As 2025 kicks off, many experts have offered their predictions about what’s in store for the restaurant industry for the coming year.
With rising inflation and labor costs, the industry continues to look to automation and artificial intelligence for the answers. Still, I am here to remind you the KISS principle of restaurant design remains as applicable as ever. In fact, when considering the changes the industry faces today, one could argue that KISS has never been more appropriate.
Don’t get me wrong, as an industrial engineer I am a firm believer of the power of automation and its many forms. Nothing warms my heart more than finding simple solutions to problems. Most recently, when visiting a client, I noticed the team was experiencing high levels of crossover when bagging orders. One of the main factors contributing to these troubles was the placement of bags behind the workstation. I pointed this out to the team working at a restaurant. Their solution: introducing a $1.49 hook hanger … and it worked to perfection! I understand that it is somewhat of an ad-hoc solution, but most ingenuity is exactly that: a “for this” solution.
Some of my favorite examples of simple solutions typically address customer-facing problems. For example, identifying when a guest needs help or service. This particularly rings true in the casual dining and fine dining segments, where often the solution to an operational challenge does not have to be a complex one.
One area that an industrial engineer studies is called human factors, which explores the interaction between humans and their environment. This is an interesting part of the educational process because all beings must interact with their environment, and it teaches us how to design by using the environment to its maximum capacity. Given that I started this article by advocating for the KISS principle, this may sound complicated. Trust me, though, it’s not. In fact, some of my favorite human factor/industrial engineering solutions are quite simple. That’s because these solutions solve the challenge at hand by simplifying the question as to whether a guest or table wants help.
Below are two pictures of how our overseas friends handle customer management using the “KISS” principle:
The picture above depicts a side table lamp that guests use to signal to the staff that they need assistance. This replaces a typical table lamp for one with an enhanced function, helping the staff prioritize service due to guests’ requests.
The baskets (shown above) are even more ingenious. Color-coding baskets provide guests with a choice that allows retailers to know which customers are more likely to require assistance during their retail experience. This also allows the retailer to track what percentage of its guests are more likely to require assistance, therefore helping in forecasting labor needs. The “baskets” picture is my favorite due to not only its simplicity but the wide array of information that may come from it.
As we look to navigate through some of the 2025 predictions, especially around labor, I want to continue to preach operational simplification, especially utilizing the “KISS” principle. Look at why team members may be moving too much, or how to better understand guest needs. There are solutions to complex problems that do not require A.I. or robots. Think of the traffic light (also proposed by an engineer by the way): a new simple solution to replacing traffic police officers. A device that lights to signal when to go, stop, or slow down… probably the best example of the “KISS” principle.
