Technology: Asking for Handouts

Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy tests a hand-held device to gauge customer satisfaction.

By David Farkas, Senior Editor -- Chain Leader, 10/1/2007

Abuelo’s servers surveyed customers randomly using hand-held devices. The PDA-like tool, which resembles a check tray, was introduced at the end of the meal. Security is an issue with hand-helds because customers and staff alike may be tempted to pocket them as they leave the restaurants.

Few would argue that getting lots of customers to share their last experience at your restaurant greatly improves your company’s ability to address issues and solve problems. But getting people to tell you those sorts of things, particularly soon after their visit, has been limited by the methods traditionally used to elicit them.

Paper comment cards have been the most dominant way to gauge guest satisfaction, but they have low return rates, hindering the speed at which a company can rectify blunders. Telephone numbers and Web sites speed up feedback but rely on motivated customers, who don’t always represent the average patron.

"People who respond by phone tend to be either overtly happy [with their experience] or extremely pissed off," says former Taco Bell Director of Research Ed Deferrante, now a principal in Reynolds Design Group, a marketing research consultancy in Newport Beach, Calif.

Today, thanks to personal digital assistant technology, restaurant companies have the chance to collect opinions from a variety of customers while they are still in the restaurant. The opportunity presents itself when a server drops the check.

Random Selection

In the case of Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy, servers randomly select tables, inviting customers to rate food and service at the Lubbock, Texas-based casual-dining chain. The first question asks if they want to take the survey.

Those who comply answer questions that pop up on a PDA-like tool developed by Dallas-based Long Range Systems. "It was easy to talk to the guests about [the tool]," recalls Wichita, Kan., server Lana Wahl. "A lot of people had never seen one."

CEO Bob Lin chose units in Wichita in 2005 to gauge customer satisfaction. He wanted to learn why customers chose Abuelo’s over its competition and glean some demographic information in the process.

He discovered hand-held technology at an industry gathering in Phoenix. A speaker named Ken Todd, a former restaurant manager, talked about a device he designed that resembled a check tray. Later Todd passed several "trays" around the room, asking attendees to rate the meeting.

"I said, ‘Wow, this is pretty cool,’" says Lin, who joined parent Food Concepts in 2002 after a career in investment banking.

Lin remembered Todd’s presentation and how quick the feedback was from a captive audience. He leased the hand-held devices, which came 10 to a stack, from Long Range, budgeting approximately $2,000 to run two tests, each about a month long. The lease deal also included reports that Long Range’s computers generated within 24 hours after unit managers uploaded the data via telephone lines.

Lin and an ad agency whipped up 21 questions, including which Mexican restaurants were topmost in his customers’ minds, whether they thought Abuelo’s was unique, how often they visited and what made them want to come back.

Todd, who works for Long Range, came up with the idea for the tool after a bad experience in a Dallas restaurant. He didn’t complain but never returned. What if restaurants could get information about such situations in real time, he wondered. He designed a PDA-like device that could be left with the check and took his rendering to an engineering firm. It debuted four years ago.

Now They Know

"It’s a guest-feedback tool that gives you instant feedback," Todd claims. Although customer data are uploaded to Long Range’s computers, the hand-held device also features an instant-alert function that immediately beeps a manager’s pager when a customer answers a question in the negative. This allows managers to address a serious concern before the party leaves.

Wichita General Manager Chuck Oullette doesn’t recall getting many negative comments. "The beeper did go off a couple of times. Kids were responsible. Their parents gave [the tool] to them," he says.

It doesn’t surprise Deferrante, who warns companies that the feedback from hand-helds often comes from the party, and not always the person picking up the check. "Typically you are getting a group opinion," he explains. "That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is something to take into consideration. If you are tracking feedback over time, that is your error to account for."

Lin says the customer response rate was approximately 70 percent, good by most accounts. Yet a second guest satisfaction survey a year later using the same hand-held tool produced a 90 percent response rate. According to Lin, the first survey had too many questions, testing customers’ patience. The second survey had only 15 questions. (See the sidebar, "Ask and You Shall Receive," at bottom of page for a list of suggested questions.)

Taking Precautions

In addition to providing the hand-helds, Long Range also trained Abuelo’s general managers about security, maintenance and uploading data in a two-hour conference call. For example, it’s important to make sure the table is clear of liquids, if possible, to avoid spills onto the device. Security is also an issue because customers and employees may be tempted to steal them, Lin says.

That wasn’t the case with Long Range’s hand-held, because it’s large and cannot fit easily into a pocket. Plus, it is programmed only to process guest-satisfaction feedback; users cannot load software onto it as they can with generic PDAs.

Lin nonetheless likes the idea of using generic PDAs, which can be loaded with custom software and feature a larger LCD screen. To prevent theft, he would put the PDAs in a frame, making it difficult to slip the device into a pocket or purse. "If we go with a PDA, the idea is to build it into a check-presenter-type tray," he says.

Lin is "90 percent sure" his company will be using a hand-held device to solicit guest-satisfaction feedback regularly sometime in 2008. He’ll also poll hourly workers about their supervisors. The scores will help determine managerial bonuses.

The payoff, Lin adds, is when he can compare the measurable results of two units: "We will be measuring where we need to make adjustments in the stores."

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