Paytronix’s New CEO Says Restaurants Can Close Service Gap With AI Analytics

As restaurants struggle with ongoing labor challenges, technology can help those with less experienced staff offer the kind of personalized service that many customers expect, according to new Paytronix CEO Jeff Hindman.

On Tuesday (July 18), Paytronix announced that Hindman is taking over the position previously held by Andrew Robbins, who is assuming the role of executive chairman. Speaking with PYMNTS’ Karen Webster, Hindman laid out his vision for how digital technologies can transform the restaurant experience both on premises and off.

“If I think about big goals for a restaurant, one is to match the guest experience that your guests expect now. … So adding personalization online is a great example of how we can extend a great in-store experience online and vice versa,” Hindman said. “So, how do you use technology to have a relatively new employee get up to speed and understand the guest experience like a tenured veteran within the restaurant?”

He cited the example of a consumer who orders the same thing every time they go to a restaurant, noting that digital platforms can harness consumer data to offer that diner their favorite order right away.

Conversely, in stores, a newer employee who might not have the familiarity with that customer that a seasoned veteran has can also gain insights into how to provide them with the most personalized experience.

These kinds of insights are especially key, given that restaurant customers overwhelmingly prefer the familiarity of places they have been to before over first-time restaurant experiences. Research from the December edition of PYMNTS’ Restaurant Digital Divide study, “The 2022 Restaurant Digital Divide: Turning First-Time Diners Into Loyal Customers,” which draws from a survey of more than 2,200 U.S. consumers, estimates that the vast majority — between 83% and 90% — of restaurant purchases come from returning customers.

All Hands on Deck

Leveraging technology to close the service gap is especially important for restaurants as ongoing labor challenges lead many restaurants to face more turnover, which could have an impact on consumers’ satisfaction. These issues, compounded by diners’ frustration with menu price inflation, could risk alienating restaurants’ customers.

For instance, research from the PYMNTS study “Connected Dining: Inflationary Pressure Squeezes Restaurant Tips,” for which we surveyed a census-balanced panel of more than 2,200 U.S. consumers, reveals that restaurants’ best customers are the most likely to be disappointed. Nearly half of all restaurant super fans who dine out at least three times a week have noted a growing gap between a meal’s costs and their satisfaction with it.

Plus, PYMNTS data from last fall revealed that 27% of restaurant customers report having received lower-quality service.

“The industry’s got a massive challenge around labor. There are no signs of that easing off,” Hindman said.

Paytronix, for its part, has been integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive capabilities into its platform for “three or four years now” to close the gap between restaurants’ best servers and their others employees.

“I had a really fun experience when I first started at the company: the team, to demonstrate some of our AI capabilities and how can we predict what an individual customer’s going to do, showed me my profile as seen through loyalty programs,” Hindman said.

He explained that the profile showed the days he would be most likely to make a purchase, among other behavior predictions, with surprising accuracy.

Keep It Simple

Most restaurants have now noted the need for technology, but with different providers offering different kinds of solutions, many have found themselves with a complex and friction-filled tech stack of software tools that do not communicate well with one another.

“And so then there’s an evolution, [like] in lots of industries historically, toward developing platforms that allow you to do it all together in a more seamless way,” Hindman said. “I think we’re at the very beginning of that in hospitality.”

He cited the example of Paytronix integrating the loyalty sign-up experience with stored payment information to remove friction from the process, driving membership.

These kind of tech upgrades not only simplify restaurants’ workloads but also positively impact the customer experience. Hindman said that, across the industry, restaurants are seeking the “ability to consolidate and simplify … operations in a way that accelerates that guest experience.”

Eye on the Prize

Certainly, restaurants are looking for more simple, straightforward digital solutions. Research highlighted in last month’s edition of PYMNTS’ “B2B and Digital Payments Tracker®,” a collaboration with American Express, “Inflation Puts Technology on the Menu for Restaurants,” found that more than 75% of restaurants are using automation to streamline their operations.

As Hindman looks to build toward Paytronix’s future in the restaurant technology space, he is measuring success based on customers’ needs rather than on the company’s offerings relative to competitors.

“If you sat in our four walls, you’d find a lot of our roadmap is being driven by our customers’ needs, not by comparable features in the market,” he said. “They’re telling us what they can’t do today, and we’re going and building it.”