BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse is investigating new technology to make its off-premise sales run smoother. This move is the result of a record increase in such sales. The company hopes to use this increase as an opportunity to improve engagement with customers across channels.
Greg Trojan, BJ’s Chief Executive Officer, says the company is looking to make it “easier to access the menu and make mobile pay easier to access.” Trojan also acknowledged BJ’s has “found hurdles to higher adoption rates” of its smartphone application. The app is the main point for customers to order, pay, add themselves to waitlists, and earn loyalty points.
However, the company is “testing some capabilities around going right to mobile ordering or mobile paying” through a phone’s Internet browser. This will enable customers to do those transactions without having to use a brand-specific app.
Greg Levin, BJ’s President and Chief Financial Officer, says the company is also adding technology that can track an off-premise order through the production process and communicate with the customer about that order. This includes features to text order confirmations or inform restaurant teams if a patron has arrived at one of BJ’s locations.
According to Trojan, the new function could change where the off-premise orders are assembled. This could lead to extra space and storage areas in the kitchens so orders can be handled more easily. “We’re installing terminals that are linked to our kitchen management system,” says Trojan, “so both sides of the off-premise equation in the kitchen and in the takeout areas can see the status of particular orders.”
He continues, “We are still very interested in making our dining experience very personable from a server perspective. We’re not interested in technology taking over the fundamentals of a dining experience, but we do think there are some specific ways we can get people to more quickly reorder the second beer or a Pizookie, etc., and make the paying part of the transaction a lot more seamless as well.”
Trojan states that the company is aiming at growing the large-party and catering part of off-premise sales. “We see this as an opportunity to tap into a new guest occasion and category, as well as another important way to grow our average check and profitability,” he says. “Our June large-party channel launch should start to deliver another off-premise boost in the second half of this year.”
At Loyalty360, we’ve seen lots of brands use technology to improve the customer experience. It’s good to see BJ’s doing the same thing, since experience is of the utmost important in the restaurant industry. This move should prove successful.