Speed is essential for any food-service business, but it is particularly important for concession stands. A slow concession stand can keep attendees in line much longer than expected, potentially causing them to miss key parts of an event.
No one wants to miss the game-winning touchdown because they were waiting in line.
Thankfully, there are some great technologies that can help you speed up concession stand lines. Here are a few ways you can use technology to serve customers faster.
#1) Quickly process orders with a point-of-sale (POS) system.
Lines at concession stands slow down when one person has to take and fulfill an order. A customer requests a drink and the employee has to walk over and fill it. There’s a reason why many fast-casual and quick-service restaurants have moved away from this process. When you order at a Starbucks or Panera, one employee typically takes your order while another assembles it. A point-of-sale (POS) makes this possible.
Taking orders with a concession stand POS allows you to spread out tasks to your team. One employee takes the order. The order is sent to another employee who prepares it. This process keeps the line moving.
Not only can a POS system speed up your operations, but it can also improve your food safety protocols. One employee can focus on handling money and processing credit card payments, while the others wear safety gloves and prepare orders.
#2) Bust long lines with mobile POS tablets.
The right POS system can also help you bust long lines. If a line starts to form, you can arm your staff with a mobile iPad POS system that allows them to take orders from guests while they wait in line.
All of your other team members can work to fill orders while an employee takes orders on an iPad. Regardless of how long the line is, this employee can walk through the crowd, take orders, and even process payments, all with a simple iPad device.
Once your customers place their orders, they can step out of line and move up to your concession stand to receive their items. This can prevent the appearance of lines, which will make other customers think the service is fast. Breaking down lines can also prevent your concession stands from blocking walkways.
#3) Allow customers to place orders at self-service kiosks.
To expedite taking orders even more, you can install self-service kiosks that let customers place their own orders. Giving customers a way to order on their own can speed up concession stand lines by freeing up your staff to prepare more orders. You can dedicate fewer people to taking orders and more people to fulfilling them.
This gives customers more control over their order and prevents long lines from forming at your counter. You can place the kiosk a few feet away from the concession stand so your customers don’t block the order pickup area.
You can still provide quality customer service with kiosks. Station an employee near the kiosk to help with ordering in case customers get stuck or provide alternative ordering options for customers with disabilities who might not be able to see or use the kiosk.
#4) Offer online ordering.
If you want to speed up concession stand lines, you can take it one step further and prevent customers from creating lines at your counter or kiosks. You can offer online ordering so customers can place orders using their phones.
Online ordering allows customers to order right from their seats. They don’t have to waste time away from the event waiting in line. Instead, they can send their order directly to your kitchen.
When you sync online ordering with your POS system, all orders get queued up for your team as they are placed. You can offer online ordering while continuing to serve guests that would rather order at the counter or through your kiosks. Your team can easily process all of the orders through one system.
Get Technology to Speed Up Concession Stand Lines
No one wants to miss out on the action of a concert or sporting event because they were waiting in line for food and drinks. Help customers quickly get what they need and get back to their seats by incorporating these technologies that speed up concession stand lines.
If you need help bringing any of these tools to your concession stand, let’s talk. Lavu can help you set up a concession stand POS that includes all of the technologies listed in this post and more.
To learn more, download our free eBook, the Beginner’s Guide to POS, or schedule a demo with our team to see all of these tools in action.
