The fast-casual chain Newk’s Eatery, which operates and franchises 100 stores in 16 states is using artificial intelligence to streamline its handling of phone orders.
Newk’s Eatery is deploying the Kea voice AI ordering system to automate its phone order channel and digitize its off-premise business, which has accounted for one-third of all its orders since the Covid-19 pandemic. The retailer currently operates the Kea AI solution in all of its corporate locations and is expanding the platform into the franchise network in 2023.
“When callers can’t get through to a cashier, we risk upsetting loyal customers and losing a significant segment of our customer base,” said Adam Karveller, VP of IT at Newk’s Eatery. “Not only that, if the phone is constantly ringing off the hook, we also risk losing employees who are stressed and overwhelmed, compounding the labour shortage problem we already face.”
“When we were looking at options for to-go ordering, we didn’t want a one-size-fits-all technology. We wanted a customer-centric solution that specialised in the phone channel,” said Mark Reedy, VP of Franchise Operations. “We found that Kea was much more accurate and user-friendly than the other options, and based on the check averages going up, we know that it’s been more successful too.”
