I know the sound of a lunch rush.
I don’t mean the metrics on a dashboard or the ticket times flashing on a screen. I mean the physical reality of it. I know the feeling of working a double shift, closing at midnight, and turning around to open at 6:00 AM. I know the specific panic of having a drive-thru headset in one ear, a support line on hold in the other, and a line of cars wrapping around the building while a POS terminal decides to reboot.
I have spent over 15 years at the intersection of product, operations, and technology. But before I was leading cross-functional initiatives or guiding digital transformation, I was on the floor.
That experience shaped how I view the current state of Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) technology. As we move into 2026, the industry is flooded with innovation. We have AI-driven ordering, automated back-of-house systems, and hyper-personalized loyalty apps. Yet, despite this influx of tools, we still see improved metrics failing to translate into improved realities.
When restaurant tech fails, it is rarely because the code was bad or the idea lacked merit. It fails because it was built in a silo, far removed from the heat of the kitchen.
Let’s look at a scenario that plays out all too often. A brand decides to overhaul its mobile app to improve the guest’s digital ordering experience. The design team creates a sleek new interface that allows for infinite customization—"Mods" galore. The guest loves it. It feels modern, flexible, and responsive.
On paper, this is a win. Digital engagement goes up. Check averages might even increase.
But follow that order into the kitchen. That "improvement" for the guest just fundamentally changed how modifiers are laid out on the Kitchen Display System (KDS). Suddenly, the expo is squinting at a wall of text that doesn’t follow the logical build order of the sandwich. The line cooks are pausing for mere seconds to decipher the request—seconds that compound into minutes during a rush.
The result? Confusion. Food waste. Accuracy issues. And ultimately, a frustrated guest who waits too long for the wrong order.
We tried to solve a Guest Experience (GX) problem without considering the Operator Experience (OX), not realizing they are the same ecosystem. This is the trap of modern restaurant innovation: We optimize for screens without optimizing for the people standing behind them.
The relationship between the guest and the operator is cyclical. You cannot sever one from the other.
For years, the industry has treated these as separate workstreams. We have "Customer Experience" teams and "Operations" teams, often working in different buildings, if not different realities. But in a service environment, the employee experience is the customer experience.
If your technology makes a team member's job harder—if it adds friction, cognitive load, or stress—that tension will inevitably bleed over to the guest. It might manifest as a missing ingredient, a curt interaction at the window, or just a slower speed of service.
Conversely, when we build technology with the operator in mind—when we treat the line cook and the cashier as primary users equivalent to the paying customer—we unlock a seamlessness that no marketing campaign can replicate.
We talk a lot about "human-centered design," but in QSR, that definition needs to expand. It’s not just about the human holding the smartphone; it’s about the human holding the spatula.
My approach has always been to act as a "work therapist" of sorts—bridging the gap between the rigid requirements of technology and the messy, human reality of operations. Trust unlocks alignment. If the operations team doesn't trust that the product team understands their pain, adoption will stall. If the tech team doesn't understand the physical constraints of the kitchen, their solutions will remain theoretical.
To fix this, we need to change how we validate our solutions. "Does it work?" is the wrong question.
If the answer is "no," the technology isn't ready.
To move from reactive tech adoption to proactive value creation, QSR decision-makers should center both guest and operator experiences in every technology conversation. Here are practical steps to consider:
By prioritizing operational empathy and making these practices part of your ongoing strategy, you lay the groundwork for sustainable tech adoption that genuinely improves the QSR experience—on both sides of the counter.
As we look toward the landscape of 2026, the temptation will be to chase the shiny object. We will hear endless pitches about generative AI, robotics, and predictive analytics. These technologies hold immense promise, but only if they are anchored in operational reality.
The winners in the next era of QSR won't be the brands with the most complex tech stacks. They will be the brands that use technology to simplify the complex. They will be the ones who realize that innovation shouldn't just happen in boardrooms or development silos; it needs to happen in conversation with the field.
I don’t claim to have silver-bullet solutions to the age-old challenges of hospitality. No one person does. But I do know that no problem is solved alone.
We need to stop creating solutions for operators and start creating solutions with them. We need to challenge ourselves not to stay complacent with "the way we've always done things," but also to respect the wisdom of the frontline.
Let’s bring our hospitality forward. Let’s talk about the real-world problems we are hearing from brands. Let’s share what is actually working, not just what should work in theory.
The future of restaurant tech isn't about replacing the human element; it's about empowering it. It’s time to ensure that the guest’s seamless digital experience doesn't come at the cost of the operator’s sanity.
Want more ideas and solutions for restaurant operations? Visit our QSR page to see how we're helping teams work smarter.