Technology and its effects on those over 55 in restaurants

The restaurant business is poised for a technological revolution, but could there be trouble looming?

Having new technology like mobile phone ordering and tracking, ordering kiosks, custom mobile apps, table location using cell phones, online-only ordering, and a host of other technologies designed specifically to improve the customer experience sounds like a great idea. … but are they? ?

The rise and rise of the restaurant since 2007 is wonderful and everyone loves to eat at them. But there is a substantial amount of potential customers who can’t use those technologies no matter how they try. And it’s really not his fault!

There is no doubt that technology can improve the customer experience. There is a substantial percentage of clients who do not know anything about the use of technology and that is a problem. Note that the value of fast food restaurants in the UK in 2017 for fast food alone, including takeaways, was £5.1bn, but adding up across the sector to over £14bn and even what appears to be a smaller percentage of leads adds up to massive lost business.

Weather 56% of consumers between 45 and 64 years old use technology in restaurants he goes a massive 44% of that age group not using technology. In fact, for the US About 65% of customers over 55 prefer to be served by waiters.

Careful consideration of how and where technology is used to improve the customer experience is a key consideration for its success, after all. who wants to ignore up to 44% of customers because technology was less than perfect? Remember that the National Restaurant Association says the number one feature cited by baby boomers was a loyalty and rewards program, so integrating that into customer experience technology creates a win/win situation by attracting customers. that sector of customers to your restaurant or business. .

It should be noted that in the UK, the government has provided national statistics on personal wealth by age, with average liquid wealth peaking between the ages of 55 and 64, so it makes a lot of sense that the technology could be introduced. as a customer interface that the technology itself does not keep the wealthiest people with disposable income in the UK away from any restaurant or business.

Focusing on mobile phone orders is fine for the younger generation, but most readers will know friends over the age of 55 who struggle with their mobile on a daily basis. Deloitte suggests that there has been a substantial increase in smartphone users over the age of 55 between 2012 and 2017 with a change of up to 71%. but that’s certainly not a true reflection of how many of those over 55 use the phone for smart apps. In fact, Deloitte estimates that at least 1 in 4 consumers over the age of 55 who own smartphones have never downloaded a single app.. With that level of app usage in the 55+ age group, those issues for restaurant tech currently remain high on the agenda, but they seem largely under-addressed by developers, and more often than not, by developers. restaurant operators ignore them.

It’s also worth noting from a recent “green light” survey that, when it comes to the Internet, the Over 55s currently spend over £14bn through online shopping and are the fastest growing demographic in that area but they tend to be largely ignored by retailers and restaurant customer-facing technology. development by manufacturers. Note also that ‘greenlight’ also commented that for the 65+ demographic, the spend is actually reduced compared to the customer in the 55-64 age bracket. Understanding this fact can help identify which technology will help or hinder that demographic with the resulting increase in sales.

But technology in restaurants is not just about the front-of-house customer experience, there are other attributable technologies now appearing in restaurants that directly contribute to the overall delivery of quality customer service, such as staff tracking. which can provide key metrics on staff efficiency to improve service. levels and reduce costs accordingly.

Thinking about current trends when it comes to this same 55-64 age demographic, the the payment process can also be an obstacle. While many newer payment methods may include mobile payments or server tablets, kiosks, or apps, consideration should be given to the effects those technologies will have when determining the 55-64 age group for visiting any restaurant.

It’s clear that, over time, younger generations will eventually migrate to become more tech-savvy customers, but ignoring the important 55-64 age range is not recommended if your restaurants already cater to that demographic.

Of course, there are other technologies out there that ARE friendly to the 55-64 year old demographic that don’t involve ANY hard use of high tech at the customer level, like a table tracking system from LRS of Dallas TX, USA. Their ‘Table Tracker’ is easy to use and the customer’s only involvement is to place a ‘disk’ on the table they choose to sit at. The service is improved dramatically and it’s a fact that over 55s love great service demonstrated by his love for waiter service.

So there are a number of questions that need to be addressed where the technology is or could be deployed in the future, things like:

• Are you limiting your own customer base to millennials? No:

• How does customer experience technology affect potential customer engagement between 55 and 64 years old?
• Are you happy with the fact that the 55+ higher disposable income group might not be visiting your restaurant due to technology issues?
• Have you seriously considered the aspect of customer-facing technology that affects your restaurant sales?
• Do they offer more research on the technology products they currently use?
• Review currently installed customer-facing technology to address the 55+ customer sector
• Consider customer base of 55+ BEFORE committing to technologies that might not appeal to the 55+ demographic due to technical complexity when presented to them.

Customer engagement of all adults is king when using technology to improve the customer experience in any restaurant environment, especially when it comes to sales.