delivering orders or identifying problems with late orders. Back-end data

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available with new table management technology can help you identify trends and peaks in business

so you can properly staff during those times. For more information on how LRS solutions can help

you enhance customer service and engage customers, go to www.pager.net.

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Sources

(1) Burns, Megan. "Forrester." Forrester.com. Forrester Research, Inc., 7 Dec. 2010. Web. Mar.

2013.

(2) "Case Study: Table Tracker & Jason’s Deli." Table-Tracker.com. Long Range Systems, LLC, 2013.

Web. 01 Apr. 2013.

(3) "Consumer Trust in Online, Social and Mobile Advertising Grows." Nielsen. Newswire, 10 Apr.

2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.

(4) "Fast-Food & Quick-Service Restaurants Industry Overview." Hoover’s Inc., a D&B Company.

Hoovers, 2012. Web. Mar. 2013.

(5) "Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2012–2017." Cisco.com. Cisco, 2013. Web. 24

Mar. 2013.

(6) "Ordering Food Goes Mobile, According to Super Bowl Snacks Research from IAB and Viggle."

IAB. Interactive Advertising Bureau, 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.

(7) "U.S. WIRELESS INDUSTRY: ECONOMIC IMPACT." CTIA.org. CTIA - The Wireless

Association, Nov. 2012. Web. 23 Mar. 2013.

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