ISS Germany launches catering app for customers

by Brianna Crandall — December 14, 2016 — Of interest to facilities managers in charge of facilities that include restaurants or commercial foodservice, ISS Germany has launched an innovative catering app, “ISS Frisch,” to improve customers’ dining experiences. The smartphone application allows users to view menus, customize meal planning by adding food preferences, and give the chef feedback on the food.

ISS employee serving a customer

Integrated with ISS’ enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, the catering app allows users to view menus, customize meal planning by adding food preferences, and give the chef feedback on the food.

The catering app was launched in 2016, and has now been rolled out at Hewlett Packard Enterprise at Ratingen, Bad Homburg, and Böblingen, Capgemini in Düsseldorf, and BAUR Verlag in Weismain and Altenkunstadt.

Thomas Korn, director of Catering Excellence in ISS Germany, said:

Each meal we make aims to make people happy, to make their workdays more pleasant. But thousands pass through our restaurants. We can’t stop every person to ask for feedback. This smartphone app allows us to engage our individual customers in a conversation and improve our service without disrupting their day.

The catering app can be installed on any smartphone by scanning a QR-code. Users receive the week’s menu for their particular restaurant, with images, descriptions, ingredients, price, and allergens of individual dishes. They can also set up a user profile with food preferences and restrictions, in which case the menu will adjust to show dishes with appropriate ingredients, improving the dining experience for vegetarians, vegans, and people with food allergies and intolerances.

The “ISS Frisch” app also provides an opportunity for sharing feedback. Users can rate meals on the app and leave comments, giving catering staff the feedback they need to improve the restaurant experience. In addition, the app includes a wish list function, where users can share what they would love to be served in their local restaurant. Finally, through the function called Meet & Eat, people can arrange lunch dates with their colleagues through the app’s integration with Microsoft’s Outlook calendar.

Together, all of these features are designed to bring the catering team and the diners closer together. The app is seamlessly integrated with ISS’ enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, allowing the catering team to funnel customer insights into the established supply and work process.

ISS Germany is also working on a feature that will give users access to recipes as well as integration with a cashless payment system.