Tue, 23rd December 2008

KFC gets a taste for self-service kiosks

A franchisee of the global restaurant business, KFC, has introduced self-service kiosks into one of his UK outlets to offer customers a fast ordering service, as part of a trial with YESpay and its partner Acrelec UK Ltd.

The self-service kiosks were introduced both as a queue busting tool to increase the number of customers that can be served at any one time and also to increase sales. Following the implementation, the KFC outlet has seen the average spend at the self-service kiosk raise to £7.93, compared to £5.83 at the counter. Over 15% of the store's business is now being transacted through the self service kiosks.

YESpay's EMBOSS Chip & PIN payment service integrates with the self-service kiosks, one of which is double-sided, enabling two customers to order at once. The implementation took only four weeks, including the design and build of the software and menus for the UK market.

Acky Khan, Managing Director, Gastronomy Foods, a KFC Franchise, said, "Our long term goal is to transfer 30% to 40% of our transactions onto the self-service kiosks, which will help improve our customer service, particularly during busy peak periods. The kiosks are a refreshing approach to serving customers who love the navigation and speed with which an order can be placed. This technology has the potential to be rolled out further across the organisation." Rohit Patni, EVP Sales and Marketing, YESpay, commented, "Our project with KFC is a great example of how electronic payments can be exploited for faster ordering and improved customer service. The kiosks are also an innovative way of serving customers, while this technology offers a secure method of ordering and payment."

The reduction in queue times means staff are available to concentrate on other jobs in the restaurant, which will enable KFC to deliver improved customer service.