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Regional QSR Chain

Simple, personalized and robust platform for made-to-order food

A regional gas, food and convenience chain was a pioneer in the made-to-order food business. In 1986, the kitchen staff began taking orders for customized sub sandwiches using paper slips. In 1996, this shifted to the touchscreen kiosks connected to the kitchen that are commonplace today. A menu that started as sandwiches now includes drinks, appetizers, burritos, hamburgers, ice cream and much more.

The digital menu was being created with a vendor’s software and presented to customers using a vendor’s kiosk hardware. Licensing costs were high and the rigid software platform created challenges for store operations, the brand team and negatively impacted the customer experience. The IT group wanted to bring this capability in-house and needed a compelling vision and a sense of the investment needed to share with the leadership team.

Interviews and workshops with senior leaders highlighted strategic goals, aspirations, current pain points and key impact areas that anchored the story for change. Benchmarking and interviews provided the basis for personas and stories for a new ordering experience that would provide the flexibility and control that the business needed to innovate and continue to grow.

A regional gas, food and convenience chain was a pioneer in the made-to-order food business. In 1986, the kitchen staff began taking orders for customized sub sandwiches using paper slips. In 1996, this shifted to the touchscreen kiosks connected to the kitchen that are commonplace today. A menu that started as sandwiches now includes drinks, appetizers, burritos, hamburgers, ice cream and much more.

The digital menu was being created with a vendor’s software and presented to customers using a vendor’s kiosk hardware. Licensing costs were high and the rigid software platform created challenges for store operations, the brand team and negatively impacted the customer experience. The IT group wanted to bring this capability in-house and needed a compelling vision and a sense of the investment needed to share with the leadership team.

Interviews and workshops with senior leaders highlighted strategic goals, aspirations, current pain points and key impact areas that anchored the story for change. Benchmarking and interviews provided the basis for personas and stories for a new ordering experience that would provide the flexibility and control that the business needed to innovate and continue to grow.

Customer Research

In-store interviews, observation and sales data provided insight into current ordering behaviors and input to personas

Benchmarking

Reviewed best-in-class experiences and emerging features to identify reusable patterns and areas that needed more in-depth design exploration

mobile-first design and testing

Used emerging features like group ordering and social posting for mobile “on-the-go” users that incorporated quick interactions and simple choices

Vision & Roadmapping

Creating a North Star engaged the leadership team more effectively to gain support for both near-term and incremental funding

Impact

Menu Control

Increased control over the menu to customize based on regional differences, day parts, supply data and other variables

Personalization

A layer of personalization was added that would provide customers with access to favorites and deals

Fee Elimination

The new software platform freed the company from the licensing fees of the legacy integrated software and hardware solution

Brand Consistency

A new ability to customize the user interface allowed the ordering experience to align with the company’s fun, casual and edgy brand

© 2024 Mark Lotter

© 2024 Mark Lotter

© 2024 Mark Lotter