Dublin based burger chain Wendy's has discovered that customers like to use kiosks to order their food. After experimenting with kiosks last year, the company plans to have them in place in up to 1,000 restaurants later this year, about ten percent at company owned restaurants.

The average store will be given three kiosks, which save on staffing costs and provide younger customers with a more interactive dining experience. Customers who prefer to order at the counter can still do so, pointed out Wendy's chief information officer David Trimm.

Wendy's, along with the rest of the fast food industry, have realized that automated ordering of food is the way of the future, partly to offset 5 percent wage inflation from last year. Ordering food from kiosks also guarantees that orders are always accurate; the use of kiosks also means that lines at Wendy's restaurants move more quickly, especially during the busy lunch time and dinner periods.

The use of kiosks is just one step that Wendy's is taking towards increasing efficiency and profits through technology. Other pending moves include ordering and payment by phone, with a view to phone ordering eventually replacing the kiosks.

Darren Tristano with food service research company Technomic points out that Wendy's is setting the pace in the use of technology to streamline its operation, and that other fast food chains will surely be interested.

Research is important and Wendy's has developed a full mock-up restaurant front at its headquarters where ideas can be implemented and tested in as realistic an environment as possible.

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