How to Make Fast Food Restaurants Faster with Digital Signage for QSR

Expedite orders with queue management

Fast-food restaurant signs offer a powerful tool for QSRs to manage customer flow and enhance the overall dining experience. Signage can be placed around the restaurant to show current waiting times for ordering and pick-up. By integrating with the restaurant’s order management system, these signs can automatically update as order statuses change, allowing customers to see exactly how long they will need to wait and saving them a trip to the table if their order is about to be ready. Digital signs can display separate wait times for different services, such as dine-in, take-out, or drive-thru, streamlining the pickup process.

Empower self-ordering on kiosks and mobile devices

Some digital can display QR codes for mobile ordering platforms, allowing customers to place their own orders. This can help reduce the workload on staff and speed up the ordering process. Customers can customize their orders without feeling rushed by a queue behind them. Additionally, when customers input their choices directly, the likelihood of miscommunication with staff decreases, leading to higher satisfaction due to accurate order fulfillment.

Answer questions before staff is asked

Digital signage can display important or frequently asked questions, such as those about nutritional or allergy information, helping customers make informed decisions faster without having to ask staff. This not only speeds up service but also reduces the training time for new staff members. They won’t need to memorize extensive details about every item immediately, minimizing the risk of communicating incorrect information. Alongside nutritional and allergen information, digital signs can promote items that cater to specific health trends or diets, such as keto, low-calorie, or high-protein options.

Help users choose extras before reaching the cashier

QSRs can help boost average order value and enhance customer experiences with digital signage. At the drive-thru, pre-order QSR outdoor digital signage can help customers make their dining decisions before they reach the speaker. Inside the restaurant, signage can be programmed to highlight certain add-ons during peak times or when certain products are being purchased. For example, if a customer orders a coffee, the digital sign can suggest upgrading to a premium roast or adding a pastry. If the customer is ordering a burger, the digital menu can highlight cheese or bacon as an upgrade or a combo deal that includes fries and a drink for a slight price increase.

Help the entire team be more efficient

For the staff, digital signage that displays real-time waiting times can aid in understanding and managing the pace of order flow. This can lead to more efficient allocation of resources — for instance, deploying more staff to the front counter during peak times or prioritizing order preparation processes to reduce bottlenecks. During off-peak hours, digital signage can be used to provide role-specific training tailored to the needs of different staff members, such as cooks, cashiers, and cleaners. For example, cooks might receive training on new cooking techniques or recipes, while cashiers might receive updates on customer service best practices.

By employing dynamic, visually appealing displays, QSRs can streamline the menu selection and ordering process, effectively reducing wait times. Digital signage facilitates real-time updates, allowing for seamless communication of promotions, menu changes, new item introductions, and more. Integrating digital signage into fast food operations can not only help boost service speed but enrich the customer experience as well.  

Check out our QSR page for more information on how digital signage can benefit your operation.