Yet another fast-casual is axing traditional phone ordering and leaning on artificial intelligence (AI).
California Fish Grill, a seafood chain, is tapping Kea’s voice-ordering system in an effort to boost revenue and free up staff time so they can focus on the customer experience inside the restaurant.
“We believe in creating a supportive and collaborative environment for our employees at California Fish Grill,” said Patrick Waiyawaytar, the company’s vice president of information technology. “We are working to reduce stress for our valued front-of-house team, especially when dealing with phone orders. Kea’s AI technology allows us to streamline processes, easing the workload for our cashier team and ultimately enhancing the overall customer experience.”
The chain will leverage Kea’s voice ordering system across all 55 of its restaurants. However, despite the move towards automated ordering, the fast-casual will still keep a human in the loop.
Kea’s ordering system uses natural language processing and machine learning to take orders and upsell.
Kea’s system integrates live agents to monitor the orders, available to speak if a customer needs someone in real time. Agents can jump in, or if the call drops, call the customer right back.
According to CA Fish Grill, implementing voice phone ordering has boosted average ticket size due to Kea’s upselling feature. The tech company states that its natural language processing understands the difference between menu items so it can suggest what to add to a customer’s order, identifying selling opportunities on all calls.
AI voice bots continue to rapidly seep into the restaurant industry, changing the way customers are served. Utilizing similar AI-fueled technologies—White Castle, McDonald’s and Checkers & Rally’s have all implemented voice bots into their operations. Earlier this year, DoorDash also launched voice-bot technology to offload phone calls for restaurants.
“Our mission is to empower local restaurants to thrive, said Adam Ahmad, CEO and founder of Kea. “With kea, California Fish Grill can continue to focus on what they do best, serving high-quality, sustainably sourced seafood, and we can focus on handling their to-go orders for them. It’s a win-win.”
