The average drink-time wait at a bar is 12 minutes, but not at L.I.’s Pour House Bar and Grill.
The restaurant led the automation charge in Long Island, NY when they opened in 2014 with a self-serve craft beer wall.
But this week, L.I.’s Pour House pushed self-service to the next level. The Pour House added table top kiosks that customers can use to order, pay their bills, entertain children (or adults), and even charge their phone.
If one wishes, being served food and refills can be the only human interaction during the visit.
The self-serve “iPourIt” beer system made waiting for a drink a thing of the past. Customers set up a tab and then use radio frequency identification wristbands to track consumption of up to 20 types of beers on tap.
Owner Anthony Pallino said that customers loved it, so food self-service was a natural complement for Pour House. Pallino said that the new system streamlines customer service, gives customers more options, and boosts store revenue.
“The self-service kiosk was a no-brainer,” Pallino said. “It makes us more self-sufficient.”
New York restaurants, in particular, are embracing self-serve technology to optimize losses from a minimum wage that jumped $2.50 over the past two years. Minimum wage plans to max out at $15 an hour by December 31, 2019, for small businesses.
“If you needed five or six servers on a normal night, now you need four,” Pallino said.
The store has now installed 24 kiosks at tables, and three near the bar. Pallino estimated he paid a $30,000 one-time fee for the e-servers and pays $399 per month to Juke Slot for kiosk service and card transaction processing.
Kiosks give customers ordering options.
“These allow customers to take their time and not feel rushed by servers,” Pallino told Red Alert Politics. “And it allows servers to take their time with customer service, and not feel like the customers behind them breathing down their neck.”
He said that each e-server saves thousands of dollars per year and that self-service technology “fills the gaps” of worker shortages.
The kiosks create shorter wait times during peak hours, prevents flooding the kitchen with same-time orders, and visualizes options and daily specials. As a result, average ticket prices have increased from $20-to-$22.
Pallino said that servers were initially skeptical of the kiosks, but soon changed their minds. He said that kiosks allow employees to take their time and treat customers like a person instead of an obligation, which bring higher tips.
“Anybody can serve a table. Not everyone can make you laugh and smile,” Pallino said. “You tip off service, not because of the food. I’ve never walked back to the chef and given them $20.”
The Pour House follows recent trends of restaurants and grocery stores adopting technology to optimize profits.
As more states hike the minimum wage, more businesses will use kiosks and automation to serve customers fast and improve customer service.
