Patent Application
20200334610
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for providing a user interface to an event administrator for configuring and initiating events among quick service restaurants, and for providing an event-specific administrative user interface to enable gamification for quick service restaurants.
Quick service restaurants are known. Measuring how long it takes to provide service to individual customers at quick service restaurants is known. Comparing performance measurements between, e.g., employees, is known.
One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a system configured for providing a user interface to an event administrator for initiating events among quick service restaurants. The system may include one or more hardware processors configured by machine-readable instructions, and/or other components. The processor(s) may be configured to receive, through entry and/or selection by the event administrator via the user interface, event information that defines an event. The event information may include event timing information, event participant information, event objective information for the event, and/or other information related to the event. The event timing information may specify an event start date, an event start time, an event stop time for the event, and/or other timing information related to the event, thereby defining an event duration between the event start time and the event stop time. The event participant information may identify individual quick service restaurants participating in the event. The event objective information may specify one or more service metrics on which the individual quick service restaurants are competing during the event. Individual ones of the service metrics may be based on service timing information that represents service durations for individual instances of service being provided during the event duration at the individual quick service restaurants participating in the event. The processor(s) may be configured to initiate the event, e.g., through the user interface. Initiation of the event may effectuate sharing of the event information with the individual quick service restaurants participating in the event. Initiation of the event may effectuate determinations, starting from the event start date, during the event duration, at the individual quick service restaurants participating in the event, of individual sets of values of the one or more service metrics. Initiation of the event may effectuate presentations on individual user interfaces associated with the individual quick service restaurants, the presentations including the individual sets of values of the one or more service metrics determined during the event duration. The processor(s) may be configured to obtain event-specific results from the individual quick service restaurants participating in the event, subsequent to completion of part or all of the event. The event-specific results may be based on the individual sets of values of the one or more service metrics that have been determined during the event duration, e.g., through aggregation, averaging, derivations, etc. The processor(s) may be configured to generate notifications based on the obtained event-specific results. The notifications may be transferred to the individual user interfaces associated with the individual quick service restaurants that have participated in the event. Subsequent to the generation of the notifications, additional or combined presentations may be presented on the individual user interfaces. These presentations may be based on the generated notifications.
Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method for providing a user interface to an event administrator for initiating events among quick service restaurants. The method may include receiving, through entry and/or selection by the event administrator via the user interface, event information that defines an event. The event information may include event timing information, event participant information, event objective information for the event, and/or other information related to the event. The event timing information may specify an event start date, an event start time, an event stop time for the event, and/or other timing information related to the event, thereby defining an event duration between the event start time and the event stop time. The event participant information may identify individual quick service restaurants participating in the event. The event objective information may specify one or more service metrics on which the individual quick service restaurants are competing during the event. Individual ones of the service metrics may be based on service timing information that represents service durations for individual instances of service being provided during the event duration at the individual quick service restaurants participating in the event. The method may include initiating the event, e.g., through the user interface. Initiation of the event may effectuate sharing of the event information with the individual quick service restaurants participating in the event. Initiation of the event may effectuate determinations, starting from the event start date, during the event duration, at the individual quick service restaurants participating in the event, of individual sets of values of the one or more service metrics. Initiation of the event may effectuate presentations on individual user interfaces associated with the individual quick service restaurants, the presentations including the individual sets of values of the one or more service metrics determined during the event duration. The method may include obtaining event-specific results from the individual quick service restaurants participating in the event, subsequent to completion of part or all of the event. The event-specific results may be based on the individual sets of values of the one or more service metrics that have been determined during the event duration. The method may include generating notifications based on the obtained event-specific results. The notifications may be transferred to the individual user interfaces associated with the individual quick service restaurants that have participated in the event. Subsequent to the generation of the notifications, additional or combined presentations may be presented on the individual user interfaces. These presentations may be based on the generated notifications.
As used herein, any association (or relation, or reflection, or indication, or correspondency) involving servers, processors, client computing platforms, timing information, service durations, events, times, dates, contests, participants, service metrics, values for service metrics, ranking orders, user interfaces, presentations, representations, durations, completions, indicators, indications, persons, vehicles, results, awards, notifications, and/or another entity or object that interacts with any part of the system and/or plays a part in the operation of the system, may be a one-to-one association, a one-to-many association, a many-to-one association, and/or a many-to-many association or N-to-M association (note that N and M may be different numbers greater than 1).
As used herein, the term “obtain” (and derivatives thereof) may include active and/or passive retrieval, determination, derivation, transfer, upload, download, submission, and/or exchange of information, and/or any combination thereof. As used herein, the term “effectuate” (and derivatives thereof) may include active and/or passive causation of any effect, both local and remote. As used herein, the term “determine” (and derivatives thereof) may include measure, calculate, compute, estimate, approximate, generate, and/or otherwise derive, and/or any combination thereof.
These and other features, and characteristics of the present technology, as well as the methods of operation and functions of the related elements of structure and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. As used in the specification and in the claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
In some implementations, system 100 may include one or more servers 102. Server(s) 102 may be configured to communicate with one or more client computing platforms 104 according to a client/server architecture and/or other architectures. Client computing platform(s) 104 may be configured to communicate with other client computing platforms via server(s) 102 and/or according to a peer-to-peer architecture and/or other architectures. Users may access system 100 via client computing platform(s) 104, one or more user interfaces 136, event administrator interface 150, and/or one or more other components of system 100.
Server(s) 102 may be configured by machine-readable instructions 106. Machine-readable instructions 106 may include one or more instruction components. The instruction components may include computer program components. The instruction components may include one or more of interface component 108, event component 110, metric component 112, event notification component 114, award determination component 116, award distribution component 118, award notification component 120, presentation component 122, analysis component 124, and/or other instruction components.
Interface component 108 may be configured to receive, through entry and/or selection by the event administrator via user interface 150, event information that defines one or more events. The events may include a first event, a second event, a third event, and so forth. In some implementations, the event information may include one or more of event timing information, event participant information, event objective information for the event, and/or other information related to one or more events. In some implementations, events may include one or more contests, challenges, and/or other competitions.
Event timing information may specify one or more of an event start date, an event stop date, an event start time, an event stop time for the event, and/or other information related to event timing. By way of non-limiting example, the event timing information for an individual event may specify an event start time and an event stop time for the event, thereby defining an event duration between the event start time and the event stop time. In some implementations, the event timing information may specify an event start date and an event stop date, thereby defining an event date range. For example, the first event may be associated with a first event duration, the second event may be associated with the second event duration, the third event may be associated with the third event duration, and so forth. In some implementations, the event duration may be defined as a duration between 2 and 4 hours.
In some implementations, individual events may span multiple days. For example, a particular event may last a week, a month, or another multi-day period. In some implementations, a particular event may include individual rounds of competition occurring on different days. For example, a first contest may span every Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for 3 months. For example, a second contest may span every Monday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. for 2 months. For example, a third contest may span every Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., between an event start date and an event stop date that are about 10 weeks apart. In these examples, the portion of the contest that falls on a single day may be referred to as a round, or a daily round.
Event participant information may identify individual quick service restaurants that are (or will be) participating in one or more events. For example, a particular event may include quick service restaurant 134 and one or more other quick service restaurants (e.g., operated by the same franchisee, located in the same geographical region, owned by the same owner, and/or otherwise having one or more characteristics in common). For a particular event, the set of quick service restaurants that are participating in the particular event may be referred to as the participating quick service restaurants or as the set of participating quick service restaurants.
Event objective information may specify one or more service metrics on which individual ones of the participating quick service restaurants are competing during a particular event. In some implementations, event objective information may specify a service metric that will be used to rank individual ones of the participating quick service restaurants during or after a particular event. In some implementations, service metrics may be based on service timing information. In some implementations, service metrics and/or service timing information may be based on service durations for individual instances of service being provided at quick service restaurant 134.
In some implementations, service timing information may be based on service durations for individual instances of service being provided at quick service restaurant 134. Service durations may be defined by the time between a (service) start time or begin time and a (service) stop time or end time. In some implementations, an individual quick service restaurant 134 may be a drive-thru restaurant. In some implementations, the start time may be defined as the moment a particular vehicle enters the drive-thru (e.g., passes a particular point on the road surface of the drive-thru). In some implementations, the start time may be defined as the moment people in the particular vehicle begin or complete their order, or pay for their order. In some implementations, the end time of a service duration may be defined as the moment particular vehicle exits the drive-thru (e.g., passes a particular point on the road surface of the drive-thru). In some implementations, the end time may be defined as the moment people in a particular vehicle receive their order, or pay for their order. Start times and end times for different customers may be interleaved, such that individual service durations partially overlap with other service durations. Service durations may include a first service duration, a second service duration, a third service duration, and so forth. Vehicles may include a first vehicle, a second vehicle, a third vehicle, and so forth. In some implementations, individual instances of service being provided at a particular quick service restaurant 134 may include a first instance of service being provided to a first person in the first vehicle, a second instance of service being provided to one or more people in the second vehicle, and so forth.
In some implementations, one or more service metrics may include one or more of average service duration per instance of service being provided at an individual quick service restaurant, percentage of the instances of service being provided for which the service duration is at or below a service duration goal, number of instances of service being provided at an individual quick service restaurant, and/or percentage reached of a goal number of instances of service being provided at an individual quick service restaurant. In some implementations, one or more service metrics may be based (at least in part) on information from the one or more points-of-sale (e.g., total sales, average sales per instance of service, etc.). Service metrics that combine service duration and information from a point-of-sale (POS) are envisioned within the scope of this disclosure. Determining the values of the one or more service metrics may be performed (e.g., by individual quick service restaurants) during the event duration, during a predetermined time period, at the completion of the event duration, and/or at the completion of the predetermined time period. For example, the average service duration per instance of service being provided at quick service restaurant 134 for the first contest (described above) may be determined by adding any service durations for instances of service provided on a Friday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and dividing this total duration by the number of these instances.
By way of non-limiting example,
Referring to
By way of non-limiting example,
Referring to
By way of non-limiting example,
Referring to
By way of non-limiting example,
By way of non-limiting example,
Referring to
Referring to
Award distribution component 118 may be configured to distribute awards to quick service restaurants. In some implementations, award distribution component 118 may distribute awards in accordance with one or more determinations by award determination component 116. Award distribution may include a transfer of information to the pertinent individual user interfaces associated with individual quick service restaurants.
By way of non-limiting example,
Referring to
Analysis component 124 may be configured to compare and/or otherwise analyze sets of values of one or more service metrics. In particular, analysis component 124 may compare values of service metrics that have been determined (e.g., by individual quick service restaurants) during the event duration. In some implementations, analysis component 124 may compare values of service metrics for at least two of the individual quick service restaurants that have participated in the same event. In some implementations, analysis component 124 may compare values of service metrics for the same individual quick service restaurant that has participated in multiple events.
Presentation component 122 may be configured to effectuate presentations on user interface 150 for the event administrator. The presentations may include notifications, information based on sets of values of service metrics, and/or other information. In some implementations, the values of the service metrics may have been determined after completion of a particular event. In some implementations, the values of the service metrics may have been determined during a particular event duration for the particular event. In some implementations, presentation component 122 may present sets of values of service metrics for at least two of the individual quick service restaurants that have participated in the same event. In some implementations, the presentations may include information determined by analysis component 124, and/or other components of system 100. In some implementations, the presentations may include information based on determination by analysis component 124, and/or other components of system 100.
In some implementations, information determined by award determination component 116, generated by award notification component 120, and/or otherwise created or obtained by system 100 may be stored in electronic storage 128. For example, analysis component 124 may compare results for a set of events spanning months or years. In some implementations, results for a single quick service restaurant may be compared among multiple contests. In some implementations, results for multiple quick service restaurants may be compared among one or more contests. For example, an award for greatest improvement of a particular service metric may be awarded to the quick service restaurant having the greatest change in the value of the particular service metric when comparing before and after a particular contest, or when comparing multiple dates (such as, e.g., a month or year apart).
In some implementations, server(s) 102, client computing platform(s) 104, and/or external resources 126 may be operatively linked via one or more electronic communication links. For example, such electronic communication links may be established, at least in part, via a network such as the Internet and/or other networks. It will be appreciated that this is not intended to be limiting, and that the scope of this disclosure includes implementations in which server(s) 102, client computing platform(s) 104, and/or external resources 126 may be operatively linked via some other communication media.
A given client computing platform 104 may include one or more processors configured to execute computer program components. The computer program components may be configured to enable an expert or user associated with the given client computing platform 104 to interface with system 100 and/or external resources 126, and/or provide other functionality attributed herein to client computing platform(s) 104. By way of non-limiting example, the given client computing platform 104 may include one or more of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a tablet computing platform, a NetBook, a Smartphone, a gaming console, and/or other computing platforms.
External resources 126 may include sources of information outside of system 100, external entities participating with system 100, and/or other resources. In some implementations, some or all of the functionality attributed herein to external resources 126 may be provided by resources included in system 100.
Server(s) 102 may include electronic storage 128, one or more processors 130, and/or other components. Server(s) 102 may include communication lines, or ports to enable the exchange of information with a network and/or other computing platforms. Illustration of server(s) 102 in
Electronic storage 128 may comprise non-transitory storage media that electronically stores information. The electronic storage media of electronic storage 128 may include one or both of system storage that is provided integrally (i.e., substantially non-removable) with server(s) 102 and/or removable storage that is removably connectable to server(s) 102 via, for example, a port (e.g., a USB port, a firewire port, etc.) or a drive (e.g., a disk drive, etc.). Electronic storage 128 may include one or more of optically readable storage media (e.g., optical disks, etc.), magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape, magnetic hard drive, floppy drive, etc.), electrical charge-based storage media (e.g., EEPROM, RAM, etc.), solid-state storage media (e.g., flash drive, etc.), and/or other electronically readable storage media. Electronic storage 128 may include one or more virtual storage resources (e.g., cloud storage, a virtual private network, and/or other virtual storage resources). Electronic storage 128 may store software algorithms, information determined by processor(s) 130, information received from server(s) 102, information received from client computing platform(s) 104, and/or other information that enables server(s) 102 to function as described herein.
Processor(s) 130 may be configured to provide information processing capabilities in server(s) 102. As such, processor(s) 130 may include one or more of a digital processor, an analog processor, a digital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuit designed to process information, a state machine, and/or other mechanisms for electronically processing information. Although processor(s) 130 is shown in
It should be appreciated that although components 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, and/or 124 are illustrated in
In some implementations, method 200 may be implemented in one or more processing devices (e.g., a digital processor, an analog processor, a digital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuit designed to process information, a state machine, and/or other mechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or more processing devices may include one or more devices executing some or all of the operations of method 200 in response to instructions stored electronically on an electronic storage medium. The one or more processing devices may include one or more devices configured through hardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designed for execution of one or more of the operations of method 200.
An operation 202 may include receiving, through entry and/or selection by the event administrator via the user interface, event information that defines an event. The event information may include event timing information, event participant information, and event objective information for the event. Operation 202 may be performed by one or more hardware processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to interface component 108, in accordance with one or more implementations.
An operation 204 may include initiating the event, through the user interface for the event administrator. Initiation of the event may effectuate sharing of the event information with the individual quick service restaurants participating in the event. Initiation of the event may effectuate determinations (from the event start date, during the event duration, at the individual quick service restaurants participating in the event) of individual sets of values of the one or more service metrics. Initiation of the event may effectuate presentations on individual user interfaces associated with the individual quick service restaurants of the individual sets of values of the one or more service metrics determined during the event duration. Operation 204 may be performed by one or more hardware processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to event component 110, in accordance with one or more implementations.
An operation 206 may include obtaining event-specific results from the individual quick service restaurants participating in the event, subsequent to completion of the event (or a round of the event). The event-specific results may be based on the individual sets of values of the one or more service metrics that have been determined during the event duration. Operation 206 may be performed by one or more hardware processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to metric component 112, in accordance with one or more implementations.
An operation 208 may include generating notifications based on the obtained event-specific results. The notifications may be transferred to the individual user interfaces associated with the individual quick service restaurants that have participated in the event. Subsequent to the generation of the notifications, presentations may be presented on the individual user interfaces. The presentations may be based on the notifications. Operation 208 may be performed by one or more hardware processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to event notification component 114, in accordance with one or more implementations.
In some implementations, a system as described in this disclosure may be used for customer-oriented businesses that are not quick service restaurants, provided there are defined moments an instance of service being provided starts and ends. Stores, pharmacies, medical offices, and/or other types of customer-oriented businesses may measure service durations and used these measurements to define service metrics and/or other metrics, which may in turn form the basis for the definition of time-limited events, a ranking order, one or more user interfaces similar to the user interfaces described above, one or more awards, and/or any other entity or object described herein.
Although the present technology has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be the most practical and preferred implementations, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that the technology is not limited to the disclosed implementations, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it is to be understood that the present technology contemplates that, to the extent possible, one or more features of any implementation can be combined with one or more features of any other implementation.
