Productivity and efficiency are the cornerstones of success for quick-service restaurants.
For QSR operators, numerous daily challenges come with the territory. From managing busy kitchens to ensuring stellar guest interactions, your plate is full.
And while you have staff to help keep things running smoothly, there’s one task that can be easy to overlook, especially during peak business hours—answering phone calls. That’s because there are plenty of variables in your day-to-day, but the number of calls you’ll receive in a typical shift is one of the most challenging to prepare for.
But calls are vital to QSRs, and even a single unanswered call can lead to lost revenue and frustrated customers. It’s crucial for restaurants to handle calls efficiently.
It can be difficult in practice to field phone calls when your restaurant is packed with guests who also need your attention. That’s where an AI phone answering service for restaurants can help. Here’s why you should consider implementing the technology into your QSR, ASAP.
Why Phone Calls Are Challenging for QSRs Phone calls can be a double-edged sword for quick-service restaurants.
They are vital for answering customer questions, like confirming your hours of operation, addressing menu inquiries, taking orders, and handling catering or gift card requests.
However, they also present several challenges that can detract from your high standard of service.
For one, phone calls can take your staff’s focus away from urgent in-house tasks like greeting guests, taking orders, or running food. When phones ring incessantly, it pulls staff away from serving on-premise customers and managing kitchen operations.
Even managers find themselves distracted, which affects overall efficiency.
Additionally, QSRs often have tight margins as is. Missed calls can ultimately lead to missed revenue. Just one unanswered call can mean losing a valuable customer to a competitor. In fact, an average of 85% of customers will call a competitor if they can’t get through.
It’s not only about deciding between interacting with your in-person guests or answering your phone promptly.
During busy hours, multiple calls can come in simultaneously. Managing these on top of your in-house guests and other tasks is nearly impossible without dropping the ball somewhere.
There are also plenty of instances where customers call outside of business hours with simple questions regarding things like reservations or operating hours. Without the proper technology in place to handle these, restaurants miss the opportunity to attract their business when your doors reopen.
How Voice AI Helps Quick-Service Restaurants Voice AI offers a solution to these issues while maintaining the level of service your restaurant is known for. Unlike traditional automated voice recognition systems, voice AI can understand and comprehend human speech with remarkable accuracy, making sure all interactions with customers remain both personal and helpful.
AI phone services for restaurants go beyond the all-too-frequent pre-recorded “Press 1 for hours” directory format. AI phone tools provide a conversational interface that makes getting answers to common questions easy. That way, your staff can remain focused on the more pressing tasks—like serving your current guests—without costing you future customers.
The Future Potential for Voice AI Ordering There are still some challenges as it relates to AI for restaurants, specifically when it comes to AI ordering. While AI technology is advancing rapidly, we’re still relatively early in the development of this use case. In many circumstances, human interaction is still required, especially when dealing with ambiguity such as an unfamiliar menu item inquiry or unexpected conversational turns.
Consider the case of when McDonald’s announced the end of its drive-thru test with IBM. In an email sent to numerous franchisees, the Chicago-based fast food giant made several comments about the numerous successes of this technology but ultimately concluded that this test had run its course. It’s important to note that McDonald’s still views automated ordering as vital to their future.
The takeaway here is that the technology is impressive, but it doesn’t automate enough of the ordering experience. The primary benefit of AI is that it will increase efficiencies and make workers more productive.
Until significant innovations happen, widespread adoption of voice AI ordering may be premature for the moment. However, AI outside of the realm of ordering can offer great value to QSRs.
Introducing Slang.ai While a restaurant phone system will never replace your amazing staff, there are solutions that will make their jobs easier and your restaurant more streamlined.
(That’s where Slang.ai comes in)
This AI answering system helps quick-service restaurant operators and staff by handling phone calls around the clock using voice AI automation. It allows you to answer frequently asked questions, and create an experience that mimics your top employee over the phone.
Slang.ai was built to empower your staff to focus on what matters–-giving your in-house guests the best experience possible. That’s why Slang.ai is designed to handle common questions and answer multiple calls simultaneously, 24 hours a day.
And for full-service restaurants , operators utilize Slang.ai to book and modify reservations without human intervention.
4 Reasons QSRs Need AI Phone Answering Implementing AI for restaurants , like phone answering solutions, can revolutionize how your quick-service restaurant handles customer interactions inside and outside of your establishment. Here are four reasons to consider making the switch to an AI phone answering platform:
1. Making Staff More Efficient, Decreasing Errors Your servers, hosts, and cooks have enough to worry about. Even a small distraction can throw off the synchronization needed for a busy shift. With AI handling routine calls, your staff can focus on providing excellent service to on-premise customers.
Phones ringing off the hook often pull staff, including managers, away from high-priority tasks, such as serving your guests or managing your kitchen. AI phone technology can handle the majority of phone calls, and can forward calls to a human operator when necessary.
Slang.ai, for example, can typically handle between 75-85% of all calls made during business hours. That means your team can remain focused on fulfilling customer orders, reducing the likelihood of errors or unsatisfied guests.
2. Directing Customers to Your Preferred Ordering Method There are many food ordering platforms to choose from, but it’s likely you have a favorite. Or, if your restaurant is listed on multiple ordering sites like DoorDash and Uber Eats, you might prefer to direct customers to your website to avoid third-party commissions.
AI phone answering services can help you cut out the middleman and guide callers to your preferred ordering platform so that you keep more money in your pocket.
This can easily be done with an AI phone platform like Slang.ai. If a caller wants to place an order, the AI voice concierge will offer to send a link of your choosing to them via SMS text message. What’s even better is that Slang.ai can help you keep track of open rates from SMS messages to see how likely callers are placing orders.
3. Creating Consistent Guest Experiences Customers who call your restaurant with questions still expect to be given the same service as those in on-site, even during peak hours. Unfortunately, a busy restaurant often results in missed calls or hurried conversations, which can leave callers frustrated. With Slang.ai, you can maintain a consistent guest experience by updating the voice concierge to highlight your most important information.
Take specials and promotions, for example. These are important money-making elements that are often forgotten, especially during rushed phone conversations. They also might not be top of mind for the folks in your back-of-house who can be tasked to answer the phone during peak times. But with AI phone answering services, you can ensure that every caller gets accurate and up-to-date information, including your current deals.
4. 24/7 Coverage You don’t have to miss a beat—or a call—with AI virtual answering services , even when your restaurant is closed. One of the most significant advantages of AI phone answering is the ability to provide 24/7 coverage. Slang.ai acts as an extension of your staff, offering a reliable solution to answer routine questions even outside of operating hours.
It also makes sure you’re answering every single call that comes through, meaning you don’t need several phones to simultaneously be monitored by your very busy staff. This constant availability frees up your team during busy times while also ensuring that callers always receive help, regardless of what’s going on inside your restaurant doors.
A New Era for Quick-Service Restaurants Integrating AI phone answering systems like Slang.ai can help take at least one thing off your plate by addressing the challenges around answering phone calls. By enhancing efficiency, reducing errors, directing customers to preferred ordering methods, creating consistent guest experiences, and offering 24/7 coverage, AI phone answering can transform how your restaurant operates.
For those looking to stay ahead of the curve, adopting AI phone answering systems is a crucial step towards great customer service and overall success. Explore the potential of Slang.ai and see how it can revolutionize your customer interactions and operational efficiency by scheduling a demo now .
