Article
Free WiFi: Is it right for your QSR?
Operators can benefit by offering no-fee wireless, but there are a number of pitfalls to avoid.
March 8, 2010
When McDonald's announced it was making its wireless service free in all participating U.S. stores, the industry took notice. While no other major quick-service brand has announced a chain-wide switch to free WiFi offerings, plenty of operators are considering the service.
Tim Tang, marketing director for broadband solutions and managed services provider Hughes Solutions Group and Hughes Network Systems, said restaurants have shown increasely marked interest in offering the service over the last few quarters.
But operators should do their homework before rushing to compete with the nearby McDonald's, he said. Offering free wireless connections to customers can certainly boost traffic, but there are plenty of pitfalls.
"What (operators) start to very quickly realize is that this is not a simple offering," Tang said. "It's a new discipline that's emerging rapidly and with its own set of clauses, such as technology details as well as regulatory requirements."
Operators need to consider not only the type of WiFi deployment but also legal liabilities and operational best practices. For operators without an IT department, it can be challenging to navigate the options on their own.
A good resource is the hotel industry, which has several years' experience with subscription-based and free-to-guest WiFi. Smaller QSR chains like Krystal and Culver's also have offered free wireless connection in their stores for several years. Most important, however, is to finding a service provider to walk them through the options step by step.
Operators also should consider the following:
Router vs. service provider
While setting up a router for wireless broadband in your home is easy enough, there's much more to offering the service to customers. Multiunit franchisees might have their own IT expert, but most operators don't have that resource. Turning to a service provider is likely the wiser choice since even large corporations with IT departments tend to outsource their wireless solutions, Tang said.
Dunkin' Donuts franchisee IVC Food Services opted for a service provider rather than rely on its own IT director. Jim Slaymon is director of information systems and technology for the franchisee and its parent company IVC Industrial Coatings. He said he found relying on service provider eWireless to be more cost effective than setting up individual routers at the company's five Indianapolis stores.
Slaymon said he spends most of his time focusing on the parent company's IT needs, so having a provider that offers troubleshooting services saves him time — and the company money. The cost for him to send his own crew to those stores for a single troubleshooting event is much less than the monthly service fee. And the service pays for itself through in-store traffic increases.
"Given that every time I go into a store there's someone in there with a laptop, that tells me it can't be a coincidence," he said. "We're getting a regular customer stream with that. So that tells me we're probably getting more sales out of it than we're spending on it."
Navigating the options
Operators offering a subscription-based service are more likely to select the most robust solution, but those offering a free-to-guest solution don't have that income source. While operators may be tempted to opt for the cheapest solution, doing so may leave a restaurant without such safeguards as timely on-site troubleshooting or with 24-hour system monitoring, Tang warns.
The key is to imagine how the wireless solution could negatively impact a customer's experience. A few questions to ask include: Is the connection reliable? Are customers protected from downloading malicious content? Can the solution deprioritize streaming multimedia so one customer doesn't suck up the bandwidth? Is the network secure and PCI compliant?
Then find the service provider that meets those needs.
"It really comes down to a question of being able to deploy a solution that you can afford, and also meet your requirements," he said. "All WiFi is not created equal."
Walk through the customer experience
When a customer connects to the Internet via a restaurant's wireless service, the first thing they should encounter is a terms and conditions page to protect the restaurant from liability, experts say. But operators also should make use of the initial splash page to market their brand.
Henry Kurkowski, co-founder of eWireless and One WiFi, said using the log-in page as a promotional tool is one of the greatest benefits of offering free wireless.
"It creates interactivity with the brand at the point of purchase," he said.
Operators can promote their menu as well as their corporate fundraising efforts. For extended branding, operators can use the splash page to collect customers' e-mail or connect them to their social media efforts. Consumers have grown accustomed to viewing ads online and typically aren't put off by seeing branding or promotions at the log-in page, Kurkowski said.
"I look at this (solution) as purely a marketing tool," he said. "It's not WiFi. It's WiFi marketing. They're using it to connect patrons with their company, about their specials, about things at that (QSR)."
Content filtering
Another feature to consider is adding content filtering to maintain the family-friendly atmosphere in the restaurant. Culver's has offered free WiFi for several years but recently added BHI's SecureConnect WiFi Hotspot solution to provide adult-content filtering and other network security features.
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"We really value the quality of both the food and the services that we provide our guests," Blystone said. "We spend a lot of time making sure that our establishments are able to provide wireless yet provide it in an environment that is safe and appropriate for the content they are searching for."
In-store experience
As important as offering a secure, robust solution is, so is creating an in-store experience that encourages customers to linger. IVC Food Service's Slaymon said the Dunkin' Donuts franchisee see a steady number of customers using WiFi — and returning to the counter to purchase more menu items. At Culver's, customers are setting up quick meetings, or families are stopping in during road trips to check their e-mail.
McDonald's also knows the importance of creating an inviting experience. The store has undergone a reimaging program for several years, but it's most recent designs are even more attractive for Internet users.
In the chain's newest stores, that experience is a far cry from the yellow plastic chairs of the past. Upholstered booths, pendant lighting, bar-height tables, fireplaces and flat-screen TVs have become the norm. (Click here to see a slideshow of McDonald's Simply Modern design.)
"We're making McDonald's a destination," said company spokeswoman Ashlee Yingling. "Along with the introduction of McCafé, free WiFi is just another way to stay contemporary and relevant to our customers. Ten years ago customers weren't coming in with laptops and grabbing coffee, so it's a way for us to meet them — and meet them with what they're looking to get with a McDonald's experience."
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