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"If you order at the kiosk, you pay at the kiosk," Fortney
The very point of sale said. "Otherwise you're giving away food."

Automated systems are designed to reduce wait times and
optimize efficiencies, Fortney noted. SaaS-based solutions
allow for quicker activity, but solid Internet connections
are not always available at airports. The key to success is
the way each terminal connects to the main station. It's
critical for business owners to see all transaction activity in
real time across an enterprise.
How can we improve Strict security requirements and other challenging aspects

of today's airports are tough on airport business owners.
self-service? On top of that, they pay someone $15 an hour to take
orders and collect money. They can streamline the process
pick up their food, Fortney stated. Noting that the server
By Dale S. Laszig by having customers order on a screen, then walk up and
DSL Direct LLC needs to see if the customer has paid, he said, "If it's on
that screen, start making your sandwich, but only after you
f you've ever felt awkward interacting with kiosks, have seen that approval."
you're not alone. Last week, I tried to order breakfast Instant society, ghost restaurants
at an airport. Few stores or newsstands were open
I at 6 a.m., but I found a coffee place. After ordering, Fortney expects that the yen for faster service may at heart
I was directed to a nearby stand of kiosks to complete my be a generational thing. As a baby boomer, he said, he enjoys
transaction. The POS screen displayed 4 payment options: sitting at a counter at a diner or coffee shop and chatting
cash, credit, mobile payment and debit card. I chose the with people. But the other day, while dining at a counter, he
credit card option, using a PIN pad. When I went back to looked around and saw everyone on their phones.
the counter, where my coffee was waiting, and sad to say
cooling, no one looked at my receipt. As he reflected on changing hospitality trends, Fortney
said boomers and Gen Xers tend to value quality of
As I sipped my coffee, I watched others navigate the new service more than speed, the opposite of millennials. His
payment landscape. Some appeared confused. One woman son prefers take-out and delivery apps to people when he
mistakenly entered an item twice. I wandered over to help orders food. "Most young people don't care about missing
her and together we figured out how to void the duplicate out on human interaction because we've become an instant
and continue her checkout process. society," he said. "I think if my parents looked around, they
would wonder why everyone is moving so fast."
When I ordered a cheese Danish at another counter, a clerk
bagged my pastry and handed me a printed ticket to take to A Bouncepad blog post, titled "Ghost Restaurants: The new
a kiosk. Each time I tried to check out, the kiosk displayed virtual dining trend," observed that millennials are dining
an error message. When I returned to the counter, the clerk "out" in record numbers but prefer to eat at home. By using
discovered my ticket had a zero price-point. She corrected mobile apps and online ordering, they can have "good
the error, enabling me to pay the $3 and complete my quality food in the comfort and convenience of their own
transaction. home," Bouncepad noted. "To accommodate these people,
restaurateurs are redesigning restaurant dining.
In either of these scenarios, I could have walked away
without paying for the coffee or Danish. And as I looked "Focusing exclusively on delivery, these new-style
around, I observed several people doing exactly that. I eateries have been labeled 'ghost restaurants.' These
could only imagine how much more breakage might occur ghost restaurants have no storefronts and offer no direct
during high-traffic times. interaction between the customer and staff. Orders are
Order, pay at kiosk made through an online site or app and then delivered
straight to the customer's door."
How can we make self-attended technology more efficient Kiosks with benefits
for merchants and enjoyable for customers? Self-attended
technology may be in a nascent stage in the United Fortney pointed out that kiosks have benefits. For example,
States, but Jeff Fortney, senior vice president of business at sporting venues, fans can order and pay for food at kiosks
development and partnerships at TouchSuite LLC, said it's and have it delivered to their seats, he said. This way, they
never too early for common sense. In his view, it would can spend more time enjoying the game. And kiosk venues
remove friction and just make sense to make the kiosk the typically result in fewer wait lines, he added.
only place to order and pay.

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