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4 Ways in Which Automating Restaurant Operations Can Create a Good Customer Experience

Introduction

A good customer experience is tantamount to your ability to deliver a consistent, engaging, and memorable experience at every touchpoint.

In present times, customers are habituated to looking at ratings on the internet before stepping into a restaurant. Which explains why customer experience is the only real driver of business as we move forward.

It is important to understand that everything from your restaurant cleanliness, to food hygiene, order-to-service speed, and staff productivity – affects customer experience directly or indirectly.

So, let’s start by observing the areas in which restaurants are struggling.

What are the challenges restaurants face in creating a good customer experience?

Employee Productivity

Employee acquisition and retention are one of the biggest problems restaurants are facing considering the peak in demand as things are returning back to normal. According to a survey conducted by Business Insider, 7 out of 10 restaurant operators don’t have the staff to meet their current demand.

Restaurants have tried endless ways from giving bonuses to operating under reduced hours, trimming their menus, and whatnot. But there seems to be no immediate solution to this problem.

Fewer employees in key positions imply less productivity at different ordering channels. This increases the average wait time and service speed, leading to frustrated customers.

Inventory Management

For an average restaurant, their menus comprise 10 – 15 essential items that account for 50% of sales. Here, it is important for restaurants to identify these menu items so that they can stock their inventory precisely based on what is required.

Remember, the Pareto principle applies to your inventory as well – 80% of sales are driven by 20% of menu items. By knowing those 20% items, you can keep the stock ready and deliver customers their favorite food items, at all times.

Speed and accuracy

The Amazon effect is real. More consumers want what they order quickly and accurately. As per the SeeLevel HX Annual Drive-Thru study, the wait time to receive a drive-thru order increased by 25 seconds in 2021.

Customers feel anything longer than four cars at a drive-thru or 10 minutes at an ordering channel is too long. So, customers either drop out of the queue or never come back. On the other hand, more than 60% of customers feel speed and accuracy is the reason they come back.

Automation

More than 70% of restaurant video analytics solutions operators have seen significant improvements in their restaurant experience by implementing technology in some form or manner.

Some of the most useful technological pieces have been – online ordering systems, online payments, loyalty programs, and guests' Wi-Fi. However, there still lies a gap in the usage of AI-based automation technology at restaurants.

Automating your operations creates a ripple effect across different challenges you face at restaurants. You’ll see more about it in detail in the next section.

How automation will help you create a good customer experience?

Automating restaurant operations entails the use of technology to make processes self-sustaining and effective throughout the day. For example, a system that could notify you whenever a staff member was spotted without hand gloves or a hairnet.

Wobot.ai adds intelligence to your CCTV security cameras to make this possible by enabling real-time visibility and providing suggestive insights that help you take corrective actions instantly.

Automate daily operations

Restaurant cleanliness becomes easy with digital checklists. These checklists are a set of pre-defined tasks that must be carried out daily to keep a restaurant safe and clean.

Wobot.ai automates cleanliness operations by using camera systems at your facility to ensure best practices are followed daily by giving you feedback via alerts and notifications.

Managers can easily check the completion of tasks along with the video proof, which gives a clearer picture of what’s happening at your restaurant, across different locations, all from a single station.

Deploy staff intelligently

Automating operations implies you can wisely deploy staff to essential areas in the restaurant. Accurate orders take less time than those that are delivered inaccurately.

Having staff at the right place, and at the right time ensures orders take less time for delivery, and customers get precisely what they order each time.

Make better decisions

Wobot.ai, uses your camera systems to detect bottlenecks and suggest the right course of action for in real-time.

For example, wait-time: every time your camera detects a car has waited more than 10 minutes at a drive-thru, you’re alerted to add a complimentary drink for the customer’s patience.

Contextual analysis

When it comes to the hottest selling items on your menu, which drives more than 50% of customers – Wobot.ai enables easy integration of your POS data. What happens here is that operators get a visual context for the data, which has two advantages.

Get real-time visibility into your sales, by getting video-proof of what sells the most when.

Prevent employee theft by getting the context behind the transactions through videos.

To sum it up

Most restaurants generate a plethora of video data every day which not only goes unused but provides no context to how operations can be improved to derive better returns for every dollar you spend.

Wobot.ai simply turns your video data instantly insightful by adding AI into it, to help you understand what’s important for your businesses and take actions as and when they arise.

Good customer experience is a by-product when you automate your operations and make your video data useful.

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DVR vs. NVR — Which variant should you choose and why?

Introduction

Digital solutions like DVR and NVR are developing at lightning speed and while these solutions may have helped businesses to thrive like never before, deciding which one to choose might seem impossible! Let’s make that task easier for you!

What is a DVR?

DVRs (digital video recorders) come in handy when managing, viewing, and storing CCTV surveillance footage. They make it easy to save and review videos and are available in a wide range of software.

DVR systems are regarded as the older “legacy” alternative and the DVR security system uses analog cameras that are incapable of processing video footage. Analog cameras allow for streaming raw video footage to recorders with the help of coaxial cables — it is from there that the recorder will process the video footage.

Once the video footage has been processed, the DVR systems can be connected to a smartphone or another viewing device, the user can easily access the video footage as and when needed.

Pros of DVR

Analog cameras are widely used in CCTV cameras

A more affordable option

Cons of DVR

The DVR uses a coaxial cable that doesn’t produce enough power to the camera which means that the user will need to install the DVR recorder close to a power outlet

DVRs tend to be a lot less flexible because of their camera type, along with their mounting options

The analog signal will culminate in a much lower-quality of images

What is an NVR?

The NVR system will allow for encoding and processing of the video data at the recorder. This will lead the video data to stream into the NVR recorder whereby it will be used for storage and remote viewing.

The cameras in the NVR system are much more robust when placed in comparison to their DVR counterparts. The NVR security framework primarily comprises IP cameras and are standalone image capturing devices. Such an IP camera will contain a chipset that will process the video data and then transmit it to a recorder.

As opposed to analog cameras, IP cameras can record and then send both that video and audio. Powerful hardware on the IP cameras will mean better functionality and video analytics such as facial recognition.

Pros of NVR

The NVR variant has better image quality and flexibility

It has relatively easy installation

Lends native support for the audio on every camera with a microphone

Both wired and wireless options are available

Greater coverage (one camera has multiple lenses)

Higher storage capacity

Cons of NVR

The NVR systems tend to be more expensive when compared to the DVR systems

Needs a strong Internet connection

Typically requires technical support teams. Without which, you would have no one to assist you with ongoing technical support issues

How does NVR play a role in video intelligence?

NVR has proven to be very compatible with AI-powered video intelligence and video analytics. Video analytics is software that can run on an NVR and with such software, the operator can identify and detect events, features, trends, or patterns by studying the insights produced by the video footage.

Any suspicious behaviors and security vulnerabilities will quickly trigger alerts to the authorities. The operator can connect to their existing security system which will allow for complete network capabilities and will also sync their various data and footage points.

Why Wobot.ai?

Wobot.ai brings you AI backed video intelligence that would provide better optimization of operations and more streamlined automation for your business operations.

AI-enabled solutions will help any business owner to make more informed decisions and will enable a more customer-centric approach due to the integrated data analysis.

When you have smart security cameras that integrate both Internet of Things (IoT) and AI-driven video analytics, this will mean that operators can keep track of and analyze visitor and employee behavioral patterns.

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VMS vs. Video Intelligence — what works better for your business?

Introduction

Ever wonder how any business could survive without technology?

While so many businesses spend obscene amounts of money on video and security infrastructure, deciding which digital solution to adopt can seem like a mammoth task!

What is VMS?

A VMS can best be described as a part of a video surveillance management systems that enables users to access real-time videos for storage, recording, and playback of recorded videos.

Among the more prominent features of VMS includes video and audio recordings, scheduling the recordings, camera management and administration, search options and playback, video streaming from multiple cameras, and user access control and activity (audit) logging.

Pros of VMS

Easy to use: If digital systems need experienced security professionals to be formally trained to use them then they might not be easy to use at all.

Video motion detection

If the VMS platform is equipped with motion detection, then not only would the camera images be recorded but the recording, too, will be activated, and alerts/alarms can be raised if there is a motion in the picture.

Cons of VMS

Integration with third-party systems is restricted

Typically, VMS devices come with patents that have limited flexibility in integrating them with a third-party system.

Security vulnerabilities

VMS can come under attack by hackers or other cyber criminals, especially during installation.

What is Video Intelligence?

Video intelligence is an artificial intelligence-backed technology that provides a wide spectrum of analytic capabilities to improve video security systems, thereby enabling users to leverage existing video surveillance investments to:

Search and filter through large quantities of footage to be able to gather actionable insights

Send real-time alerts to increase situational awareness and push for quicker response time as emergencies or vulnerabilities emerge

Quantify and assess video data and leveraging metrics for planning, development, and operations optimization

Pros of Video Intelligence

Acquire situational awareness. As a human operator, you can schedule automated video processing at any given point and the video data will be ready when you need it.

Minimize human errors

Video intelligence can help to foster immense economic growth for a business by reducing human errors and improving accuracy and human efficiency.

Implement a more proactive real-time alerting

Many businesses use video intelligence for real-time features but not all alerting instructions are relevant for all scenarios.

Obtaining smart business insights: when video intelligence is aggregated with time, it can be used to amplify business intelligence dashboards, reports, and heatmaps.

Cons of video intelligence

Lack of need for human labor

There are many instances wherein video intelligence is eroding people’s occupations which might contribute to unemployment.

Which platform works best for your business?

With all the advantages associated with video intelligence, it becomes increasingly apparent that video intelligence is the way to go.

By leveraging AI-powered video intelligence, you can effectively keep track of actions, people, and events that might affect your business, and what’s best about it is that it can be connected to your existing security camera which will not only provide high-quality video capabilities but audio capabilities as well.

Why Wobot.ai?

Wobot.ai brings you AI Powered Video Intelligence that would provide better optimization of operations and more streamlined automation for your business operations.

AI-enabled solutions will help any business owner to make more informed decisions and will enable a more customer-centric approach due to the integrated data analysis.

When you have smart security cameras that integrate both Internet of Things (IoT) and AI-driven video analytics, this will mean that operators can keep track of and analyze visitor and employee behavioral patterns.

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What are video surveillance management systems?

Introduction

Running a successful business is no walk in the park and who would know that better than the owners themselves? From confronting economic woes to keeping the customers happy to ensure that employees are working consistently and even safeguarding your business from any intrusions — everything requires nerves of steel and the patience of a saint! But what many business owners might forget is that having video surveillance management systems can be the answer to their prayers. Such technology can serve as remote eyes for both your employee performance and security protocols so you wouldn’t have to lose any more sleep at night!

What are video surveillance management systems?

Video surveillance management systems allow for surveillance workflow by integrating cameras, recording systems, encoders, analytics software, and storage infrastructure. With a growing need to curb security vulnerabilities and optimize operational efficiency coupled with the volume of video data, it becomes all the more important for businesses to tackle these challenges that today’s video management systems have to provide an answer for.

For human operators, it can become difficult to keep track of the increasing number of video channels that are prevalent in today’s surveillance systems. As such, video analytics has quickly become the primary solution for most security applications. Innovative digital tools and systems that are centered on video analytics and sensors will help in system functionality along with operator requirements.

What are the different applications of video surveillance management systems?

Video surveillance management systems feature NVRs (network video recorders) that can be integrated with the CCTV camera to allow operators to record and review live footage from multiple surveillance cameras. These systems are scalable solutions that can be synchronized with other security systems, thereby turning into one powerful interface.

The cameras in the NVR system are very robust and the NVR security framework primarily comprises of IP cameras and standalone image capturing devices. Such an IP camera will contain a chipset that will process the video data and then transmit it to a recorder. IP cameras can record and then send both that video and audio. Powerful hardware on the IP cameras will mean better functionality and video analytics such as facial recognition.

The NVR systems are a lot more flexible, considering that the security cameras don’t need to be physically connected to the recorder. So instead, the IP cameras will be on the same network. It means that the user will have cameras on a global scale using the same network to connect to your NVR, which can be viewed as a comprehensive system.

How can video surveillance management systems benefit industries?

It protects your revenue

Your employees serve as the driving force behind the traction of your business so if the internal operations are running systematically then you can expect the business to flourish. However, if you notice that your enterprise is running into discrepancies despite reaching your sales figures then it could point to an internal issue that should promptly be addressed. There are times when unethical employees might attempt to commit internal theft, especially if there are no CCTV cameras installed in certain key areas such as the warehouse, cash register, and stockroom.

To prevent such issues from occurring, a well-oiled video surveillance management system should be installed within the premises. In doing so, you might potentially discourage employees from attempting to commit any unethical or illegal practices while also protecting your cash flow and valuable assets.

Promotes a more conducive working environment

As a business owner, it is your fundamental responsibility to protect the health and safety of your employees. When you are equipped with effective security systems, you will be able to provide a safer working atmosphere by keeping track of your employees at all times. In the event of an untoward incident, local authorities can respond immediately and take the appropriate action.

Cost efficiency

By capping on the number of physical hardware/software components required within an organization’s video surveillance infrastructure, a video surveillance management system can also cut back on the associated costs that come with purchasing and maintaining multiple systems.

Which industries can video surveillance management systems be used for?

Industrial and commercial spaces

Video surveillance management systems or closed-circuit television (CCTV) are highly advantageous to the industrial or commercial sector. Such surveillance systems will not only offer traditional protection in the way of perimeter or external surveillance against intrusion, vandalism, and espionage but will also help to optimize workflows and improve employee productivity and customer service.

Retail spaces

In a retail business, losses are often attributed to the customer or employee theft. Hence, video surveillance management systems will take actionable efforts to deter or prevent such crimes from happening and also help resolve them by providing analytical insights whether it is in the sales area, cash counter, or even in the warehouse.

A robust surveillance framework can obtain insights by keeping track of many touchpoints such as when a person enters and exits the store. As such, video analytics will enable you to identify the volume of customers and the times of the day wherein the traffic is at its peak so that staff can be deployed accordingly.

Why Wobot.ai?

Wobot.ai brings you AI–backed video intelligence that would provide better optimization of operations and more streamlined automation for your business operations. AI-enabled solutions will help any business owner to make more informed decisions and will enable a more customer-centric approach due to the integrated data analysis. When you have smart security cameras that integrate both Internet of Things (IoT) and AI-driven video analytics, this will mean that operators can keep track of and analyze visitor and employee behavioral patterns.

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Can AI-powered video intelligence be a game changer for your car wash business needs?

Introduction

The car wash industry can be quite a tricky business to be in! One minute you’re bringing in the dough like never before and planning your future retirement and the next thing you know; another successful car wash business opens up across the street from yours and claims all your loyal customers! Now you’re probably thinking — “well, there goes my retirement plan and my long–awaited dream destination.” But guess what? It doesn’t have to be that way because AI-powered video intelligence will help you stay ahead of the curve so that you can be the one to give tough competition to other car wash businesses.

Want to know how AI solutions can help improve your game? Well, read on to know how!

What is AI-powered video intelligence?

AI is already prevalent in our lives ranging from our smartphones to chatbots and even the usage of home assistance. And while we all know that artificial intelligence has certainly taken the world by storm nonetheless, but just how much do we know about it? Well, AI tools will enable us to have more accurate insights with the help of video data, meaning that users can save time and money by automating tasks that would otherwise be manual and time-consuming.

AI-powered video intelligence can identify and detect objects, people, and events with the help of features such as tracking and predicting trends/patterns over time. Such technology allows for video footage to be more than just recorded data because, with AI and deep-learning algorithms, the system can effectively study sizeable quantities of data that will generate actionable insights in real-time. By using AI, the cameras can communicate with each other to give better decision-making capabilities, identify unusual activity and streamline systematic business operations.

How is AI-powered video intelligence helping the car wash industry?

AI technology has made breakthroughs in many industries and the car wash segment is no different. When you have AI-enabled insights, you’d be in a better position to improve the productivity of your employees. While digital tools won’t completely erode your employees’ tasks and work patterns but they help to ease the burdens of repetitive and heavily mechanized work and allow employees to carry out more impactful tasks. Car wash owners can also expect a reduction in human errors by their employees as well as better employee adherence to established business protocols.

Since AI-powered video intelligence has unique techniques of being able to learn and analyze data, car wash establishments can then use these techniques to determine their best course of action. AI solutions work in such a manner that they identify patterns that the human eye might not detect such as in the case of a theft.

What are the different ways we can use AI-powered video intelligence?

AI-powered video intelligence has seen tremendous breakthroughs in recent years, especially in terms of industry best practices and SOPS. Read more to know how these practices can blend well with your car wash business!

Vehicle wait time exceeded In today’s world, time is money. Customers tend to feel frustrated if they have to wait for a long time. To boost sales and minimize lengthy vehicle wait times, one should identify the touchpoints that slow down the car washing process and increase traffic flow. For example, the lack of multi-lanes and designated pick-up points will only increase the traffic. Car wash businesses can employ AI-powered video intelligence to detect and track the wait time of the vehicle that passes through. This will be helpful for the enterprise as they can use such digital tools to stop losing their precious seconds off of service speed.

Staff member not seen within x seconds of vehicle arrival If vehicles are made to wait long before they receive service from employees, then it can lead to a large influx of vehicles. When there is a lengthy build-up of cars, it can further delay the car washing process and cause customers to become very unhappy.

Personnel should always remain alert and be present to guide the drivers into the direct paths of the car wash. Without having a proper indication of the direct paths or layout of the car wash premises, customers can become confused as to which path to take and this can lead to traffic. Keep in mind that these navigational issues will not only cause congestion but might even increase the chances of accidents.

False customer claims There are times when customers claim that the car wash establishment is responsible for any dents or scratches that they find on their vehicles. But more often than not, these damages already existed and these customers might place false accusations on the car business all in a bid to get their pre-existing damage fixed.

Having an AI-powered video intelligence platform equipped with a motion-based direct recording would serve as the best line of defense as the camera footage can easily document the condition of all vehicles when they enter the VMS Software for Car Wash and keep track of the vehicles as they move through the tunnel.

What is the best platform for your car wash business?

Wobot.ai provides real-time insights that help reduce the lengthy wait times and improve overall customer experiences at your car wash business. Our comprehensive video intelligence system will allow your car wash business to leverage unused CCTV camera footage to make better decisions. Furthermore, you don’t need to purchase any additional hardware with Wobot.ai since we add a layer of AI to your existing camera network. Wobot.ai also offers video intelligence solutions at incredibly competitive prices.

#Get Cloud VMS for Car Wash

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Video Analytics: What Does it Mean and How Does it Actually Work?

Video analytics refers to using Artificial Intelligence to analyze real-time videos to detect anomalies according to pre-fed data. This technology detects and tracks objects, activities, and people and helps improve day-to-day operations.

In addition, video analytics services analyze past and real-time footage to learn from mistakes and applies it to develop solutions and make essential decisions beyond human capabilities.

Feeding the system

There is a saying, “You are what you consume”. It is perfectly accurate in the case of AI. The quality of the decision made by Artificial Intelligence is as good as the data it processes.

It is vital to provide real-time images, videos, and recorded footage to the video analytics software to accurately analyze a video and decide. CCTV cameras are the primary source of such data.

Cloud Computing vs. Edge Computing

In a world where data is more precious than oil, a large volume of information is captured every second. Hence, it needs to be processed. There are two modern technologies for this process:

Cloud computing is the availability of computer system resources remotely and on-demand without direct active management by a user. As the name suggests, enormous amounts of data are stored in servers, in a cloud or virtual space, instead of hard disks or proprietary local disks. This data can be accessed remotely from anywhere in the world through the internet.

Edge computing aims to move computation to the edge of networks, far from data centers, utilizing smart objects and network gateways to provide better services and perform tasks efficiently on behalf of the cloud. Moving computation to the edge makes it easier to dispense content caching, persistent data storage, and better IoT (Internet of Things) management, which results in better transfer rates and response times.

Video Analytics Solution blends well with cloud computing, and it is recommended that businesses with cloud storage for security cameras must have video analytics solutions to find relevant insights from pre-recorded video data streams.

Defining scenarios and training models

Image Classification: In image classification, the technology identifies the what are easily recognizable images or objects using unique colors, patterns, and formats.

Localization: Localization trains the camera to differentiate between multiple entities to provide correct results.

Object Detection: This trains the algorithm to distinguish between various objects and helps us give accurate results by identifying key differentiators.

Final Words

Most businesses these days use a video camera security system.

Using an AI-powered video analytics platform automates the process of finding irregularities in daily operations while simultaneously reporting it to the manager or operator in real-time.

In other words, businesses across any industry from manufacturing, restaurants, retail, and drive-thru don’t have to worry about manually processing video streams and looking for bottlenecks in their operations.

Wobot.ai is a video intelligence platform that uses video data from security surveillance cameras to deliver insights that help businesses solve real-time operational problems.

Users can start by onboarding their cameras and automating from over 100+ AI checklists. A single-point station to manage operations effectively from anywhere, and take meaningful decisions in real-time.

Book a demo with us to learn more about how wobot.ai works.