An Insider on the Importance of Restaurants Meeting Customers Where They Are

As restaurant customers’ frustration over poor service and higher prices mounts, an industry insider explains why restaurateurs need a thorough understanding of their customers — rather than simply throwing technology at the problem.

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As restaurants continue to raise menu prices and scale back on service, they may be following a recipe for disaster: Nobody likes paying more for less. In an interview with PYMNTS, Bill Fultz, vice president of point of sale at Heartland, a Global Payments company, explained that this dynamic is already starting to give consumers pause.

“Consumers are being asked to pay more with less of an experience around it, and we see now that consumers are questioning, ‘Why am I even here? Why am I paying a premium when I’ve got one person trying to serve an entire dining room?’”

Fultz said he does not fault restaurant owners for this dynamic, as their hands are tied by external conditions. Indeed, PYMNTS found that 76% of restaurant managers viewed staff stability as necessary to a successful business, while almost half had encountered challenges to hiring and staff retention — illustrating that staffing shortages are an imposition, not a decision.

Technology is only a part of the solution. According to Fultz, restaurants need to do more than simply follow the COVID-19 playbook of using technology to handle the crisis. They need to meet customers where they are.

There are generational, demographic and individual differences between consumers’ payment preferences that restaurants should be mindful of when rolling out new solutions. For example, some customers may love ordering with mobile apps, while others may refuse.

The type of restaurant is also important. Fultz explained that a fine-dining establishment, for example, may not derive much value from enhanced digital ordering capabilities, as the draw for customers is the in-person dining experience.

Moreover, technology, even when adopted at the intended levels, can sometimes have unintended consequences. He recounted a conversation with a merchant who rolled out contactless payment options that became popular among customers. However, younger generations, freed from face-to-face interactions, were using the technology to tip less, which made it harder for the merchant to retain staff.

Overall, it is a complicated situation, but there is good news, said Fultz. It is easier than ever for restaurateurs to communicate directly with their customers and learn their unique needs.

“It’s really about figuring out how the customer wants to buy, and meeting them in that experience,” he said. “Sometimes that’s through technology, and sometimes [it’s through] some more traditional practices.”