Patent Application
20200334611
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for providing a user interface to employees of a quick service restaurant, and for providing a location-specific user interface to enable gamification for employees of a quick service restaurant.
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 employees of a quick service restaurant. 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 obtain, from a timing (sub)system that includes one or both of a timer and/or a sensor, timing information that represents service durations for individual instances of service being provided at the quick service restaurant. The processor(s) may be configured to obtain event information that defines an event, such as, by way of non-limiting example, a contest. The event information may include event timing information, event participant information, and event objective information for the event. The event timing information 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, the event participant information identifying other quick service restaurants participating in the event. The event objective information may specify one or more service metrics on which the participating quick service restaurants are competing during the event. The processor(s) may be configured to determine, during the event duration, values of the one or more service metrics specified by the event objective information for the quick service restaurant based on the timing information. The processor(s) may be configured to obtain, during the event duration, one or more sets of values for external service metrics. Individual sets of values for external service metrics may correspond to individual ones of the other quick service restaurants participating in the event. Individual sets of values for external service metrics may be based on service durations for individual instances of service being provided at the individual ones of the other quick service restaurants during the event duration. The processor(s) may be configured to determine a current ranking order of the quick service restaurant and the other quick service restaurants for the event. The current ranking order may be based on the determined values of the one or more service metrics and the obtained one or more sets of values for external service metrics. The processor(s) may be configured to effectuate presentation on the user interface, during the event duration, of a representation of the determined current ranking order. The representation may include one or more of the determined values of the one or more service metrics and the obtained one or more sets of values for external service metrics. The representation may further include a visual indication that depicts where the quick service restaurant is currently ranked within the determined ranking order.
Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method for providing a user interface to employees of a quick service restaurant. The method may include obtaining, from a timing (sub)system that includes one or both of a timer and/or a sensor, timing information that represents service durations for individual instances of service being provided at the quick service restaurant. The method may include obtaining event information that defines an event, such as, by way of non-limiting example, a contest. The event information may include event timing information, event participant information, and event objective information for the event. The event timing information 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. The event participant information may identify other quick service restaurants participating in the event. The event objective information may specify one or more service metrics on which the participating quick service restaurants are competing during the event. The method may include determining, during the event duration, values of the one or more service metrics specified by the event objective information for the quick service restaurant based on the timing information. The method may include obtaining, during the event duration, one or more sets of values for external service metrics. Individual sets of values for external service metrics may correspond to individual ones of the other quick service restaurants participating in the event. Individual sets of values for external service metrics may be based on service durations for individual instances of service being provided at the individual ones of the other quick service restaurants during the event duration. The method may include determining a current ranking order of the quick service restaurant and the other quick service restaurants for the event. The current ranking order may be based on the determined values of the one or more service metrics and the obtained one or more sets of values for external service metrics. The method may include effectuating presentation on the user interface, during the event duration, of a representation of the determined current ranking order. The representation may include one or more of the determined values of the one or more service metrics and the obtained one or more sets of values for external service metrics. The representation may further include a visual indication that depicts where the quick service restaurant is currently ranked within the determined ranking order.
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, an 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 timing component 108, event component 110, service metric component 112, external metric component 114, ranking component 116, presentation component 118, result determination component 120, award component 122, feedback component 124, integration component 126, and/or other instruction components.
Timing component 108 may be configured to determine and/or obtain timing information. In some implementations, timing component 108 may be configured to obtain timing information from a timing system 140 (or subsystem) that includes one or more sensors 142, such as, by way of non-limiting example, one or more timers, timing sensors, and/or one or more other sensors. In some implementations, timing information may represent service durations for individual instances of service being provided at quick service restaurant 134. In some implementations, 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, quick service restaurant 134 may be a drive-thru restaurant. In some implementations, the start time may be defined as the moment a vehicle 160 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 vehicle 160 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 vehicle 160 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 vehicle 160 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 160 may include a first vehicle, a second vehicle, a third vehicle, and so forth. In some implementations, individual instances of service being provided at 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.
Event component 110 may be configured to obtain event information that defines one or more events. The events may include a first event, a second event, a third event, and so forth. By way of non-limiting example, the event information may include one or more of event timing information, event participant information, event objective information for a particular 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. 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/or an event stop date, thereby defining an event date range. 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 one or more 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 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. By way of non-limiting example, the one or more service metrics may include one or more of average service duration per instance of service being provided at the 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 the 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 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.
In some implementations, events may be associated with one or more awards that can be awarded to any of the participating quick service restaurants. Some awards may be solely based on one or more service metrics for a single quick service restaurant. In some implementations, an award may be associated with an event. In some implementations, an award may be associated with a performance indicator and/or goal. Some awards may be based on comparing one or more service metrics among multiple quick service restaurants (e.g., all participating quick service restaurants). Some awards may require a combination of two or more (sequential and/or contemporaneous) accomplishments. In some implementations, an award may include an accessory for an avatar or character. In some implementations, an award may be a tag or flair that is displayed or otherwise presented in conjunction with an avatar or character. In some implementations, an award may be to animate the avatar or character with some sweet dance moves. In some implementations, an award may be negative, in the sense that the avatar of a losing quick service restaurant is changed to reflect the shame or sadness of losing (e.g., by wearing a dunce cap, or by an animation of the character making a sad face). In some implementations, event component 110 may be configured to obtain event information from an event administrator, event administrator interface 150, and/or external resource 128.
Service metric component 112 may be configured to determine values of service metrics for quick service restaurant 134. In some implementations, determinations by service metric component 112 may be based on the timing information from timing component 108. In some implementations, service metric component 112 may be configured to determine, during the event duration, values of the one or more service metrics specified by event objective information for a particular event (as obtained, e.g., by event component 110). Determinations by service metric component 112 may be made during and after events.
External metric component 114 may be configured to obtain values for service metrics and/or external service metrics. External service metrics may be service metrics for other participating quick service restaurants. For example, for a first quick service restaurant, the service metrics of a second quick service restaurants are external service metrics, and vice versa. In some implementations, values obtained by external metric component 114 may be obtained during a particular event duration and/or may pertain to services provided during the particular event duration. In some implementations, external metric component 114 may be configured to obtain one or more sets of values for external service metrics. Individual sets of values for external service metrics correspond to individual ones of the other quick service restaurants participating in a particular event. Individual sets of values for external service metrics may be based on service durations for individual instances of service being provided at the individual ones of the other quick service restaurants during a particular event duration. In some implementations, a set of values for (external) service metrics may pertain to services provided during a daily round of competition within a multi-day event. In some implementations, external metric component 114 may be configured to obtain values for external service metrics from an event administrator, event administrator interface 150, and/or external resource 128.
Result determination component 120 may be configured to determine event-specific results and/or round-specific results for one or more events. In some implementations, determinations by result determination component 120 may be based on the determined values of one or more service metrics for quick service restaurant 134 and/or the obtained one or more sets of values for external service metrics for other participating quick service restaurants (including but not limited to determinations based on aggregation, averaging, derivations, etc.). In some implementations, determinations by result determination component 120 may be made subsequent to completion of one or more events and/or rounds of events. For example, assume the service metric is average service duration per instance of service being provided at a participating quick service restaurant. Assume, for a particular event duration, the first quick service restaurant has a service metric of 60 seconds, the second quick service restaurant has a service metric of 70 seconds, and the third service restaurant has a service metric of 80 seconds. In such a case, result determination component 120 may determine that the first quick service restaurant is the winner of this particular event or round. Assume, for the same event duration, the first quick service restaurant serviced 300 vehicles, the second quick service restaurant serviced 400 vehicles, and the third service restaurant services 400 vehicles. If the service metric is number of instances of service provided at the participating quick service restaurant, result determination component 120 may determine that the third quick service restaurant is the winner of this particular event or round. Now assume, for the same event duration, the first quick service restaurant serviced 60 percent of the vehicles within its service duration goal of 120 seconds, the second quick service restaurant serviced 70 percent of the vehicles within its service duration goal of 140 seconds, and the third service restaurant serviced 50 percent of the vehicles within its service duration goal of 160 seconds. If the service metric is percentage of the instances of service being provided for which the service duration is at or below a service duration goal at the participating quick service restaurant, result determination component 120 may determine that the second quick service restaurant is the winner of this particular event or round. In some implementations, result determination component 120 may be configured to determine results based on a combination of multiple service metrics, or by using particular service metrics as conditions to qualify as a potential winner. For example, a particular result may require at least 100 vehicles serviced during the event duration, but may subsequently determine the winner based on the average service duration.
Ranking component 116 may be configured to determine a ranking order of the participating quick service restaurants. Determinations by ranking component 116 may be made during and after events and/or rounds. In some implementations, determinations by ranking component 116 may be based on determinations by result determination component 120. For example, a current ranking order may be based on the determined values of the one or more service metrics for quick service restaurant 134 and the obtained one or more sets of values for external service metrics for other participating quick service restaurants.
Presentation component 118 may be configured to effectuate one or more presentations on user interface 136. For example, presentation component 118 may present a presentation during a particular event duration. For example, presentation component 118 may present a presentation subsequent to completion of a particular event or event duration. In some implementations, presentations may include a representation of a ranking order, including but not limited to a current ranking order determined by ranking component 116. In some implementations, the representation may include one or more determined values of the one or more service metrics (e.g., determined by service metric component 112) and obtained sets of values for external service metrics (e.g., obtained by external metric component 114). The representation may further include a visual indication that depicts where quick service restaurant 134 is (currently) ranked within a determined ranking order. For example, visual indications may include numerals, gold/silver/bronze medals, colors, and/or other visual indications.
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In some implementations, server(s) 102, client computing platform(s) 104, and/or external resources 128 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 one or more networks 13 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 128 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 128, 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 128 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 128 may be provided by resources included in system 100.
Server(s) 102 may include electronic storage 130, one or more processors 132, 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 130 may comprise non-transitory storage media that electronically stores information. The electronic storage media of electronic storage 130 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 130 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 130 may include one or more virtual storage resources (e.g., cloud storage, a virtual private network, and/or other virtual storage resources). Electronic storage 130 may store software algorithms, information determined by processor(s) 132, 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) 132 may be configured to provide information processing capabilities in server(s) 102. As such, processor(s) 132 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) 132 is shown in
It should be appreciated that although components 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, 124, and/or 126 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 obtaining, from a timing system that includes one or both of a timer and/or a sensor, timing information that represents service durations for individual instances of service being provided at a quick service restaurant. 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 timing component 108, in accordance with one or more implementations.
An operation 204 may include obtaining event information that defines an event. The event information may include event timing information, event participant information, and event objective information for the event. The event timing information 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. The event participant information may identify other quick service restaurants participating in the event. The event objective information may specify one or more service metrics on which the quick service restaurants are competing during the event. 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 determining, during the event duration, values of the one or more service metrics specified by the event objective information for the quick service restaurant based on the timing information. 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 service metric component 112, in accordance with one or more implementations.
An operation 208 may include obtaining, during the event duration, one or more sets of values for external service metrics. Individual sets of values for external service metrics may correspond to individual ones of the other quick service restaurants participating in the event. Individual sets of values for external service metrics may be based on service durations for individual instances of service being provided at the individual ones of the other quick service restaurants during the event duration. 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 external metric component 114, in accordance with one or more implementations.
An operation 210 may include determining a current ranking order of the quick service restaurant and the other quick service restaurants for the event. The current ranking order may be based on the determined values of the one or more service metrics and the obtained one or more sets of values for external service metrics. Operation 210 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 ranking component 116, in accordance with one or more implementations.
An operation 212 may include effectuating presentation on a user interface, during the event duration, of a representation of the determined current ranking order. The representation may include one or more of the determined values of the one or more service metrics and the obtained one or more sets of values for external service metrics. The representation may further include a visual indication that depicts where the quick service restaurant is currently ranked within the determined ranking order. Operation 212 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 presentation component 118, 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.
