Macca’s deploys Aussie voice tech

McDonald’s is communicating with its customers and employees in-store with a new Australian-made innovation.

4/3/19: McDonalds Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Gregory at the Thornleigh McDonalds store. John Feder/The Australian.

McDonald's has deployed an automated audio system to communicate with its customers and employees, and has chosen an Australian tech start-up to handle the job.

Tech company Qsic told The Australian it is reporting a sharp increase in demand for its smart audio platform, which has been deployed by 7-Eleven as well as fast food restaurants like McDonald's.

The Melbourne-based start-up has created an 'intelligent in-store audio platform' that is fully automated, requiring no need for staff interaction.

If the ambient noise within an individual store increases, for example, Qsic's technology adjusts the volume, content and messaging on its own to dynamically target both customers and employees.

“In these challenging times, being able to communicate clearly and concisely with our employees and customers on matters of health and safety remains critical," McDonalds Australia Andrew Gregory said.

“We have since evolved our Qsic partnership to launch our very own audio communications channel across our restaurants, allowing us to share our hygiene and sanitisation practices and the government’s health messages with customers and employees on a daily basis via audio messaging."

Qsic developed out of its founders' original home automation business, Easy Control, which focused on connecting lighting, temperature, audio/visual and security solutions.

Qsic CEO & co-founder Matt Elsley said that communication with customers is key, particularly in a pandemic.

He said that in order to regain and build consumer confidence in the hospitality and retail sectors, customers will need to be informed in real-time.

“In the current environment some businesses may feel flat-footed in their responseduring these uncertain times. Our first reaction at Qsic was ‘how do we support our customers through this crisis?’ The answer was to pivot our technology to facilitate real-time in-store communication, and allow brands to instantly reassure customers and update staff across their network globally," he told The Australian.

"Businesses are going to need to manage behavioural expectations well past any lockdown period – this is the new normal. Qsic has a critical role to play in helping businesses manage these expectations moving forward, by shouldering the heavy lifting for brands through our technology.

"Just like any digital platform that exists, the ability for physical store environments to deliver dynamic content in-store in real-time will become a standard requirement for businesses."