Let the Payment Kiosks take the cash

They used to say cash is king, but now, in the post covid-19 era, cash is dirty

Handling cash and serving food has become an even bigger issue than ever before, but it doesn’t need to be with the new generation of self-service kiosks from

Payment Kiosks.

In an industry first, the latest Payment Kiosks machines can accept cash as well as card and dispense change.

This, coupled with their highly user-friendly ordering screens, is making them a big hit in the fish and chip takeaway sector.

Sarah Lock owns five fish and chip take-aways in Devon and Cornwall and had a Payment Kiosks machine installed in her busy Plymouth site in the summer.

She’s calculated the kiosk allows her to make a £25k saving per year through reduced staff costs and elimination of human errors.

“I wanted a kiosk after being in places like McDonald’s and seeing how effective they were, and the Payment

Kiosks one is unique because it takes cash rather than just card. A lot of the market is only taking card payments now because cash is dirty, but taking card only in my line of retail is not the best option because people still have cash and want to spend it,” explains Lock.

“So the kiosk is brilliant because it can take all the cash, it counts the cash, it can’t steal the cash, and it gives the right change: humans can make a mistake but the machine doesn’t.”

Lock has now ordered a second Payment Kiosks machine for her Harbourside fish and chip restaurant in Plymouth and plans to have two installed in each of her other four sites.

“A machine is a lot cheaper than a member of staff. If it’s in there all day every day, you are saving easily £100 every day on a member of staff. I’m not trying simply to replace the staff but I can use them to do something else, like offer better customer service,” says Lock.

The kiosk also helps make more money, according to Lock, because it draws people into the shop and prompts people to increase their order.

“People see the kiosk as they walk past and it does draw them in. People like computers and would often rather deal with a computer than a person.

“The visual screen is very easy to use and I would say people spend a little bit more because the pictures are quite pretty and the menu is interactive: it says things like ‘would you like a side with that?’ – it upsells and staff don’t always upsell.”

And Lock says customers don’t appear concerned about the hygiene aspect of using a touch-screen; the screen is sanitised every 20 minutes and hand gel is provided next to the kiosk.

The kiosk has certainly caught the attention of other fish and chip take-aways in Plymouth, with two other venues in the city now having installed a Payment Kiosks system.

For more information about Payment Kiosks visit www. paymentkiosks.co.uk or email sales@paymentkiosks. co.uk.

Mastering Time & Space

“As the size of quick-serve kitchens continue to shrink year on year, so does the demand for traditional pieces of equipment which neither utilise space efficiently or offer multiple cooking functions. As a result, fast food operators should look to invest in what we at Welbilt deem to be the ‘Crème de la Crème’ of versatile catering solutions: The combi oven.

Able to efficiently produce over 80% of the items found on an average menu, Convotherm combi ovens can perfectly grill, fry, steam, bake and roast a large quantity of meals and snacks from a single unit meaning fast food outlets are able to expand their menus and tap into new food trends at the same time as utilise kitchen space effectively. In fact, even the smallest of quick-serve kitchens and front of house areas are able to benefit from this supreme cooking versatility when turning to Convotherm who not only offer their larger Convotherm 4 models, but also a selection of stackable and Mini models. Our smallest Convotherm Mini model for example, boasts an exceptionally small footprint of just 51.5cm and can easily fit on a standard worktop, thus making this oven an essential investment for fast food operators that are looking to execute brilliant cooking results despite a restricted space.

However, it’s not just space-saving and food versatility that Convotherm combi ovens master, but oven hygiene too. This is because all Convotherm 4 combi ovens, plus a wide selection of our popular Mini Series models, come complete with an advanced, automatic ConvoClean system.

Featuring four selectable cleaning levels, plus a thorough steam-disinfection cycle, this revolutionary system allows caterers to achieve optimum hygiene and restores customer confidence in cleanliness.”

Welbilt UK

Tel: 01483 464900 https://www.welbilt.uk/