Take Order Pick-Up from Awkward to Awesome
With digital dining predicted to be a $300 billion opportunity by 2025, foodservice operators are scrambling to meet the demand and make the experience fast, fun and efficient for their operations.
So far, results have been mixed. While digital ordering is usually fast and simple, all bets are off when the customer comes in to pick up that order. Often, it’s an awkward dance in the entrance as they make their way past dine-in customers, bump into employees rushing to take to-go orders to a pick-up shelf or counter, and maneuver past customer lines at the registers.
Meanwhile, restaurant staff are juggling orders for eat-in customers while keeping an eye on all those takeout orders, making sure the right order goes to the right customer. All this inefficiency means orders take too long to pick up, and a convenient option becomes an inconvenient hassle. That’s the kind of aggravation and anxiety that can drive away customers who don’t have the time or patience to deal with it.
It’s this less-than-perfect scenario that inspired the development of 2019’s Kitchen Innovations Award recipient, the AXCESS 2000.H Pick-Up Station from Apex Supply Chain Technologies®. The industry’s first heated, self-serve order pick-up station was specifically designed to make the “last inch” handoff of digital orders more convenient for customers – and more efficient for employees.
The lockers feature a smart, two-sided design, meant to be strategically located so that employees can load orders from the back, while customers pick up in front. More importantly, it’s a fast, self-serve experience for busy people who don’t have time to wait in line.
The real genius of the order pick-up station is that it continues the fast, efficient experience that begins with the digital order process. Once an employee places the order in the compartment for pick-up, the customer receives a text or email with a unique code. Then they can skip the line and go straight to the pick-up station, where they scan or enter their code. The secure compartment holding their order opens, they grab their order and are on their way in seconds.
Just as importantly, the AXCESS 2000.H also makes order pickup less disruptive and more efficient for restaurant operations. The flow-through design makes it easy for associates to load orders from the back, and they don’t get in the way of customers picking up at the front.
The AXCESS 2000.H is ideal for a variety of hot foods, including chicken and ribs, as well as prepared meals.
