Eatery Design Case Study
As part of a class, our team was tasked with evaluating an on campus eatery and making design recommendations. We walked over to the School of Hotel Administration where Mac’s, an on-campus eatery was located. It was time to begin our evaluation!
The Current Situation
As we stepped in the vicinity of Mac’s, one thing was apparent. This place was CROWDED. It resembled more of a concert hall than an eatery. We decided to grab a bite to experience what customers faced first hand.
Initial Findings
1. Disorganized
There seemed to be a very disorganized system in place. Many lines formed from different places and it wasn’t very clear where one line started and where another ended.
2. Lack of Technology implemented
To place orders, customers were given a paper slip. Customers had to fill the slips out with dull pencils, found in a cup. Not only did filling these slips out take a while, people were often waiting to use a pencil. Sometimes, workers would even ask for clarification on what was written.
3. Heavy delay at cashier
There was a large bottleneck at the cashier which created the majority of the crowd. People would get their food but would be waiting for a while to actually checkout. When it was our time to check out, we realized why things were taking so long. The UI of the cashier’s point of sale system was horribly designed. The entire touch screen was filled with buttons and the cashier struggled to find the menu items corresponding to the customers’ orders. This delayed people from getting ringed up and on their way.
4. Lack of Teamwork
There was hardly any interaction between workers. This lack of communication would cause the customer to repeat their order to multiple individuals in the process. Lastly, the customer would repeat their order to the cashier who would then have to visually verify the order and then input it into the system.
The Current Situation
Client Side
a. Customer walks up to the post #1 and orders food
b. Customer waits for food around post #3
c. Customer pays for food at post #2
Drawbacks:
-Long Waiting Time
-Confusing environment, hard to tell whose food belongs to whom sometimes
Operations Side
a. Food service worker takes your order slip at post #1 and verbally communicates it to one of the chefs
b. Once the order is made, food is put on the counter around post #3. Food is placed in the order each is finished (*note not in the order that each order is placed)
c. The cashier at post #2 looks at the customer’s order, punches in what they bought in the computer and collects payment from the customer
Drawbacks:
-Hard for chefs to hear the orders since it is communicated verbally in a loud environment
-Difficult for customers to identify their order once placed. All the orders are placed around each other with no proper identification
Design Considerations
Collaborative technology should be implemented at Mac’s in place of the paper ticket system. Rather than writing orders on tickets, customers can make selections via a Tablet. The order can then be projected to the different workers in the “assembly line.” In this way, knowledge would be more easily passed between employees. This would eliminate the need for customers to tell multiple employees what they were purchasing to eat. The tablet would also print out a barcode label for the customer. The barcode label would take away the burden from the customer to correctly identify their order, once complete. Additionally, by just scanning the label, the cashier would automatically get the correct order without having to input it manually and doing a visual check.
Redesign Concept
Client Side
a. Client walks up to Post #1 and inputs order into a tablet.
b. Attendant at Post #1 hands you a printed barcode (or virtual via an app)
c. Customer can then go to the cashier at post #2, show them the barcode and pay for the order
d. Food comes out at post #3 with the barcode printed on the order. Attendant scans customer’s barcode to ensure payment and then hands them the food
Advantages:
-Client can easily go from placing order to paying for the order without navigating through a crowd in between (waiting for their order to come out)
-Complete orders have a barcode on them for easy identification
-Burden not on customer to find order
Operations Side
a. Customer inputs order into tablet at Post #1. Barcode is printed out and handed to the customer.
b. Cashier at post #2 scans the customer’s barcode and collects payment
c. The software sends the order to the chefs in charge of making it at post #3 and displays it on their tablet.
d. Once the order is made, the chefs can swipe away the order from queue and a barcode is printed for them to place on the completed order.
e. Attendant at post #3 hands customer their completed order
Advantages:
-More efficient system
-Technology instills better communication amongst workers through transfer of information which serves to eliminate verbal confusion
-Process is standardized
Conclusion
In Conclusion, we have identified the main issues with the current design and have redesigned the layout and operations of Mac’s for increased efficiency and less crowds. By changing the physical layout of the workers, the customers will have a more seamless food ordering experience; they no longer have to go from section 1 and walk past section 3 to get to section 2, and then head to section 3 once more to pick up their food. With less crowds, no burden on the customer to repeat their order several times and having to identify their own food amongst all the other orders, the customer will surely have a more enjoyable experience. However, the redesign concept also incorporates the employees’ experience. The introduction of technology allows for better information transfer between employees. Therefore, there is less likelihood for employees to be confused with making and cashing out orders. Employees won’t have to make sure they are hearing correctly in a crowded and noisy environment and the cashier won’t have to search endlessly for the right menu items on the dashboard. Overall, the user experience of Mac’s Eatery should be much improved!
Here are sample Wireframes as well as High Fidelity Mockups for a potential Tablet App for Mac's. Customers could use this app to order food at Mac's:
