#1 Cheerfy Verse
/The future of restaurants is not robots.
It’s (super-)humans.
The labour crunch drama.
The restaurant industry is a people business. Yet, the lack of people has become a significant challenge. In the aftermath of COVID-19, restaurants face staffing shortages in a world in high demand for greater flexibility and remote working.
McKinsey says the hospitality industry in Spain — which usually employs around one in eight employees — started 2022 under-resourced, with 73,400 fewer employees versus February 2020. A 5.5 per cent fall.
In the US, the Bureau of Labor Statistics highlighted that employment in hospitality is below its pre-pandemic level by 1.1 million, or 6.7 per cent. While in the UK, the ONS show sector currently has a record 174,000 jobs available and is experiencing 83% more vacancies than March-May 2019.
The combination of inflation and the sector’s war for staff makes it even worse. As a result, restaurants need to make an extra when raising wages to stay competitive. In the US, compensation in 2022 for the hospitality sector rose 8.4% year-on-year, while compensation for all workers was up 4.5%.
Fully robotic restaurants?
Not surprisingly, many are advocating for a future of fully automated restaurants. Two months ago, three Stanford engineers celebrated the grand opening of Mezli: a restaurant run entirely by robots in San Francisco serving fresh, healthy Mediterranean bowls.
But do restaurant customers have an appetite for robots? Not necessarily. According to Big Red Rooster’s report, 75 per cent of consumers still feel that interaction with an employee is critical: the warm welcome, food preparation, or service at the table.
However, consumers are most receptive to automation where speed and accuracy are concerned. For example, 58 per cent say faster service is a top benefit of automation, and 57 per cent feel it means fewer mistakes.
(Super-)humans over robots.
Are robots the future of restaurants? No. The future is humans. Super-humans. The paradigm shift is about humans with superpowers. It’s about elevating the role of humans at restaurants by leveraging technology. And if this sounds futuristic, you are falling behind the times.
Manolo Bakes.
There are many reasons why Manolo Bakes is a flagship bakery and coffee chain in Spain: its high-quality coffee, its Manolitos - small croissants of delicate puff pastry, and its fun-loving experience.
Manolo Bakes has extended that experience to a digital relationship with customers through the “MB Club”. The MB Club loyalty card can be stored in Apple Wallet or Google Pay and symbolises Manolo Bakes’ identity. It turns customers into Manolovers awarding them with Manolos. As they earn Manolos, customers receive personalised rewards.
Most importantly, the MB Club empowers employees with a superpower. They get real-time insights about Manolovers: their name, number of visits, last visit, preferences, or birthdate. Contextual data enables employees to delight customers on the spot: greeting their birthday, giving a warm welcome when visiting after a while, or making personalised suggestions based on their preferences.
The results speak for themselves: the MB Club has multiplied by three the number of returning customers for active members.
Grosso Napoletano.
Grosso Napoletano has made the world’s top 10 best artisan pizzas. But the Grosso experience blends artisanship and innovation, offering a digital experience as well crafted as their pizzas.
In particular, Grosso Pay has elevated the dining experience. Grosso customers can pay whenever they want via QR. Either by card, Apple Pay or Google pay. Consumers can also split the bill, leave a tip, and get their digital receipt. And thanks to the native integration with their Grosso Squad loyalty card, Grosso Pay ensure the customer is seamlessly rewarded with progress toward their loyalty account.
The adoption has been remarkable: Grosso Pay has processed over 50% of on-premise transactions at several venues. Plus, it has made Grosso employee’s life significantly easier. As the main point of customer interaction, Grosso servers need to be aware of any challenge and adapt accordingly. Minimising the transactional parts of a server's job empower them to focus on building relationships with customers, providing superior service and managing more complex interactions.
Malvón.
Born in 2017, Malvón is the leading restaurant chain producing and distributing handmade Argentine empanadas, a booming category. Between Spain and Portugal, Malvón has nearly 100 stores.
Malvón’s product is incredibly suited for delivery and takeaway. That has driven them to develop their digital ordering channel offering differentiated experiences for consumers and enterprises. Their platform is an intelligent hub between couriers, payments, point-of-sales or digital marketing engines.
Malvón’s employees monitor preparation times and control the rider status or refund orders not correctly fulfilled. On a single screen. They even have complete details about their customer profiles. Is the rider late with one of their most loyal customers? They can send her a message and compensate her with a personalised gift. In one click!
The future of restaurants.
The future of restaurants is about keeping the human touch when it matters the most while capturing the efficiencies of technology. It’s about offering the best experience to both customers AND employees. And in executing this future, the industry has an excellent opportunity to attract talent and upskill employees, providing compelling development opportunities in times of labour shortages.
The future of restaurants will be more human, not less. And it will be thanks to technology, not despite it.
Carlos
Co-Founder
