News

Hardee's pilots 30 self-order kiosks

At the National Retail Federation's Annual Convention & Expo on Monday in New York City, Microsoft Corp. and CKE Restaurants Inc., parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., will unveil a self-order kiosk solution running on Windows 8 devices that enables Hardee's customers to customize and place their own orders.

January 12, 2015

At the National Retail Federation's Annual Convention & Expo on Monday in New York City, Microsoft Corp. and CKE Restaurants Inc., parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., will unveil a self-order kiosk solution running on Windows 8 devices that enables Hardee's customers to customize and place their own orders. The Dell Optiplex 3030 All-in-One devices are currently piloted in 30 restaurants, including a newly redesigned restaurant featuring kiosks in Nashville.

Hardee's will continue to roll out kiosks to additional restaurants in the next few months as the pilot continues.

"Hardee's is changing the way it interacts with its customers, making the ordering process more streamlined, personal and fast," said Tracy Issel, general manager of worldwide retail, consumer goods, hospitality and travel at Microsoft, in a company statement. "This is just one example of how Microsoft is giving retailers new ways to reinvent the customer experience."

"Our target market of young, hungry millennials, as well as younger and older customers, love the new ordering kiosks," said Tom Lindblom, senior vice president and chief technology officer at CKE Restaurants, in a statement. "The self-ordering kiosk gives the customer a fun, interactive and user-friendly way to control their order. At CKE, we understand that customer expectations are changing quickly, and our relationship with Microsoft allows us to enhance the restaurant experience and better serve our customers' needs and expectations."

The kiosks offer these capabilities:

• Point-of-service purchasing. Customers can review menu selections, customize and place orders, and pay for purchases. The device can double as an employee POS when needed.
• Order entry and menu updates. The kiosks relay orders directly to the kitchen, allowing customers to get their food more quickly and accurately. Employees can simply update the kiosk menu to include seasonal offerings or price adjustments, or to add language capabilities to suit the store's customer base.
• Reporting and personnel management. Managers can run various sales and shift reports; employees can use the kiosks to clock in and out for shifts and breaks.

The Intel-powered Dell 3030 kiosks with Windows 8 provide a touchscreen experience for customers and employees. Hardee's restaurant kiosks have seen a dramatic reduction in wait times and an increase in per-ticket totals, the company said. The kiosks allow guests to add or eliminate ingredients such as holding the mayo on the Mile High Bacon Thickburger or adding extra bacon to the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit.

One out of every three customers at the Nashville location are using the kiosks, according to CKE, and the kiosks have generated increased sales and more efficient work streams throughout store operations. It also allows the shift workers to focus more time on customer service.

The Hardee's pilot project is one of several Microsoft retail customer deployments being shown at the NRF BIG Show in New York City.

See a video of the kiosks in action here: