Without a doubt, the pizza space is getting more crowded and competitive all the time. Stand-out brands need must keep a forward-thinking mindset to accommodate the constantly changing wants and needs of customers. Lately the spotlight shines brightly on the race to differentiate on service and in my opinion, and the next inflection point: Point-of-service.

I believe it’s time for point-of-service to catch up with point-of-ordering, and the companies that do this well will win hearts, minds, and market share. In my view, we now have something akin to “Star Trek” ordering, while the POS model is a relic.

Over the last several years, restaurateurs have moved beyond the terminal thanks to an amazing array of leading-edge ordering and payment channels. Consider,  for instance, the following:

•    Web and smartphone app ordering is becoming commonplace.
•    Alexa, and Amazon Echo let you speak your order and have it delivered to your doorstep.
•    In-store self-serve kiosks and line-busting tablets alleviate the counter service line wait.
•    Experimental robots at one concept store are answering guests’ questions and making food and beverage recommendations.

But, aside from the relatively recent advent of home delivery, we’re still using point-of-service models that are decades old. Just look through history and you’ll see that things are pretty much the same today as they were 60 or 70 years ago. For instance, consider that the typical walk-up quick-serve counter begun at McDonald’s led to long lines of customers first waiting to order and then waiting to retrieve their food. Sound familiar?

The drive-in restaurant that started with carhops on skates at your car window was later followed by the drive-thrus ushered in first in the 1940s, then soaring to new popularity in the 1970s. Again, sound familiar?

The changing face and lifestyles of customers today demands a revolution in point-of-service and home delivery is just a start. After all the children of this generation of customers who order by phone or voice command will soon expect different types and levels of service and convenience.

You’ve undoubtedly seen industry trend reports on dining out, home delivery and the like. With customers’ changing loyalties at the drop of a pizza, today’s ‘possible’ becomes tomorrow’s expectation. We need to be ready to make POS anything the customer wants it to be and home delivery is just the beginning.

Get an edge on market share: Go boldly where no one has gone before

Let’s throw off yesterday’s pre-conceived ideas about store design and customer service for a moment. The counter with its monolithic terminal? Forget it for a moment. If you could design your customer interaction model from scratch, what would your restaurant look like?

Why even have a point-of-service counter and terminal? Why not have a centrally located kitchen surrounded by serving stations or pick-up windows? Since such a store would no longer need that winding queue, you could turn the queue-up space into additional seating.

Or maybe give people the option to order from a tablet computer located right at their table. The interactive experience could provide opportunity for up-selling and even simultaneously report rewards points status to prompt more spending to reach the next rewards level.

The ordering tablet could provide a countdown and notify the customer when their order was ready for pickup. The same model could be used for orders placed via an app on the customer’s smartphone.

Who will be POS’s big bold thinkers 

What about taking delivery to a whole new level? What if your kitchen could travel to a particular neighborhood or business district on wheels, serving walk-up customers or filling orders delivered to nearby homes and businesses by delivery drivers using electric cars or scooters?

This is an exciting and swiftly changing time for restaurant brands as they push forward to stay in front of customer expectations. But maybe you need to start smaller for capital investment or budgetary reasons. That does not mean you cannot still win loyalty based on differentiated experiences that occur with incremental changes.

The great thing is that today, we have the technology and the ability to boldly remake point-of-service in a flexible way that allows restaurateurs to start as as small as needed for their brands. So, perhaps an operator adds mobile ordering and a drive-thru window dedicated tothose orders and delivery service pickup. That might spur the kind of additional volume, sales and speedier service that boosts customer satisfaction and loyalty. There’s ample proof from brands which have tried this model that it can work. And in this ultra-competitive industry today, tech leaders who stay informed and find courage will ultimately reap the rewards and POS is a place to start.