News Briefs

HungerRush, a cloud software provider for the restaurant industry, announced new results from a consumer survey examining the impact of the ongoing labor shortages within the industry and how it is impacting the customer experience. The survey results indicate that a majority of diners are accrediting a diminishing customer experience to labor shortages which lead to increased wait times, order inaccuracies, and stressed-out employees.

As consumers are returning to restaurants, they are feeling the strain of labor shortages across all types of establishments, some more than others. The majority of consumers (51%), feel that independent restaurants have been impacted the most by not having enough staff to take orders, cook food, and handle deliveries - followed by major chains (36%) and mid-sized regional restaurants (14%), according to new results from a consumer survey examining the impact of the ongoing labor shortages within the industry.

Friction Points

With these shortages, friction points are increasing in the dining experience with longer wait times to receive food (33%), diminished customer experience due to overstressed staff (32%), and longer wait times just to place an order (17%) being among the top three pain points.

These points directly relate to the roles in which consumers felt were the most understaffed, those included servers, counter staff (including drive-thru, phone, and cashiers), and cooks. Creating an experience customers enjoy is crucial for restaurants, as 39% of people are likely to write a negative review after visiting a restaurant suffering from staffing issues, long wait times, and order inaccuracy. 

No Time to Waste

• 91% of consumers surveyed said the maximum amount of time they are willing to wait on hold to place an order is 3 minutes or less. 25% and 19% expect to place an order in less than 2 minutes and 1 minute respectively.
• 57% of consumers aren’t confident that a busy store will actually take their order correctly if they need to personalize or modify regular menu items. Moreover, 19% of consumers actively avoid making any order modifications if they can tell a restaurant is busy in the background.
• 72% of consumers said they would opt to use an automated phone bot to place an order depending on the situation.

For more information on HungerRush’s labor survey findings, please see this infographic.

For electric vehicle owners in British Columbia, Tim Hortons is now fueling road trips in more ways than one.  The company has announced the expansion of its electric vehicle charging station pilot launched earlier this year in Oakville, Ontario, by unveiling six new charging stations at restaurants throughout  British Columbia.

Tim Hortons announced the pilot in February in an effort to study the technology, its usage and opportunities.

"We have been thrilled with the results of the pilot so far.  Usage of the charging station in Oakville has surpassed our expectations and we received many calls with requests to expand the pilot," said Paulo Ferreira, Senior Director, International Strategic Restaurant Design and Building Standards, Tim Hortons. "With more than 3,300 eligible restaurants across the country, we continue to look for opportunities to expand the pilot and contribute to the EV infrastructure."

The BC expansion, supported by the Province of BC's Community Charging Infrastructure Fund and Koben Systems Inc. (KSI), placed charging stations strategically in Nanaimo, Langford, North Vancouver, Burnaby, Abbotsford and Coquitlam to create paths within the province, allowing guests to travel from restaurant to restaurant strictly on electric power.

Tim Hortons offers charging stations as a courtesy to guests at six locations.  As of March 31st, 2013, Tim Hortons had 4,288 system-wide restaurants, including 3,453 in Canada, 808 in the United States and 27 in the Gulf Cooperation Council. 

LG Business Solutions USA didn’t bring the kitchen sink to InfoComm 2023, but its incredible booth has almost everything else for food and beverage businesses, including various DVLED and LCD digital displays ideally suited to provide digital signage, menu boards and self-ordering kiosks. Integrators who want to bring clients the latest options and functions will experience various models ranging from 32- to 110-inch LCD displays and custom-sized DVLED screens at Booth #1642 in the Orange County Convention Center.

“Lower-margin businesses often have the most to gain from more effective marketing and customer services, and LG’s leading digital displays provide brilliant canvasses that can present ads and promotional content, as well as direct purchase enticements on attractive digital menu boards,” David Bacher, Head of Marketing at LG Business Solutions USA said. “At InfoComm, we invite integrators who work with restaurants, bars and QSRs to learn all about the latest tools and products that can help their clients simplify internal operations, boost sales and increase customer satisfaction.”

Booth visitors can experience the vibrant and engaging impact of LG’s large-screen digital signage display, a 110-inch 4K Ultra HD model (110UM5K) that offers up to 500 nits of brightness and has integrated 10W stereo speakers for ultimate system design flexibility. The display’s slim profile, high clarity, control system compatibility and webOS functionality make it a powerful platform for messaging and video needs. It also offers LG’s Promota app that enables ad creation and implementation from PCs and mobile devices, including templates and customization options.

To provide a modern ordering solution, LG’s new Self-Ordering Kiosk (model 27KC3PK-C) features a 27-inch display with an excellent touch sensitivity to provide restaurant-goers with vivid product images and videos while placing an order. For flexibility, the drawer-type design of the kiosk allows for convenient device maintenance of the receipt printer and card reader by simply opening the drawer without needing to disassemble the body. When not in use, it can be also utilized as a large advertising screen, showing branding content when in ‘standby’ mode. At the show, LG will demonstrate how the kiosk can be used with several OS-based payment solutions through partner collaborations.

Also unveiled at InfoComm for food and beverage businesses, LG’s all-new CLOi ServeBot autonomous robot (model LDLTR30) provides heightened efficiency at all types of restaurants through larger trays, stronger driving performance, weight sensors and more. The upgraded CLOi ServeBot makes it even easier for restaurant owners to improve staff efficiency, safely deliver large amounts of food and dishes at once and provide patrons a futuristic experience that encourages repeat visits and word-of-mouth promotion via social media.

Outdoor areas like drive-thrus will benefit from LG’s High-Brightness IP-rated Outdoor Displays, which offer a slim and robust design paired with outstanding visibility, rain or shine. The 55-inch Outdoor Display (model 55XE4F-M) can be easily installed to meet the customer’s needs in external environments that require complex installation conditions – while upgraded brightness captures the attention of customers even under strong and direct sunlight. Additionally, with a brightness of 1,500 nits, the 22-inch Outdoor Display (model 22XE1J) boasts high visibility in bright environments. Its clear visibility can deliver a variety of information even to those wearing polarized sunglasses. Plus, a range of size options provides restaurants with use-case flexibility.

Designed specifically to eliminate glare for challenging lighting situations, the new High Haze UHD Series offers 4K displays with a 25 percent haze, thin bezels and 500 nits of brightness. LG’s booth offers integrators a chance to see how the 43-inch version (model 43UH5J-H) holds up to the bright lights and reflections of a showroom floor, demonstrating how the displays offer excellent visibility, color and clarity with additional sizes ranging from 49 inches to 98 inches. The conformal coating, LG Promota software and compatibility with Crestron Connected® add installation, design and content creation flexibility to make it a superior option for many retrofit and upgrade projects.

Restaurateurs and bar owners can also benefit from smaller displays for digital signage advertising, order verification, smaller rooms and even menu boards, including the 32-inch Full HD Signage Display (model 32SM5J-B) that offers webOS 6.0, enabling powerful control of entire signage networks and content. The 1080p resolution is ideal for the smaller screen size, helping keep costs low while providing brilliant images for any need. It is also compatible with Crestron Connected® and LG’s simple Promota ad creation software.

MOD Super-Fast Pizza Holdings LLC   updates to its popular MOD Rewards program, allowing customers to earn free MOD faster.

MOD SuperFast Rewards now allows loyal fans to start earning rewards with just 50 points, offers a wider choice of reward options, and provides exclusive offers and special deals throughout the year. Additionally, MOD Rewards members will now be able to give back even more to their communities with an enhanced fundraising program, along with the ability to pay forward their reward to the MOD Opportunity Network (MOD O.N.), to help support job seekers facing employment barriers.

• 50 points: Free No Name Cake, free non-alcoholic drink, free alternative crust upgrade, or $1 donation to one of the MOD O.N. partners.
• 100 points: Free Cheesy Garlic Bread, free delivery, or $2 donation to MOD O.N.
• 150 points: Free Pizza, free Salad, or any single menu item, or make a $3 donation to MOD O.N.

Making an Impact

MOD Rewards members can organize a fundraiser at their local MOD, and in return, receive an increased benefit of 25% of sales back to their organization – higher than the standard 20% donation.

Pay It Forward

Members can also pay it forward by donating their reward to support one of the MOD Opportunity Network non-profit partners: Best Buddies International, Goodwill Industries International and FareStart. The MOD Opportunity Network connects its stores with non-profit organizations that support the readiness, placement and retention of job seekers deserving of a second chance or a first start.

“While we’ve seen the trend of restaurant rewards becoming more elusive, MOD’s new and improved program is truly focused on recognizing and rewarding our most loyal customers. Since the launch of MOD Rewards in 2019, we’ve continued to listen to the feedback and have responded by expanding our benefits to provide added value,” said Kevin Flaherty, SVP of Digital & Off-Premises, MOD Pizza. “In keeping with our community mindset, we’ve also created exciting new opportunities for our customers to give back and make a difference on a local scale.”

GiftAMeal, an innovative cause-marketing program that turns restaurant photos into meals for local families in need, is proud to announce they have been selected as one of 15 semifinalists for Amazon Business Small Business Grants.

GiftAMeal, HT's 2023 Industry Hero Winner, currently works with over 600 restaurants in 32 states, and has provided over 1.4 million meals to families in need. 

How GiftaMeal works

The program is free for restaurant patrons and is funded by restaurants as a mix of marketing and giving back. For every photo shared from a partner restaurant, GiftAMeal donates to a local food bank to help provide a meal to a family in need. Using the power of technology and social media, GiftAMeal has created a new way for individuals to get involved in the community in a simple and effective way.

Voting Online

The voting period, starting June 15 and ending June 25, will take place online. To vote, log on to your Amazon Business account. After logging in, the vote form will appear on amazon.com/smallbusinessgrants above the "Frequently Asked Questions" section.

In collaboration with Entrepreneur, the 15 shortlisted candidates will have the chance to win the $25,000 Grand Prize. Four finalists will receive a $20,000 prize, and the remaining 10 semifinalists will receive a $15,000 prize.

“We are incredibly grateful to be a semifinalist. We are excited to use these funds, no matter which tier we are awarded, to support our mission to get GiftAMeal in as many states as possible,” says Andrew Glantz, Founder & CEO of GiftAMeal. “More specifically, the funding will enable us to hire team members to perform market research on restaurants in new cities, fund conference attendance to network with restaurant personnel, implement advanced marketing initiatives, and invest in modern technology to better be able to serve our partner restaurants and food banks.”

GiftAMeal’s ranking inside the top 15 has positioned the company to receive ample funds as they invest in scaling strategies to expand into new states across the US.  

To learn more about GiftAMeal, visit www.giftameal.com.  

Zume, a company that raised $445 million from investors to for pizza-making robots before switching to developing sustainable packaging in 2020, has shut down, The Information reported.

Launched in 2015, the startup promised to remake traditional pizza delivery with pie-making robots. Its Doughbot was said "to make each pizza crust five times faster than before while improving the quality of work for staff and speed of delivery for customers."  

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