They’re slicker than your average sixteen-year-old, and their upselling skills are second to none: It is no wonder a 2008 study by global research firm IHL Group reports that transactions at self-service kiosks are expected to triple from roughly $600 billion in 2008 to an astonishing $1.7 trillion in 2012.

At quick service and fast casual restaurants, self-order kiosks are speeding up service, relieving pressure at peak times, and providing customers with more control over the ordering process. The new technology also helps alleviate labor challenges such as employee shortages, retention, and absenteeism.

And best of all, self-order kiosks can now be integrated with your SpeedLine POS.

In April 2009, SpeedLine user Sean McLeod deployed two self-order kiosks in his newly opened TacoTime restaurant, a quick service concept specializing in freshly prepared home-style Mexican food. Sean saw the kiosks as an answer to labor shortages that make it difficult to recruit staff in his area.

Orders processed through the kiosks go straight into the POS and print in the kitchen like any other order. The self-order technology consistently outsells even the savviest order taker:

“Our average order size has already seen a dramatic increase,” Sean says. “I am very pleased with the system.”

For a number of years, Sean has operated Railside Bowl, a pizzeria/bowling alley in Sylvan Lake, Alberta. But while the oil-rich region’s prosperous economy creates favorable conditions for a restaurant venture, it also contributes to chronic labor shortages.

When Sean opened a TacoTime restaurant in early April, he turned to SpeedLine’s newest OrderLink Gateway partner, NEXTEP systems—a manufacturer of automated ordering and digital signage solutions—to integrate the touch screen kiosks with his POS system.

Two countertop kiosks, located at the front of the ordering area, allow customers to order quickly and without assistance. NEXTEP designed an appealing and intuitive graphical interface, tailored to the TacoTime menu, to lead customers through the ordering process with suggestive prompts that maximize upselling.

View a demo

Request more info