College students across the country will be happy to know that most universities will be returning to on-campus instruction for the Fall 2020 semester. However, this will not come without precautions. Many schools are enforcing strict social distancing policies to keep all students and faculty safe. For example, some schools are mandating that students wear face coverings when in class, and other schools are drastically decreasing class sizes to accommodate social distancing.
Conversely, many university dining halls will not be changing much this upcoming semester. Other than the addition of more soap dispensers and fewer self-serve options, many universities will still allow buffet-style dining. Now more than ever, dining halls across the country need to come up with safer ways for students to order their food and limit direct exposure to others. It is essential that self-service kiosks are installed in university dining halls to avoid human-to-human contact and mitigate crowding.
Benefits of Having a Self-Service Kiosk in a School Cafeteria
First, many colleges are already accustomed to kiosk technology through informational kiosks that are placed around campus. As such, adding cafeteria kiosks will not present a major learning curve. If colleges work with reputable kiosk manufacturers, kiosk integration will go smoothly and benefit the cafeteria in many ways.
Kiosks have existed in restaurants for a long time, but now more than ever, they need to be implemented in all dining areas across the country in order to keep everyone safe on college campuses for years to come.
Additionally, according to multiple studies, dining halls are one of the dirtiest places on a college campus because of their buffet style. Picture a university dining hall. Long lines for the special of the day. Students coughing and sneezing around food. People spreading germs through soda machines. Dining halls cannot continue this way and risk spreading COVID-19.
Self-ordering kiosks are a new and innovative way for students to order their food straight from their table and have their food available at a food locker or pickup location. Colleges can also implement a curbside pick-up model at the cafeterias, as depicted in the video below. Students will be able to choose from a large variety of dishes without having to leave the café area. This will help mitigate crowding and student travel between the food and their tables.
Some kiosks can even be used without even walking into the dining hall. If placed outside the dining hall, students can simply swipe their student ID card and order their food right there. When their food is ready, they will be notified and can either walk in to pick it up or even pick it up curbside. Students can also order online via a contactless ordering app. Simply scan a QR-code and students will be sent to the daily menu, allowing them to order their food straight from the comfort of their own dorm room.
There are other benefits of self-ordering kiosks for both the school and the students.
Improved Efficiency
With its easy to navigate menu and high accuracy, self-service kiosks can help in eliminating long lines and reduce wait times.
Lower Operational Costs
Self-service kiosks are much more cost-effective compared to cashiers. By using self-service kiosks to take orders, the dinning service can relocate cashiers to help with other tasks in the cafeteria.
Increased Profitability
Self-ordering kiosk technology has shown to increase profit for businesses. This can be credited to increased average ticket size and increased upselling. GRUBBRR has noted this for many of its clients including a school cafeteria in South Florida where the café noted a 42% increase in average ticket size in just two months.
Convenience
With clear and attractive graphics and multiple payment options, self-service kiosks makes the ordering process quick and easy.
Accuracy
Kiosk ordering reduces the chances of error that not only saves time but also improve customer experience.
Inventory Management
Serving as an omnichannel platform, a kiosk can not only process orders but also help in managing inventory. It automatically updates the quantity and doesn’t need to updated manually.
View Transaction History
The payment processing is easy and gives you an option of viewing recent transactions. It also allows you to include loyalty programs and display promotions.
Generate Reports for Analysis
Another key feature of self-ordering kiosk software is its in-built analytics that can provide useful insights to the business. You can get a report on the most popular item in the menu to the least in demand, average ticket size, revenue generated, and other analytics.
Other Automation Possibilities for College Cafeterias
As mentioned, campus kiosks already exist, providing interactive maps and guides for visitors, and increasingly making cafeterias self-service. But there are many other processes that can be efficiently automated by campus kiosks. Anywhere a long line typically forms, a college kiosk would be of use: think of student health services, mail services, and printing stations. In addition to wayfinding and café kiosks, colleges can also automate popular advising and administrative services, and students can make appointments via self-service kiosks. Finally, informational kiosks are perfect for campuses, displaying relevant alerts or event information for anyone walking around campus.
Overall, through innovative kiosk technology, college campuses can revolutionize how they disseminate information and provide essential services. Students are sure to see more and more kiosks in the coming years.
What Are POS Systems?
A point-of-sale system does payment processing. Multiple platforms can be integrated into one POS system. This means a single is used to manage payment made over either a website or an app.
Benefits of Using School Store POS Systems –
School store POS system is designed specifically for schools. One of its main feature is that it can integrates sales across the campus using a student id or number.
GRUBBRR: The Best Self-service Kiosks and POS for Cafeterias
GRUBBRR is a leading name in providing automation software solutions for businesses of all kinds- retail, stadiums, casinos, restaurants, school cafeterias and others. Our solutions have proven to increase customer experience, increase revenue and improve operations. Schedule a demo with us today to see how our solution can help you upgrade your school cafeteria.
FAQs
What are the purposes of self-service kiosks?
Self-service kiosks serves many purposes in a business such as improve its operations and efficiency, reduce long lines and increase revenue. Not just that, self-service kiosk can also help businesses in food service to tackle recent challenges such as labor shortage and inflation.
How can I get a self-service kiosk?
You can start by either scheduling a demo with us today or contacting us here. Our team can provide you with the most efficient self-service kiosk best suited for your business.
What are the advantages of interactive kiosks?
Read: Benefits & Advantages of Interactive Retail Kiosks
How do self-service foodservice kiosks work?
