Operating a restaurant with a technology-supported business is no longer optional.
No one in the hotel industry can predict the COVID-19 pandemic or its impact on restaurant operations. From indoor dining restrictions to supply chain issues to labor shortages, the road to restaurants has been bumpy since the federal government declared a pandemic as a national emergency in March 2020.
In September this year, the National Hotel Association announced the results of a survey of hotel operators nationwide. Some survey results clearly remind people that the industry’s struggle is far from over:
This seems to paint a pretty grim picture, but the good news is that even if you cannot predict future interruptions, you can prepare for them and mitigate some of the damage they cause. The restaurant operator with adaptive thinking-with the support of the right technology-can survive even in the most challenging times.
Technology is no longer optional
Companies with adaptive thinking recognize that change is the norm, and the industry has always been in a state of constant change. It is no longer optional to operate a restaurant with a technology-supported business; in many ways, technology is the core and soul of modern restaurants, especially in the fast-food restaurant space. From the screen that passes the front desk order to the kitchen staff to the POS cash register at the drive-through window, technology is the key to keeping the entire operation running smoothly.
The ability to leverage and utilize key data points can help restaurants remain competitive in uncertain times while providing a better consumer experience. In this era of exponential growth in restricted in-store dining and third-party food delivery services, catering brands may need to provide some additional things to attract people back. Whether it’s dining in a store, order pick-up or delivery, customers have high expectations for interacting with your brand. They want these interactions to be safe, simple and personal.
Loyalty and engagement platforms—for example, those offered through mobile apps—can provide a win-win situation for restaurants and their customers. From the restaurant’s perspective, victory lies in understanding customers and their behaviors in order to provide them with the right incentives at the right time. From the customer's point of view, the benefits are obvious-personalized offers and loyalty rewards are enough to turn many hungry diners into brand super fans.
Prepare for unexpected changes
Equally important are technologies that customers have never seen before. In order to maintain flexibility and adaptability, restaurants should invest in mature platforms that can evolve with the times and technological advancement; this will enable them to implement changes quickly and respond to crises.
Of course, any hardware or software, no matter how complicated, cannot fully predict the future. Because it depends largely on the climate, commodity prices, and supply chain status, you can never accurately predict raw material shortages. One of the best preparation methods is to establish a back-end system that can facilitate recipe management and ordering. You can never know when a supplier will not be able to deliver something, but the technology can help you deal with shortages—for example, by letting you know which items must be removed from the menu.
Take advantage of the power of opportunity and coincidence
"The world is so unpredictable," the author Paul Auster once said. "It happened suddenly and unexpectedly. We wanted to feel that we could control our existence. In some ways we are, in some ways we are not. We are dominated by the power of opportunity and coincidence."
Although we certainly hope that we will never witness a public health crisis on the scale of COVID-19 again, the truth is that unforeseen things will inevitably happen and cause major damage to the food service industry. Take labor shortage as an example. Currently, there is a general shortage of personnel in almost every industry, and this situation may continue to exist until the pandemic appears in the rearview mirror. This is not the first time the industry has seen this, and it is unlikely to be the last. This is the cyclicality of the labor market.
Whether it is the soaring real estate cost or the catastrophic destruction of global potato supply, there will always be some kind of challenge. After all, we live in a constantly changing world. The most important thing an organization can do is to cultivate an adaptive culture and accept any changes that may occur—rather than trying to use pure brute force to promote these changes.
Raju Malhotra is the chief product and technology officer of PAR Technology (NYSE: PAR). He joined PAR through the acquisition of Punchh, an omnichannel loyalty and engagement startup based in San Mateo, California. Prior to his current position, he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Marketing Cloud at Salesforce, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Khoros, and various product and engineering roles at Microsoft. He holds a bachelor's degree in computer engineering from Kurukshetra National Institute of Technology (India) and an MBA degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
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