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Panda Express, Create a More Holistic Loss Prevention and Control System with Video Intelligence

Fresh. Flavorful. Food.

These are the three words that immediately come to mind when we think about Panda Express. We at Wobot.ai love the fact that the restaurant has always used technology to deliver superior experiences – being the first restaurant to implement portable computers to process orders in every location.
While the chain has had a remarkable growth trajectory with a presence in over 10 countries, many in the restaurant industry have had to dim their lights in the last two years and combat several challenges like order inaccuracy, speed of service, and employee safety, all significantly impacting the bottom line.
Let’s explore further to learn more about Panda Express’s challenges and how adding the right technology can streamline the brand’s operations for success.

Serving Up: Solutions to The Top Challenges Panda Express is Facing

Employee safety

For any restaurant, employees are core assets. However, restaurants present a multi-faceted injury risk for their employees. For example, there is the possibility of slip and fall incidents, cuts from food preparation, burns from deep fryers or ovens, or injuries from lifting boxes. In these cases, the restaurant will be held responsible for compensating for the medical bills, out-pocket expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

It’s not a cakewalk to balance serving well-prepared meals and moving things around a busy environment. Mistakes are inevitable, with very little time to learn effective methods. These mistakes put the teams’ and customers’ health at stake.

In the end, accidents at the workplace and injured employees always cost a restaurant more than the intermittent expenditures to ensure a safer and hospitable environment for employees and customers alike.

Solution

Intelligent restaurants check what’s going on at their premises. Video intelligence gives you a hub to manage and control your operations from a single software for all restaurants. Wobot.ai, as a video intelligence provider, has helped many operators with its A.I. checklists.

A.I. checklists make it easier for you to automate tasks and deliver real-time insights if any violation has occurred or prevent an accident before it happens. In addition, a continuous feedback system allows restaurants to stay at the top of their operations.

We love how Panda Express countered the problem of distraction due to false alarms by turning to interface security systems. We believe that adding video intelligence to Panda Express’s business is the next step in elevating loss prevention efforts at the restaurant with use cases like slip and fall detection that can ensure employee safety.

Theft and burglary

It’s tough to operate a restaurant that has taken years to build a position and reputation without expecting any case of theft or burglary.

Under the busy roofs of most restaurants lies a hole in the effectiveness of employee training.

Consider the following facts:

  • 75% of employees have confessed to stealing from their employer
  • Up to 30% of business failures may be due to employee-based fraud
  • Restaurant theft causes up to $6 billion in lost revenue for restaurants annually.
  • An average dishonest employee steals $1,900.
  • New workers working with corrupt staff are likely to become habitual thieves.

Solution

Point-of-sale is the closest point a restaurant can detect and prevent internal thefts and customer frauds before they happen. In addition, Wobot.ai allows easy integration with your POS systems using integrators like PAR and Omnivore.

It’s chaotic and ineffective to go back to transaction history and deploy manual efforts to detect suspicious activities. After integrating the restaurant’s POS data, managers can get real-time feedback on their transaction data to better manage thefts and burglaries.

Video proof is a vital asset for a brand. For every attempted theft, an owner can present the associated video proof with the date and time to discourage dishonest actions on the employees’ end. 

Order accuracy and speed

Order accuracy is the number one reason customers do repeat business in the restaurant industry.

Even though Panda Express is one of the best Chinese restaurants to go to for a positive customer experience, a lot has changed over two years.

According to U.S. foods, employee turnover in the restaurant industry has peaked in the last two years and is over 75%. A high turnover rate implies new hires who require training to deliver and serve food accurately and conveniently.

Besides, as restaurants become more focused on quick service, order accuracy matters more than ever – as it will be inevitably frustrating for a customer to receive an inaccurate online order, which takes time, money, and energy to deliver. So, it’s a loss on both ends.

High employee turnover rates also make it challenging to tackle longer queues, leading to increased wait times. In addition, most customers don’t like it if there are more than four vehicles in a drive-through. So, they are naturally bound to gravitate towards restaurants where they get their orders quickly and conveniently.

Solution

Video intelligence quickly solves the problem of training new hires. Wobot.ai provides a smooth feature where owners can go back to old video data and train employees on how tasks are supposed to be done. 

Video intelligence allows owners to study and understand peak times at their restaurants, enabling them to strategically deploy staff in critical areas to ensure a seamless experience.

Getting insights in real-time, for example, every time a queue length exceeds more than four customers. Merely knowing this can help operators reward patient customers with a gift or coupon for their patience, leading to more loyalty.

To cap it up

Almost every store throughout the U.S. uses CCTV cameras for simple video surveillance. However, CCTV cameras can be a significant part of the workforce if one adds intelligence (AI) to them – to solve the most critical business issues.

Wobot.ai acts as the bridge to a more holistic loss prevention and control strategy. CCTV cameras are the most underutilized assets and can help clients significantly improve their efficiency and revenue for every dollar that is spent.

If you like the information you read and want to learn more about Wobot.ai, book a meeting right here. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

If you like the information you read and want to learn more about Wobot.ai, book a meeting right here. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have.