Brinker International Says Pay-at-the-Table Tech Enhances Dining Experience

Brinker International has found that its investments in digital tools have improved the experience for both customers and employees at its casual dining restaurants.

These improvements have also contributed to the company’s continued profitable and sustainable growth, executives of Brinker International, the owner of Chili’s and Maggiano’s, said Wednesday (Aug. 14) during the company’s quarterly earnings call.

“With a renewed focus on our fundamentals, technology is now working harder than ever for our Chili’s managers, with lots more room for upside,” Kevin Hochman, CEO and president of Brinker International, said during the call.

Hochman said the company’s investments include replacing its previous pay-at-the-table technology with a new one that has increased reliability and usage; enhancing its server handheld ordering tablets to reduce errors from 5% two years ago to less than 1% today; and rolling out an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered labor forecasting system that has helped general managers write their labor schedules more quickly and accurately.

The new restaurant technology, together with other operational improvements and labor and facility investments, contributed to the percentage of guests reporting a problem dropping from 5% two years ago to 2.7% today — the lowest sustained score the company has ever seen — and an improvement in Google ratings to an all-time high, Hochman said.

In another effort to streamline operations, Brinker International plans to eliminate curbside. Hochman said that the curbside offering has created friction for employees.

At the same time, the company plans to improve its off-premises business execution by improving order accuracy and introducing packaging that keeps food hot and fresh.

During the call, the company also addressed consumers’ frustration with fast-food prices. Responding to these concerns, Hochman said that the company’s offering of a nearly half-pound burger, bottomless chips and salsa, at bottomless drink for $10.99 “continues to be an industry-leading value that we believe it to be, and it continues to work.”

The company also now offers a clear “good, better, best” lineup of margaritas to appeal to both consumers who are looking for a great price point and those who are willing to spend more for a super-premium brand.

“Our job is to make sure we offer items for all of our guests in the core segments that we want to win,” Hochman said. “Having a balance of price points allows us to deliver great everyday value, while continuing to keep food costs low and to grow operating margin.”

Brinker International’s quarter-to-date sales have remained strong, though at a more sustainable level, at a time when the restaurant industry as a whole saw sales soften in July due to “rocky macros,” Chief Financial Officer Mika Ware said during the call.

“While we are pleased with where the business is and confident in our plans — confident our plans will enable us to continue to significantly outperform the industry on sales and traffic — we are also mindful of what we are seeing in the industry and in the macros,” Ware said. “Even though we are not experiencing the same softness as others today, we did contemplate the macros in our guidance.”