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Self-Operating Restaurants

Kenneth Hallwachs

Mar 21, 2023

Revolutionizing QSRs: The Rise of Automation and IoT Technologies for Enhanced Efficiency and Cost Savings

As the first self-operating QSR already exists, other brands are looking to expand their technology footprint to decrease overall costs and improve the three components of customer satisfaction. Convenience is essential for any fast-food chain, as they are trying to simplify the ordering process while also speeding up the food-making time. In 2004, Whiting and Weckman outlined the need for self-ordering kiosks as people lean towards efficiency, trim lines, and convenience. Self-ordering kiosks' cost has come down over the years and can be purchased for an estimated $5,000. It is a small step towards automation, but the benefits are significant. Big names like McDonald’s and Wendy’s announced the rollout of thousands of kiosk technology, while Panera hit $1 billion in digital sales in 2017 (Price, 2022). The acceptance rate is growing as 54% of millennials approve of kiosks, and Gen Z is expected to make 40% of all consumer purchases by 2020 (Amed et al., 2019). With the advancement of technology and the utilization of geofencing and AI, kiosks can offer customized items based on past purchases. Ticket amounts would also increase as “self-service kiosks eliminate any potential for societal judgment by a human server or cashier while producing an automated order, which helps the customers feel more comfortable by allowing them to pick whatever they like” (Castillo et al., 2020). With the $15 movement, kiosks offer QSR a simple way to save on labor costs, as a $5,000 machine is less than nine weeks for a full-time employee at $15 an hour. That could save $104,800 with four kiosks compared to four full-time employees. The decreased labor cost generates better sales and profits, which is pivotal for any fast-food restaurant (Castillo et al., 2020).

IoT is incorporated in many restaurant aspects today, from menu boards to registers. As technology advances, opportunities arise for QSR to adopt the technology in a way that was never considered or possible. Burger King announced in 2020 a few new restaurant concepts to comply with the changing customer habits and the acceleration of online orders. With the help of IoT, Burger King has developed a pickup locker that will hold the food warm and secure for pickup (Klein, 2020). It resolves the issue of cold food and makes it harder for delivery drivers to grab the wrong order, as they are provided with a specific code for the locker. FlyBuy uses a phone location service to predict when the guest arrives at a QSR location and notifies the restaurant when the guest is nearby. Once the person drives through the drive-thru, employees know who that person is and can hand over the order without asking for the name. It creates a seemingly less order process for the guest and unexpected customer service.

Robots are slowly taking over many simple jobs humans used to do. Big companies like Tesla and Samsung use mostly robots to build their product with much more accuracy and volume. The restaurant industry has been left behind for years and is slowly catching up with innovations like the Flippy or Cali Group facial checkout. Miso Robotics is the creator behind Flippy, the burger-flipping machine that can now make fries and chicken wings (Witter, 2020). Working behind the grill or fryer is dirty and brutal work, which many people do not enjoy. CEO Miller of the Cali Group states two ways their technology helps, “one, people stay longer because they enjoy their job more when they don’t have to do the hard jobs of working on the grill or the fryer. And they can spend more time doing what people are good at” (Witter, 2020). Turnover is a costly part of QSR, and it can cost thousands of dollars to replace an employee. 2020 was exceedingly hurtful for the industry as the turnover percentage reached over 130%, compared to 79% in 2019 (Carouthers, 2021). As labor costs intensify, they eliminate the need for a person to cook fries or flip a burger, create a better work environment for employees, and reduce labor. As these robots are connected to the internet, their cooking instructions can be easily updated, eliminating the need for training and manuals. With small margins, fast-food restaurants don’t always have the capital to invest in expensive machinery. Miso Robotics is on a mission to make it more affordable to push the technology advancement to more locations and has reduced the price from $60,000 to $20,000 in just a few years (Witter, 2020).




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