Scott Walters Exploring Stuff

Kiosks give SubWorks a boost in sales

Once again from the business perspective. Concepts like keep it simple are rehashed.

Offers a calculation of ROI (cost savings) at 149% ““The annual cost savings is $22,338 (per location), which equates to an ROI of 149 percent, based on the $15,000 investment.”

Also talks about soft advantages:

Those numbers are powerful enough, but Kamer acknowledges a number of “soft advantages” that are not so easily measured, like improved upselling, branding, management of order-delivery times, reduced signage costs, improved food-inventory control and competitive differentiation.

Ohio Subway implements first drive-thru touchscreen kiosk | Self Service | QSR Web

Short article about the first drive-through kiosk in Ohio. Lists a few issues that may be of use.

http://www.qsrweb.com/article.php?id=5477&prc=104&page=153

Making fast food even faster | KioskMarketplace

Making fast food even faster, James Bickers, editor, 30 Jun 2005

Looks at kiosks from the business point of view, what do they offer, what is better about a kiosk than a staff person. The abbreviation QSR means Quick Service Restaurant.
Comments that look interesting:

“When (owners) do hire people to work the store, they actually have to overstaff by almost 50 percent to ensure that they will have a sufficient number of employees to show up for work in the morning,”

“Theft is another constant problem. What can be done about the teenager at the checkout who gives his buddies a free upgrade, if not a free meal?”

“QSR operators in general are looking to reduce their losses, and we see that not just in terms of kiosks but also in the countertop space”

“Also, when the line is long, the order-taker does not take the time to upsell. Many owners make a significant margin on the upsell – that’s why they push it so much with advertising and promotions. However, when they have the most customers in the store they have the least amount of time to do the upsell.”

“According to Subway, exit surveys revealed an overwhelmingly positive consumer reaction, and most customers that used the self-ordering kiosks wondered why other QSRs haven’t started offering them”

http://www.kioskmarketplace.com/article.php?id=14469

Kiosk Demo. Taco Bell

InfoAmerica are obviously in the Kiosk space and looking at fast food kiosks. The demo shows some interesting stuff but when you get to “condiments” it looks a bit complex… also are kids and non-english speakers going to understand “condiments”.

http://www.infoamerica.com/demo.html

Fast Food Self-Service Kiosks Coming, Silicon Lifeforms Taking Over World – Gizmodo

Can you replace the kid behind the counter at mcdonalds with a machine?

This is a brief blog entry on how Kiosk’s are being evaluated by the larger fast food joints.
http://gizmodo.com