Third Place:

Telequip T-Flex Coin Dispenser

Customers aren’t the only ones who can benefit from technology—chains also use it to help out crew members. For cashiers, counting change can be a frustrating task, especially when there’s a line of customers anxiously waiting. To solve that problem, Telequip, a manufacturer of coin dispensing equipment, created the T-Flex Coin Dispenser to automatically release the correct amount of change into a coin cup.

“It eliminates mistakes that cashiers can make in getting the proper change out,” says Telequip Marketing Manager Alice Moran. “In addition, retailers are looking to reduce shrink and loss of revenue due to errors or theft. What this product does, because it’s tied directly to the system, is eliminate the ability for the cashier or customer to end up with less or more.”

Telequip created the T-Flex to integrate with most popular POS systems via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port. In many cases, it can also tie into the financial reporting system.

“At the end of the day or during shift changeover, you can get an accurate account of what’s been dispensed,” Moran says.

Best of all, using the T-Flex can shave five to ten seconds off transactions, which can add up to 20 more customers a day. Subway, McDonald’s, Quiznos, Chipotle, Dairy Queen, and Dunkin’ Donuts are just a few chains that have added the product to their POS systems, the company says.

Knork Flatware

Not all technology has to be high-tech. The fork is a fairly simple device that has stood the test of time, but Mike Miller took issue with its design as an eighth grader engaged in the frustrating task of using one to cut pizza.

Miller noticed the restaurant’s staff using a rocking blade to slice pies in the back of the house and figured there had to be a way to pass the same convenience on to the customer. He started sketching designs and at the age of 21 began the patent process. Thus, the Knork, a knife-fork hybrid, was born.

Now available in both metal and plastic varieties, the Knork has rounded, beveled edges that can cut through everything from raw carrots to prime rib but won’t harm the user’s mouth. A finger platform makes it easy on hands, too.

The Knork allows users to eat conveniently with one hand and restaurants to save money and reduce waste by eliminating the need to stock both knives and forks. That can result in cost savings of more than 10 percent per year, according to the company. At least one quick-service chain, Taco Tico, has already ditched all its other utensils in favor of the device.