Elo Touch Thru self-service enables contactless curbside ordering

While waiting in line to order sushi Aleksandar Goga, CEO of Clicksys, and Alexander Zivkovic, Sales Director Northern Europe at Elo, started thinking of a way to help the restaurant better manage its take-away orders. They realized many customers would prefer to queue outdoors rather than in the crowded space inside. Goga and Zivkovic implemented their idea by combining Clicksys’ software with an Elo open frame touchscreen placed directly behind Sushishop’s windowpane.

Increased efficiency and comfort for take-away
Many restaurants in city centers have limited floor space and get crowded with long lines during lunch hours, when customers are usually on a tight schedule. Sushishop, located in the heart of Stockholm is no exception — a popular restaurant with just a few seats and throngs of repeat customers. Usually, Sushishop can accommodate a line of 8 to 9 people queueing inside the restaurant; however, with social distancing measures put in place, there is room for only 3 to 4 people.

When we started thinking about how we could help Sushishop receive orders via a screen, we realized there wasn’t a natural place for installing the screen anywhere inside the restaurant. In the summer, they usually have an outdoor dining area, and by the entrance there is room to stand and place an order. I then asked Zivkovic at Elo if they had a touchscreen that could work through the windowpane, said Goga.

Boost restaurant sales through interactive experiences
Clicksys is a software company focused on increasing sales in restaurants, and when it comes to screens with touch functionality, they always choose Elo. Elo offers a wide range of touchscreens for point of sale, self-service and signage solutions. The versatile touchscreens are suitable for most applications and offer customers an interactive experience.

Consumers have become increasingly accustomed to ordering food digitally on screens, and studies show that many customers even prefer self-service ordering. Clicksys software, in combination with Elo touchscreens, aims to reduce queues so that restaurants have the capacity to receive and fulfill more orders. To improve the restaurant experience, Clicksys focuses on what is best for the guest, analyzing their experience including their behaviour during the lunch rush.

Fine-tuning the solution

When we install our solutions, we want to be right there with the customer to test it in the field and to follow up to make sure it works optimally, said Goga and that’s exactly what we did. We met with Zivkovic, who brought the touchscreen, at Sushishop to make sure it would work right through the windowpane.

For the solution to work optimally, it required an open frame display model with Projected Capacitive touchscreen technology that enables touch functionality through glass or other cover material. The windowpane should not be thicker than 6 mm and must not contain any metals. The touchscreen must be placed flush against the windowpane such that there is no gap between the window and touchscreen. At Sushishop, this was accomplished by mounting the touchscreen on a floor stand and positioning it against the glass.

Order outdoors and avoid crowds

Thanks to Clicksys and Elo, we can handle more guests while simultaneously adhering more easily to the rules of the public health authority! When the coronavirus first broke out, we could not receive all our guests because of the new public health ordinances, so this creative solution is very valuable to us. The guests are happy they don’t have to crowd inside the restaurant — instead, they can both order and receive their food outside, and so can continue to eat their favourite sushi at their leisure! said Mikael Shaaya, owner of Sushishop.

Clicksys assisted throughout the onboarding process to ensure both the restaurant and its guests can use the system optimally. At Sushishop, more and more people are using the express self-service, and guests enjoy using the touch system to place their orders. With the new solution in place, customers can select items from the full range of Sushishop’s menu and pay with their mobile devices via common online payment methods. Once their order is placed, the customer can enjoy their wait by taking a walk or spending time in the car, safely distanced from other customers.