Applebee’s no longer wants to take your takeout calls

Telephone orders on the rise

Onosys, a software company that helps restaurant chains implement digital ordering systems, is getting far more call center inquiries than before.

Last year, only about 5% of new customers were interested in the service, said Ryan Younker, chief technology officer of Onosys. But over the past six to 12 months, “at least 25% of our incoming questions … are either just for a call center or for online ordering and call center,” he said. declared.

A few things are pushing restaurants to consider outsourcing their phone orders.

Over the past year, about 8% of restaurant consumers surveyed by restaurant consulting firm Technomic said they placed an order over the phone, double those who said they did so before the pandemic.

“The phone is still a relatively common way for consumers to order, especially for takeout and especially if they want to work directly with the restaurant,” said David Henkes, senior manager at Technomic.

Applebee is not trying to solve an immediate crisis. Staffing has reached pre-pandemic levels, according to the brand. And Applebee started working with outside call centers more than three years ago, even before the pandemic hit.

But call centers allow “our team members to really focus on restaurant execution and restaurant-level execution,” Cywinski said. “I’m always a little scared of team members rushing out to dinner…have to stop what they’re doing in the restaurant to pick up a phone and take an order.”

Outsourcing calls “improves our efficiency and improves the customer experience,” he said. “It’s worth it, if you think about the opportunity cost of a dropped call or a busy team member putting a guest on hold.”

Ideally, from a brand perspective, customers shouldn’t even realize they’re not talking to an Applebee employee.

Or if they do, it’s only because the experience is better.

Thanks for calling Applebee

So what’s it like to call an Applebee and reach out to a call center?

On Thursday afternoon, Applebee’s executive director of communications, Melissa Hariri, called an Applebee’s location with a call center to show me how it works. I stayed on the line, muted, while she placed her order, first with an automated system and then with a person.

Hariri called the restaurant and hit number two to place her control using automation. After stating each item, a robotic female voice repeated it, asking what else she would like.

At “kid’s hamburger”, however, the smooth running of the process ran into a problem. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t add a kid’s burger as it’s not an option at this location. If you need it, you can always ask to be connected to a rep for more help” , said the machine. Hariri continued with his order.

Right after hanging up, Hariri called back, this time asking to speak to an agent. He was calm and courteous. There was no background noise and Hariri was never put on hold.

Hariri scanned his list again. When she arrived at the child’s burger, the officer asked her if she wanted it with or without cheese. She specified – no cheese – and he continued. After a few more items, Hariri asked the agent if the kid’s burger was available at the restaurant. He claimed that was.

Later, Hariri looked into the kid’s burger gap and learned that the restaurant really doesn’t have a kid’s burger on the menu. But there was a kid’s cheeseburger.

The agent knew that a cheeseburger without cheese is a hamburger. The machine, apparently, did not. “Our team is looking to improve that on the automated side,” Hariri said.

So it always pays to talk to a person sometimes.