Dive Brief:

• Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores is implementing gamification technology at its partnering restaurants as a means to boost operational efficiency, according to a company announcement.
• The system features three 27-inch monitors placed throughout the restaurants. These devices track key performance metrics like greet times, order processing and how long food handoff takes. Performance metrics are compared across the company, with top performing locations receiving rewards.
• Love’s is investing more than $2 million over the next five years to bring this system to its c-store network. Every new location moving forward will be equipped with this technology, the company said in its announcement.

Dive Insight:

Love’s first tested its gamification software in “a little more than a dozen restaurants” last year, a company spokesperson said in a statement to C-Store Dive. This initial rollout helped the retailer “test and refine the process,” the spokesperson noted.

According to the announcement, Love’s hopes this new technology will transform the way it serves its customers and engages its employees. On average, gamified restaurants provide service 11 seconds faster than traditional locations, the company said.

"By incorporating cutting-edge technology, we can better engage our team members while optimizing the customer experience,” Joe Cotton, vice president of food service for Love’s, said in the announcement. “Our customers have an appetite for convenience when they are on the go. This solution cuts down customer wait time and gets drivers back on the road quickly.”

Love’s also said it hopes that the competition between stores that this technology promotes will enhance each location’s performance. Employees at top performing locations can earn badges for reaching various milestones, hitting sales goals and promoting self-development, according to the announcement.

Love’s has hundreds of restaurants across its c-store and travel center network, including Arby’s, Denny’s, Hardee’s, Subway and Taco Bell. The team at one of those restaurant partners, Carl’s Jr — available at 41 Love’s locations across the country — is already a fan of the gamification system.

"The gamification software helps us meet brand standards and contributes to our speed of service," Tanda Hopper, restaurant manager at Carl’s Jr., said in the announcement. "It engages my employees and creates healthy competition between our store and others — we're always trying to get the top rank!"

Oklahoma City-based Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores owns more than 640 locations in 42 states, as well as 430 truck repair locations, and has more than 39,000 employees.