The world is changing slowly, but definitely! What was considered a luxury yesterday, has lost value in the modern “new world”. People are struggling to make ends meet and there’s no other industry like the restaurant industry that’s been brought to its knees, to say the least!

But as they say, there’s a rainbow after every storm. And while we wait for the rainbow on the other side, it’s important to stay strong, positive and keep showing up!

Despite being the worst affected of all the industries, the Restaurant Industry has been quick to adopt and adapt the technological solutions to keep the financial wheel turning. With online ordering, delivery, takeaway, and curbside solutions in place, restaurants have been able to generate a decent amount of revenue, enough to stay afloat during the crisis.

If you have been one of the adopters of the online ordering technology in the recent months, or finally decided to amp up your existing digital set-up, there are a few changes that you would need to make to your online ordering system to gain customers’ trust, as well as ensure staff safety at all touchpoints, in 2020 and beyond!

Go Cashless!

Cash is no longer the king. Currency notes go through rapid changes of hands that can cause serious health hazards in the current virus-prone environment. People are encouraging the use of digital payments to minimize human contact and that’s better for you, your staff as well as your customers.

With contactless ordering as a solution being offered by most online ordering platforms, including Restolabs, most restaurants, and third-party aggregators have already removed or disabled cash on delivery option from their ordering system.

As a restaurant owner, your native website and the mobile ordering app should offer multiple payment options, including the popular Paypal, Stripe, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and other similar e-wallets to make the payment process quick and easy for customers.

Facilitate Contactless Delivery

Since the dawn of the pandemic outbreak, restaurant owners have been stressing on contactless delivery to protect both customers and company employees at the same time? Contactless Delivery simply means that the delivery person will drop the package at the doorstep of the customer and leave the premise. The customer can pick up the order thereafter. This ensures no-contact between the parties involved.

This can prove to be an effective method to break the chain of spreading the virus. To effectively implement contactless deliveries, contact your delivery service or if you have your own fleet of drivers, get in touch with the existing online ordering system provider to set up the safe-delivery system.

Optimize Menu for Delivery

Sunnyside up or poached egg for breakfast delivery? Not really a good option, considering how bad eggs can smell when not fresh. Your delivery menu cannot be the same as your dine-in menu. Make the changes so your customers don’t feel disappointed when their food doesn’t arrive looking or tasting the way they hoped.

We recently did an article on How to Run an Off-premise Restaurant, where we discussed menu engineering for the delivery-only model in detail. Check out the post here and start planning the new, improved menu.

Say no to discounts!

This is not the time when you roll out discount offers to increase order volume! Every order that your restaurant is receiving these days counts, and to receive it in full-price would help you in so many ways - primarily, keeping the kitchen stocked and running. So forget about giving discounts in 2020. Your customers are not even looking for it. They want to help you. They want to support your business.

Rather, focus on dishes and meal kits that can be prepared with minimum ingredients and sold at a reasonable price. Read the blog here that talks about menu trends in 2020 and how restaurants are shifting to creating budget-friendly dishes for today’s budget-conscious customers.

There you are! The above-mentioned solutions are mandatory in the COVID-struck world, and would also stay relevant in the post-COVID world. Just like Work from Home, online food buyers are going to get accustomed to online ordering and digital payments, leading to a bigger and much wider market for the Restaurant Industry in the future. Letting go of the opportunities to capture the growing segment of customers is only going to cost you your business, not far from today!

So make the changes today to prepare your business for tomorrow!

Good Luck!

Looking for an online ordering system that supports contactless ordering? Get in touch with Restolabs now!