SPEED OF SERVICE (SOS) OVERVIEW

SPEED OF SERVICE (SOS) OVERVIEW
Written By: Richard Sterchele, Sales Engineer
The concept of Speed of Service (SOS) is not foreign to most business owners; in fact, it’s a critical aspect of their
operation. All operators will have a Speed of Service process in place. MyDTT™ can help drive revenue through
improved SOS while maintaining a quality experience for guests. SOS can have different meanings depending on
the vertical; this paper will explore its role across industries and how MyDTT™ can help track and improve SOS.
INTRODUCTION TO SOS
Today’s business owners are savvy professionals. They’re always looking for new and improved methods of
driving revenue and SOS is a basic necessity in all environments. SOS is based on time and how fast a particular
action can be performed. For example, a quick service restaurant (QSR) with a drive-thru may be interested in
knowing how long it takes for a car to receive their order from the time the order is placed at the speaker to the
time the order is handed to the customer. A fast casual restaurant may be interested in how fast a particular item
is prepared and delivered to the customer. What if an owner needs to know how long it takes before a guest is
seated or receives their first drink at the bar? A clothing store operator may want to know about a certain wait
time at the cashiering station or how much time goes by before a guest is greeted.
No matter how SOS is utilized, it will always be divided into specific ranges of time. Sometimes these are based
on times of the day. For example, in a restaurant, breakfast may be between 6am and 11am, lunch between 11am
and 4pm and dinner between 4pm and closing. Let’s say a dine-in pizzeria makes a pizza in 8 minutes at lunch
but 10 minutes during dinner; this operator will clearly want to know how their SOS compares between the two
time periods. Retail environments could use the same theory by separating days and nights, or weekdays and
weekends. It’s important for operators to not only monitor these times but also to compare them. MyDTT™ can
help by providing statistics and trends for locations and enterprises.
WHY FOCUS ON SOS?
Everyone has had their share of long lines and poor service. Some people will leave one location to go to another
simply because the wait was too long. Owner/operators have to be mindful of this and adhere to SOS rules.
Within the retail environment, operators need to be sure that their staff is attentive to customers and addressing
any requests in a timely manner. Retailers want to have customers in the store shopping but when the customer
is ready to check out, will he/she be willing to wait for a slow cashier? In a QSR environment it may behoove the
operator to get customers in and out during lunch hours as fast as possible as these customers have time limits
and appreciate the convenience of rapid service. In a fast casual environment where the pace will be a little
slower, an operator might be interested in a different preparation of their product that requires a slightly slower
delivery. In a table service environment SOS can take on a completely new meaning. A table service restaurant
(TSR) wouldn’t merely adhere to the standard breakfast, lunch and dinner meal periods; they will want to know
how long the customer waited at any given time (i.e. upon entering the location, upon being seated, etc.).
Furthermore, they need to know how much it’s costing them to have a customer sit around, waiting to be served.
TSR operators rely heavily on table turnover and therefore need to set certain SOS standards that allow them to
make the most of each table in their dining room. An empty table is not making any money but during busy times
a full table isn’t making money unless customers are ordering more and more, versus merely using the space.
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SPEED OF SERVICE (SOS) OVERVIEW
HOW DOES MyDTT™ IMPROVE SOS BY PROVIDING ACTIONABLE DATA?
First and foremost, MyDTT™ provides SOS data that other online portals cannot deliver. While other systems may
provide average and transaction times, MyDTT™ shows how long a customer waited to receive their entrée or pair
of shoes, and how long it took to checkout. MyDTT™’s collection points can accurately capture the timeframe
of when a customer walks through the door until the time they exit. Using cameras as data collection points,
MyDTT™ can time splice every action performed on this customer and ultimately improve an operator’s bottom
line as well as the customer’s experience.
With a simple graph, MyDTT™ can pinpoint the days/times when service was slower or faster.
Figure 1
Figure 1 above shows that the SOS at this location gradually rose over a one month timeframe. A 10 minute and
25 second wait for counter service is a long time. This is actionable information that is critical to the operator.
Operators can dig deeper into this issue with MyDTT™ to remotely view video from this timeframe and determine
where the delay occurred. They can see if the staff was unprepared or overloaded or identify potential training
opportunities. MyDTT™ can also help operators determine monthly or yearly SOS trends. SOS can be compared
by daypart, meal periods, seasons, etc. Is it improving over time?
WHAT TO MEASURE ACROSS INDUSTRIES
QSR
• Length of time taken for customer to enter and exit the restaurant with a takeout order.
• Length of time taken for customer to enter the restaurant and place their order.
• Length of time taken for customer to receive their meal after placing the order.
• Length of time customer waited to arrive at order confirmation unit in the drive-thru.
• Length of time customer waited to arrive at the pay window after ordering in the drive-thru.
Fast Casual
• Length of time taken for customer to enter and exit the restaurant with a takeout order.
• Length of time taken for customer to enter the restaurant and place their order with a cashier.
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SPEED OF SERVICE (SOS) OVERVIEW
• Length of time taken for customer to receive their meal after placing the order with a cashier.
• Length of time taken for employee to clean and clear a dirty table.
TSR
• Length of time taken for host/hostess to greet customer.
• Length of time taken for waiter/waitress to take their order.
• Length of time taken for customer to receive their drink order.
• Length of time taken for customer to receive their meal.
• Length of time taken for customer to receive their guest check.
• Length of time taken for waiter/waitress to return with receipt.
• Length of time taken for customer to receive drink order at bar.
Specialty Retail Store
• Length of time taken for customer to check out with their merchandise at the cash wrap counter.
• Length of time taken for employee to tidy up a customer display.
• Length of time taken for customer to try on items in the dressing room.
• Length of time taken for employee to clear the dressing room.
Convenience Store
• Length of time taken for customer to check out with their merchandise at the cashier.
• Length of time taken for customer to wait for open gas pump.
• Length of time taken for customer to be helped at food counters.
• Length of time taken to prepare/replenish hot food.
• Length of time taken for customer to prepare coffee and check out.
In conclusion, SOS is merely one element of focus for restaurant operators but it has a significant impact on the
success of an operator overall. MyDTT™ and the SmartAudit™ tool provide powerful and actionable data that
make monitoring SOS far simpler.
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