Hybrid operational models prioritizing both in-house and off-premises dining are nothing new in the quick-service industry, though they were rarely adopted prior to the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Now, two and a half years after the pandemic began, hybrid models are not just the norm—they are expected by consumers. Yet despite the ubiquity of these blended operational models, most restaurants still haven’t landed on precisely the right balance between in-person and digital orders that serves the needs of the brands and their patrons seamlessly.
“The reality is more than 95 percent of restaurants rushed into hybridizing their models during the pandemic before they were ready,” says Chris Lybeer, chief strategy officer at Revel Systems. “It was a necessity to keep business afloat, but that means very few brands had the luxury of thoughtfully considering or testing these strategies before rolling them out.”
Lybeer likens this approach to hiring a carpenter to build a single-room extension onto a house without assessing the larger floorplan. The outcome in this scenario—as well as for restaurants who rushed into hybrid models—is the same: A “choppy” outcome with bolted on solutions that don’t fit the overall architecture of the larger structure.
“Even today, most restaurants are still using two–three solutions in order to provide curbside pickup, online ordering, or order and pay at the table service,” Lybeer says. “But because these solutions are all provided by different vendors, they may not work with the brand’s POS, they all have separate reporting, and money is processed by different payment providers. This means nothing is synergized, and it’s awkward to use for staff and for customers.”
Though these were necessary steps in the early days of the pandemic, Lybeer says now that the situation has stabilized, it’s crucial for restaurants to take a step back and reassess their technology now before these problems worsen.
The first step, Lybeer says, is to analyze existing tech stacks to see if it’s possible to get the same solutions from a single core technology provider. Then, even if a brand’s core provider doesn’t have a capability, restaurants may still find that certain vendors have stronger integrations with other software, which could further streamline data, reporting, and even operations. The vendor should also include reporting packages that make it easy to analyze the various revenue streams and optimize business operations accordingly.
“Revel, for example, was built to be a modern cloud-native platform,” Lybeer says. “Because it was built recently, it already has all these digital channels in place, so restaurants can get everything they need in one place. But you also need to be smart about your growth plans and find technology that will give you room to grow in the future.”
For example, if a fast-casual brand plans to test drive thru in a few stores in the future, it’s important to take those ideas into consideration when weighing which providers are the best fit.
“If you’re already sort of behind today, it can only get worse,” Lybeer says. “The pace of technological change has only sped up, and the gaps between the leaders and followers in this space are only growing. Consumers are eventually going to do new things, such as order through voice while they’re driving on the highway or using social media inside a video game. Digital is moving forward and constantly innovating, and you have to support new channels or you risk becoming a dinosaur.”
To learn more, visit the Revel website.
By Peggy Carouthers
