David Litchman, the founder of Pockets, a 10-unit Chicago-based chain, has taken employee security measures a step further. He’s placed Web cams above registers and now watches stores from home. For a few thousand dollars, he could buy high-tech surveillance gear, but Litchman prefers the easy use and low price of his Internet-based camera. “All you have to do is plug the Web cam into your DSL router,” he says.

You could say Litchman is a proponent of all Internet-based technologies. After all, 35 percent of his sales come from online orders.

“About two and a half years ago, I decided to start taking orders through the Web site as opposed to the phone,” Litchman says. “The primary motive was a lot of our employees struggled with phone orders. They made a lot of mistakes, creating a customer experience that wasn’t positive.”

Since focusing efforts on Web-based ordering, Litchman says same-store sales have increased 10.5 percent per year while total sales have jumped 22.5 percent. And his customers are more than happy with the service, he says.

That doesn’t surprise Hough, who says, “Sometimes technology can boost customer experience,” especially in the drive thru.

With 63 percent (NRA 2007) of quick-service operators expecting the drive thru to account for more sales this year, owners are relying on technology to help push more orders through the window. To aid in this effort are order confirmation systems that up-sell, drive-thru timers that provide detailed reports on employees, wireless headset systems that sound crystal clear, and outdoor payment solutions that speed up service. But not all of this technology is proven, Hough says.

“I’m not sold on Speedpass,” he says. “I think the industry will go more toward cell phone (payments) or something a little more ubiquitous.”

Kitchen management solutions link the front-of-house and drive-thru terminals to the back. This technology ensures accuracy and efficiency, says Heather Pitts, marketing director for QSR Automations, a provider of automations technology. Pitts says kitchen management software helps operators sort orders more quickly. For example, during lunch rush at a burger joint, a cook can set up 20 buns and “look at the monitor and put everything on the bun in the order it needs to go,” she says.

Kitchen display systems assist with add-ons and bin management, too, Pitts says.

“You can forecast based on historical data or make adjustments based on real-time sales. This allows you to keep items fresher,” Pitts says. As for those last-second add-ons, “there are add-on flags in the display monitor so the cook can see he needs to make the order quickly.”

Even with this high-tech help in the kitchen, “you’ve still got to make the food,” Godward says. In the food-making arena, technology has never been better for the quick-service restaurant.

There are dual-sided grills, microwave and convection combinations, impingement ovens, and holding equipment that allows operators to keep pre-cooked meats for long periods.

“You’re seeing holding equipment very widely in the burger concepts, where they cook the burgers very fast and hold them in drawers,” Godward says. “Another thing is manufacturers are bringing foods with a higher degree of preparation, whether it’s pre-chopped vegetables or pre-cooked products that just need to be reheated.”

Indeed, today’s restaurant has many advantages in production methods in the kitchen. But those advantages mean nothing if the proper processes are not in place.

“The companies that command their processes or train their employees will have a huge advantage that technology cannot give you,” Godward says.