Restaurant operations at Helsinki Airport are fast paced and unpredictable. Customer flows shift quickly, rush hours build in seconds and orders need to move without delay. Watch the video below where two restaurateurs share how average check and overall sales increased immediately after introducing self service kiosks.
The impact on sales was visible from day one
Sake Sushi and Richie’s Gourmet Hot Dogs restaurateur Sandro Riccio highlights the importance of self-service kiosks, especially in terms of customer experience at the airport.
Self-service kiosks have been a really big plus for us, especially with international customers and when the customer doesn’t necessarily speak English. The self-service kiosk makes it easy to order and allows the customer to look at the selection at their leisure, Sandro says.
The location of self-service kiosks at the front of the restaurant is important in an airport environment, he says. Self-service kiosks have made ordering faster and smoother, especially at busy times.
Kiosks are right in front of you, so you can see what we have on offer and what the prices are. Airports are often considered expensive, but we are not. Self-service kiosks help show customers that. Today, almost everyone uses mobile payments. This fits in well with the way people do business anyway, Sando adds.
Staff workload eased and sales increased
The staff like it. Customers place their orders themselves, which gives the kitchen more time to focus on preparing the food. At the airport, customers are often in a hurry, and this helps us keep the rhythm, Sandro says.
According to him, self service kiosks have brought more structure to daily operations, especially during busy hours. When ordering is not limited to counter service, workflow does not bottleneck in one place and orders move more evenly to the kitchen.
“Sales increased from day one.”
The impact was quickly visible in practice, as customer flow could be handled more smoothly without rush affecting the ordering process or food preparation.
Upselling often gets missed at the counter
A second perspective comes from Talha Hanif, restaurateur at Bröner. According to him, self service kiosks are particularly valuable during peak hours, and multilingual support is a clear advantage in an airport environment.
During busy hours, staff don’t always have time to focus on upselling at the counter. The self service kiosk does it automatically, Talha explains.
Higher average purchase with self-service checkout
Talha says both upselling and average check have increased specifically through the self service kiosk.
“Products like sides and drinks were often left out before. The kiosk suggests them as part of the order, and that has clearly increased the average check.”
He also highlights the importance of visual clarity.
Our brand is visible from a distance. Customers can see images of the dishes, what they include and the allergy information right away, Talha adds.
