As the old saying goes, today’s customers want to have their cake and eat it too. Mainly, they want food that’s fast and convenient, but they want it with a side of good old-fashioned service.
A 2024 study by the National Restaurant Association found that consumers want traditional hospitality aided by faster technology. With this in mind, operators who want to achieve positive customer satisfaction must navigate the tricky trifecta of speed, convenience and quality service.
Customers bring in revenue and employees provide the customer experience. Foodservice equipment is the connection between the two. So, when that same National Restaurant Association study found that 64% of consumers still prefer traditional service experiences, it reinforces how inextricably linked fast and reliable foodservice equipment is with supporting meaningful human interaction (ahem, service).
When customers’ expectations are met or exceeded, operators stand to benefit with financial gains. Here’s how they’re doing it.
Need for speed
Let’s face it. Life doesn’t seem to be slowing down for anybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about baseball games or internet downloads, everything is getting faster. With no end in sight for the quickening of things, foodservice operators need equipment that keeps pace.
Induction cooktops are as fast and responsive as sports cars. Instead of measuring the time it takes for a vehicle to accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour (mph), we time how long it takes to boil water. The stopwatch doesn’t lie. A 3600-watt commercial induction cooktop is twice as fast as electric and over 2.6 times as fast as gas cooktops. Induction cooktops are faster to clean, faster to cook and faster to cool down — they can turn on a dime.
When it’s peak breakfast time, you need toast lightning fast. Thanks to modern conveyor toasters, you can say “goodbye” to the old two-at-a-time toasters. Toast up to 2,000 pieces of toast in an hour with the touch of a button. However, not all conveyor toasters are created equal. The best commercial toasters are specifically designed to accelerate toasting with a heating chamber inside the conveyor to guarantee rapid and thorough toasting.
Customers will pay for quality
A survey performed by Forbes revealed that 58% of customers will pay a premium for quality. This means that customers aren’t strictly bargain hunting. They expect operators to put their best foot forward every time. Those restaurants, retail grocers and c-stores who consistently deliver on a promise of distinction will be rewarded with loyalty. That’s why it is critical to maintain food’s flavor and texture integrity once it's prepared, no matter the holding scenario.
Importantly, don’t let quality backslide on hot buffets and grab-n-go stations. Commercial induction warmers, like those from Hatco, offer a safe, efficient and attractive way to safely keep food hot with five precise low- to high-power warming levels that suit a wide variety of food types and large-volume applications. A control panel with a standby key, temperature control arrow keys and temperature setting indicators provides an energy-efficient, quiet and safe operating experience. An automatic shut-off even prevents overheating.
With a variety of options available to meet your operation’s food warming needs, Hatco Glo-Ray® food warmers are another way to safely hold the temperature of your food offerings while maintaining that just-made quality. With these warmers, infrared rays radiate down onto the food and help slow the cooling process — locking in flavor and taste that keeps people coming back for more.
Versatility and flexibility
Being prepared for eventualities is a matter of how operators balance short- and long-term priorities. And, you’re only as well prepared to adapt as your restaurant equipment will allow. This is the mentality taken by hybrid restaurants which thrive on the ability to be nimble and responsive to guests' changes in taste. Equipment that is versatile frees restaurants to innovate and push the industry forward, as opposed to being stuck with single-profile equipment. Let’s look at some equipment keeping operators flexible and ready for anything.
Italian? Indian? Peruvian? Mexican? Variety is the spice of life. Hatco’s Flav-R 2-Go® Locker Systems are primed for whatever is on the menu (there are even solutions for pizzas). Flav-R 2-Go Locker Systems are capable of holding multiple orders in either hot or ambient lockers with quick and secure access. Customers experience a frictionless path to meal pickup, while your team can focus on other functions — or dream up the next big, popular menu item.
But there’s more where that came from. With “Versatility” as its middle name, the Hatco/Suntec Snack System raises the bar on multi-purpose café equipment. With eight replaceable plates, you can cook a variety of hot foods and keep up with revenue-driving trends. Its compact design is easily transportable and fits in almost any location. Plus, it facilitates short cook times, catering to on-demand convenience without sacrificing the freshness of made-to-order foods.
Enhancing presentation
You’ve sourced the food. You’ve skillfully prepared it. You’ve successfully packaged and/or cooked it. Don’t you owe it to your customers to make the best possible effort in presenting it? The right presentation is both appealing and safe. And, when done correctly, expertly displayed food can drive impulse sales, an important revenue stream.
You want food to look so good that customers can’t resist reaching out to grab it. That’s the idea behind hot food merchandisers, which put eye-catching food at people’s fingertips. With the right hold times, capacity, product packaging and fit sorted, the only thing left for the operator to figure out is how to keep it stocked. The food practically sells itself.
But of course, sometimes a little human showmanship is in order. Enter, the undefeated champion of foodservice equipment — the buffet carving station. These presentational wonders synchronize food safety, mouth-watering visuals and that little touch of service and theater that people crave. A roasted prime rib or pork loin can be the exclamation point on any buffet, providing a “wow” factor. Hatco’s carving stations come in a wide range of post and lampshade styles to match your decor, enhancing the ambiance and aesthetics.
Save energy, reduce costs
Energy management is a growing component of a successful operator’s business strategy. Foodservice equipment has evolved to a point where energy consumption can be reduced without sacrificing performance. This makes calculating the return on investment (ROI) for energy efficiency found in equipment technology a snap. Induction is a great place to start.
Hatco’s Drop-In Induction Dry Well uses induction technology to offer an energy-efficient, plumbing-free solution for safely keeping hot foods fresh and at optimum serving temperatures. The well evenly and consistently heats the pan to maintain the food standards you and your customers expect.
Utilizing induction like this can reduce energy consumption and operational costs. Induction technology is officially recommended by the US Department of Energy. Having green equipment can be touted to your customers as a point of eco-responsibility. Or it can be quietly enjoyed by your accounting team.
Take action, achieve customer satisfaction.
The right foodservice equipment will set your team free to care for customers in impactful ways. After all, it is a human on the other end of that internet order or contactless payment. Consumers still seek a little bit of personal connection in their expectations of speed and convenience.
Contact a Hatco rep today to start building your customer satisfaction rating, one piece of foodservice equipment at a time.
