The FSTEC conference in Orlando, Florida, ended on Tuesday, drawing thousands of restaurant technology specialists and vendors to the Gaylord Palms Resort for three days of conversation about the future of AI, the role of technology in the customer journey, and, fundamentally, the need to keep the human touch of hospitality in operations.
Next year, FSTEC will move back to Dallas. But, if you missed this year's event, here are some nuggets from operators.
Loyalty must constantly evolve
A loyalty program is not a “set it and forget it” thing. It’s an effort that needs constant revisiting, said Dino Northway, senior director of off-premise & guest services for Portillo’s.
The Chicago-based fast-casual chain launched a new loyalty program in March that has continued to evolve. Rather than create a program built around coupons or discounts, Portillo’s wanted to build an experience for guests that would be fun and interactive.
To date, the program now has about 2 million members, said Northway.
There’s no app. The Portillo’s Perks program lives in an Apple or Google digital wallet, and guests can earn badges toward exclusive rewards based on the level they achieve, starting with “First Bite” and climbing to “Top Dog”—the latter being an elite status that can earn merch like tee shirts or mugs.
Northway said the chain engages with members with RCS messaging, which is like texting but more interactive. Portillo’s can layer in images, video and links, and guests can reply.
“It feels like an app, but it’s not an app,” he said. “It lives in your message stream.”
And Portillo’s can have fun with the content. When news of Taylor Swift’s engagement hit, Portillo’s within hours sent Perks members free onion rings, with the message, “She got a ring. So should you,” Northway said.
And the chain recently launched a new secret menu just for Perks members, which they will see on kiosks in restaurants. “Guests can pet Pokey [Portillo’s mascot] and a secret menu item shows up that’s just for them,” he said.
These little surprises often turn into happy social media posts. “You don’t get that type of experience from just giving a coupon,” he said.
Computing veers toward the edge
Restaurant technology used to run on physical servers in the store. Then computing moved to the cloud. Now it might be coming back to earth, at least partially.
Many suppliers are rolling out edge computing systems that allow restaurants to process data locally, and, crucially, without an internet connection. This not only speeds things up but also acts as a backup if the internet goes out.
The edge is also viewed as a potentially important piece of AI adoption because of its lightning-fast processing speeds. It could solve the problem of laggy voice bots, for instance.
Edge isn’t going to replace the cloud, as it has just a fraction of the processing power. But the two could work in tandem, with the edge handling real-time tasks, like ordering.
The next hot restaurant job: Concierge
A general theme at this year’s event was restaurants’ desire to bring more hospitality into their operations after several years of adding technology. Things like kiosks have freed up staff to do other things, and a few brands said they are thinking about redeploying employees as concierges who can greet customers and help them navigate the ordering experience.
“We’ll see how it all plays out, obviously, with the labor costs and all that good stuff,” said Iwona Alter, COO of The Habit Burger Grill, which is testing a host position. “But definitely a lot more texture and intimacy as to how the hospitality can happen in the restaurants today.”
Third-party customers prove tough to convert
Restaurants have spent years trying to get customers who order through aggregators like DoorDash to order directly from them instead. This has been difficult, given the selection and convenience that third-party apps offer.
Some brands, like The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, have given up entirely on trying to convert third-party users, and are now treating them as a distinct set of customers.
“There was a time when brand leaders thought that we were going to take the customer from the third party and bring them to our native, and it's not happened,” said President Bob Andersen. “Most of the third-party platforms do a phenomenal job with their technology. They do a great job with their loyalty program. So now it's, ‘How do I play in that arena the best we can, and then how do we bring business to us for people who want to come direct?’”
Dynamic pricing is dead (as we know it)
“I don’t think we should use that word anymore,” said Erik Knott, CEO of eight-unit Tiki Tacos.
He’s not against the general idea of using technology to change menu prices based on demand. After all, he said, it’s commonplace in the travel industry. But consumers’ emotional attachment to restaurants makes it more difficult, as Wendy’s learned last year.
Maybe dynamic pricing just needs a rebrand. Tom Kincaid, a retail specialist with Google, noted that the idea has existed forever in restaurants in the form of happy hour.
“If you can help the customer understand where the value comes from, then there’s nothing wrong with it,” he said. He threw out the name “dynamic menus” as an idea.
It’s all about the endgame
Restaurant operators are more forward-thinking now. When it comes to tech, they’re looking at who’s best in breed, not can I have it, said Zerrick Pearson, CIO of Five Guys Enterprises and chair of the International Food and Beverage Technology Association.
“The features, the functions, the innovation cycle, it’s gotten so quick. Now people are far more forward-thinking. They’re less thinking about the integration, the ease of integration, and more about the end game, which I think is a better approach,” he said.
And what is that endgame?
It depends on the product, Pearson said.
“I think we’re all competing for the same customer forever,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re all trying to deliver the best product and the top customer experience. So that end game is to drive frequency, drive occasion, make a moment that will bring your customers back again, either through the experience or the food, or both.”
AI and sports schedules
Tom’s Watch Bar, a chain of supersized sports bars frequently placed near sports venues, can make an awful lot of money one day and not a whole lot the next, and it’s all dependent on who’s playing in its markets that night.
And so the company uses an AI forecasting model, along with sports schedules in the markets it operates, to determine whether a specific location will be busy on a specific night.
“We can have a $2,000 Wednesday and then a $200,000 Friday,” said Brooks Schaden, the chain’s co-CEO. “It’s like playing out the Grammys or an award show. You plan everything out. We know which locations are going to be busier than others and plan accordingly.”
But because it can get so busy, it also takes other steps to satisfy customers. It has multiple bars to ensure that it can get drinks into customers’ hands quickly. Handheld devices cut down on mistakes. And it has a KDS system to ensure its orders are processed correctly. No matter who is playing.
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