FACILITIES & LOSS CONTROL – TECHNOLOGY CONTINUES TO EVOLVE OUR BUSINESS

2023 saw the completion of a pair of innovative technology rollouts in our restaurants. First, the Touch Kitchen Display System (Touch KDS) were completed on the front-end of the year where eye-level touchscreen tablets were installed on either side of every food production line in our kitchens. This new technology has allowed for more interactive training and increased synergy amongst the kitchen staff leading to faster speed with service and a better customer experience. The Grab & Go Contactless Pick-Up program was implemented in response to the accelerated amount of customer transactions using digital methods such as Third-party Delivery or via the Taco Bell Mobile App. For stores with elevated daily delivery / mobile orders, an order pick-up shelf was installed on their front counter to allow a designated area for more efficient order pickup. Also, every store now has a parking sign installed designating a space only for customers parking to pick up Mobile / Delivery Orders inside. The “Connected Restaurant” journey has continued with the start of the Annspire (formerly called NextGen) POS and Drive-Thru Digital Menu Board (DT DMB) rollouts. The Annspire POS register upgrade has been separated out in two segments, Over-the-Air software downloads and in-person hardware installs. Roughly one half of our system already has compatible PAR hardware that is receiving the OTA Annspire software. The other half that do not will be receiving the Annspire hardware via overnight installs to be done over the course of Q1 2024. DT DMB’s have been a new store standard for two years, but only recently became available for installation in open and operating stores. Over 40 new DT DMBs and speaker posts were installed this fall throughout our system. The remaining stores will be completed in 2024.

Switching to my Loss Control hat, in 2023 BurgerBusters celebrated the 20th anniversary of Foodservice Insurance Group (FIG), which is the insurance captive we are founding members of along with the other Big 12 Taco Bell franchisees. The captive was formed to help protect us from the volatility of the insurance markets while also allowing us to reap the premium return benefits from being a safety-oriented organization. Many safety and security programs and technologies you see today in our restaurants started as ideas this group shared or created in these FIG meetings over the years, like Shoes For Crews, surveillance systems, smart safes, and many more. This safety culture developed over two decades has made BurgerBusters one of the safest places in the franchise community for our employees to work and our customers to dine!

Pictured Above: Drive-Thru Digital Menu Boards