Food Modifications Research
• Qualitative Data Research Report •
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Plug-in App for Google
• Figma Prototype •
Preview of Prototype
See research and prototype below.
Process
I conducted Qualitative Research via interviews with participants who work in the food industry and/or are customers who make food modifications regularly. I then created Personas, identified 3 main Pain Points, wrote a Problem Statement with If/Then Statements for solution ideation, and designed a prototype via Figma.
Summary of Findings
All participants expressed a feeling of stress surrounding the topic of food modifications at restaurants. Staff expressed food modifications often times slowing the restaurant "machine" down. While customers expressed, incorrectly made food is dangerous, disappointing and irritating.
Design Goal
How might we create a clear mode of communication between restaurant and customer that will increase peace of mind and reduce stress during the food ordering process.
Research
I conducted 5 Qualitative interviews with participants who; make food modifications and/or work at a restaurant.
Participants
3 • Female
2 • Male
2 • Restaurant Staff
1 • Restaurant Staff + Food Modifier
2 • Food Modifer
Personas
Customer
Goals
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Eat delicious & healthy food that fits within their dietary restrictions
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Stress free food ordering
Frustrations
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"I worry that if I make too many food preference requests some disgruntled employee may spits in my food”
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“The meat being added made it inedible for me”
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“it cost more to be gluten free, so that's definitely a barrier for me.
Sam
"Going into a new restaurant I’m a little on heighten anxiety until I can calm down and know there's something safe on the menu."
Age:
Education:
Hometown:
Family:
Occupation:
50
Bachelors Deg
Palo Alto, CA
Partner and 2 kids
Project Manager
Scenario
While on a road trip I stopped at a local restaurant. When asking the waiter about gluten free options due to a health condition called celiac, the waiter laughed and said, “are you some kind of a health nut?”
Server
“If this isn’t made right, I’m going to get my ear yelled off?"
Alex
Goals
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Create a welcome environment for customers
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Convey customer’s orders to kitchen staff
Frustrations
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”With complex customizations we might say ‘hey were supper backed up right now its going to take a little bit longer is that still ok with you?’”
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"The more modifiers you at to your drink the less efficient were able to add it into a sequencing"
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“She was like 'how can you not just change the chicken out for tofu that you have on your menu?' and I was like I dont know and im not the one doing it, so please stop yelling at me."
Age:
Education:
Hometown:
Family:
Occupation:
Scenario
Alex was on hour 7 of an 8 hour shift and was very ready for their day to be over! While taking deep breaths, Alex walked over to a family's table grasping the pen and paper ready to scribble down the order. When suddenly one of the toddlers began to cry. Which caused the parents to begin quickly rattling off the whole family’s complex order in one long breath while rocking the crying toddler.
27
Some college
Portland OR
Parents & 2 Brothers
Server at Diner
Pain Points
1 • Customers & staff stressed about food modifications.
There is a stress around the topic of food modifications coming from both customers and restaurants. Both expressed stress around the communication in the ordering process with fear of miscommunication resulting in correct food and upset customers. Along with fear of negative retaliation such as; staff sabotaging food or customers yelling at staff.
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“When I feel like I'm going to be embarrassed, I reduce my requests to the minimum… In the early days we used to get laughed at or looked at funny like what are you vegan, what is gluten free? … I also worry that if I make too many food preference requests then, you know some disgruntled employee who's having a bad day, maybe says F you, or I hate to say spits in my food or something like that. I just always worry that there might be retaliatory things, passive aggressively... I used to worry that they would do something to our food. I wasn't sure it was safe." (P1 • Customer • Gluten & MSG Free)
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“If this isnt made right I'm going to get my ear yelled off…. A lady was very mad about it and she was like 'how can you not just change the chicken out for tofu that you have on your menu?' and I was like I don't know and i'm not the one doing it, so please stop yelling at me." (P3 • Restaurant Staff • Vegetarian)
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“I think there can be a social factor too. You try not to worry about what other people think of you… I don't want to be 'that guy' thats ordering all this extra stuff sitting there being a burden on the restaurant and everyone else waiting to place their order, so there's a little bit of that, the social factor,." (P5 • Restaurant Staff)
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“Definitely, the team feels stress with customizations... if it's multiple and if it's during rush or if it's all at the same time… Like the people who order 4 of the same Frappuccino, that's a lot easier than the people who order 4 Frappuccino and they're all different. Because you can make the same frappuccino in the same blender if it's the same kind, but if they're not then you have to make 2 separate blenders and sequence your drinks that way and it takes longer." (P4 • Restaurant Staff)
2 • Loosing trust when communication fail.
Customers have practiced strategies to correctly communicate their food modifications to restaurant staff. When the customer's food order is prepared correctly with their modifications they are truly delighted and become loyal customers. But, when the order is not prepared correctly, they loose trust in the restaurant and never return.
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“I really do have a strategy here, when I get to the wait staff, like when i’m in a restaurant, I will just say to the waiter, everything we order; gluten free, everything we order; dairy free, or everything we order; no tomatoes, whatever the thing is. or everysauce; on the side. I just say it at the very beginning and then they know to add it to everything… repeat myself (verababy in a restaurant) or do a double check on an app. Before I hit pay I always do a double check on the order." (P1 • Customer • Gluten & MSG Free)
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"If I think they're going to get it wrong or not listening properly, i'll repeat myself, have them repeat the order or i'll repeat the order myself.” (P2 • Customer • Gluten & Tomato Free)
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“I have to use the app, how the app is designed. And if the app doesn’t have modification options and I need to make a modification, I will not order there and I'll go on to the next app.... if i can't find anything or if it gets frustrating to find something then i'll go onto the next restaurants app.... or if i get frustrated with the app I may call up the restaurant, and if they can take my call that's great, but if not then it's the next restaurant." (P2 • Customer • Gluten & Tomato Free)
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“The fact that the restaurant can remove that text box all together for the entire order I think is a huge problem… if there are no text boxes at all and I can't customize anything because sometimes it would be a matter of asking for no meat on something and I can't do that. So its defitally swayed me away from a place because I can't order what I would like to or just ask for no chicken on something." (P3 • Restaurant Staff • Vegetarian)
3 • Lack of clarity creates confusion.
Both Customers and staff crave clarity when it comes to food modifications. Customers expressed scanning for known abbreviated languages (V=Vegan, Veg=Vegetarian, GF=Gluten Free, etc.). Without known abbreviations, the staff is forced to make assumptions on how to prepare the food and customer spend more time searching for food that may fit dietary needs.
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”Sometimes i'm not sure if I'm adding bacon or taking it away, like does this mean I'm going to get double bacon or i'm going to get no bacon?” (P3 • Restaurant Staff • Vegetarian)
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“One of my favorite apps is Jimmy Johns… Under each thing it does that thing where it says add or subtract or whatever. So you click a certain item and you can do: no, little, normal, or extra, so it gives you all of these options and you know that you're going to get it right because the way it ends up being printed out is correct.” (P3 • Restaurant Staff • Vegetarian)
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“I always look for the gluten free symbol." (P2 • Customer • Gluten & Tomato Free)
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“I wish when you clicked on it, it was very obviously saying gluten free or vegan.” (P4 • Restaurant Staff)
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"I wish these restaurants would tell me what the best food for me is based on my food preferences, because otherwise I'm having to scroll through all the foods, when really only %10 of the menu is even acceptable. Especially for an online takeout ordering menu." (P1 • Customer • Gluten & MSG Free)
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“I would want them to save my food preferences... they know my credit card, if they could know my food preferences I would be happy to share that with them." (P1 • Customer • Gluten & MSG Free)
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"It would be nice to have some kind of, call it "Google profile" saying that this profile follows me on the internet when I go to apps, and that profile has my food preferences in it... either highlight it or cross out things that are not in line with your food preferences. (P2 • Customer • Gluten & Tomato Free)
Problem Statements + If/Then
Customer
Problem Statement:
Sam is a person with dietary restrictions who needs a way to communicate their dietary needs clearly because the food is not edible if it’s made incorrectly.
If / Then:
If Sam can clearly state their food preferences, then, inedible food will not be wasted, and the restaurant may become a regular spot for Sam.
Server
Problem Statment:
Alex is a busy server who needs a way to clearly understand and relay customer needs to the kitchen staff because the incorrectly prepared food results in upset customers
If / Then:
If communication is clear, then no food will be made incorrectly.
Figma Prototype / Sketches
Creating Profiles
Users can add Food & Flavor Preferences for themselves and their household and/or friends. When viewing menus the user can quickly turn the Food presence plugin on and the app will highlight the best menu options based on their pre-set filter preferences. Users can edit preferences at anytime.
Wireframe: Managing Profiles
