Let us rewind our lives by a couple of years. We had taken a lot of things for granted. We were only worried if an egg could outperform Kylie Jenner on Instagram and were wondering why they left a coffee cup in the sets of Game of Thrones. The worst fear that we had was if people would storm area 51!
The fourth month of the year 2020 changed everyone’s perspectives about the world and everything about it. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a lot of thriving industries and businesses to a screeching halt with no foreseeable ray of hope in the near future. The impositions on social distancing and interactions meant that any social gathering and any business that revolves around social gatherings had to be shut down.
Perhaps one of the most affected industries was the restaurants. Restaurants enjoyed a multi faceted relevance before the pandemic. In addition to the surface utility of providing food, they also doubled up as places to meet, celebrate, and even propose to your date!
The lockdown time saw a lot of restaurants being shut down and even some of the most reputable restaurants suffer in spite of getting home delivery orders. It cannot be denied that restaurants offered more than just food - They offered dining experiences.
The Aroma Of Hope
Whether or not COVID-19 has lost its bite will remain debatable but a lot of countries have issued orders to re-open restaurants. Although some countries have lifted all possible restrictions when it comes to restaurant dining, people still have their share of inhibitions as the inertia of the coronavirus fear still remains.
Some restaurants have risen to the occasion and have implemented a lot of changes and improvisations to their dining operations. Some of them have even augmented their production capacity, so they can cater to the increase in the number of home delivery orders. It looks as if there is light at the end of the tunnel with the possibility of restaurants regaining their old glory becoming brighter with every passing day.
The Steps Taken By Restaurants
As much as life is too short to learn from the mistakes of others, it is short to learn all the remedies by yourself. Given below are a few steps that you can implement to maximize the efficiency and profitability of your restaurant during these testing times.
Socially Distant Seating
It has been found that prolonged social exposure is one of the reasons for people contacting the coronavirus. When restaurants implement socially distanced seating, people become more comfortable and confident in visiting the venue.
Allowing a seat a gap between individual diners and a table gap between groups of diners is recommended. You can even install dividers between seats to increase the magnitude of safety. You can even consider creating separate booths to promote family dining experiences.
Contactless To The Maxx
Human hands might have a variety of applications but touching unnecessarily it’s not one of them… And this restriction extends even to surfaces. Every possibility of physical contact has been effectively replaced. For example, the menu can be accessed by scanning a QR code on every table. Some restaurants have even digitized and automated their order mechanism. The payments can be handled by versatile payment gateways that can accept multiple payment instruments.
While “physical contact“ cannot be completely eliminated, some restaurants have hands-free doors, trash cans opened using feet, gesture-sensitive light buttons, and movement sensitive doors that open and close by themselves for washrooms.
Keeping The Ambience Warm… Literally! (Air Quality)
Cold environments aggravate the possibility of viral disease and more often than not, cold temperatures are maintained by insulating the restaurant premises from the outside environment. By maintaining better temperature and better air quality, restaurants can make sure that customers are always in a cleaner place. The availability of air purifiers and air quality checking instruments make it possible and practical to maintain good air quality.
The “warmth“ is not confined to just the ambience but also extends to the attitude of the restaurants. The staff who serve customers need to be more humble and friendly, so the reduced number of guests at the restaurant do not leave your place and badmouth about you by quoting their experience. It is to be remembered that if all what people wanted was food, they could order from your restaurant and not visit your place!
Cost-Optimization
It is quite known that buffets might not bring profit if they do not meet certain number targets. Since the numbers are bound to be low in the post pandemic era, it is recommended that your restaurant ditches the buffet option and confines itself to à la carte dining. You can even consider removing items from your menu if they take a long time to prepare unless they are your signature dishes. You can even consider creating a menu that focuses on immunity.
Alternatively, you can invest in creating adequate handwashing and hand sanitizing stations. You need to ensure that your restaurant has a steady supply of handwashing soap and alcohol-based hand sanitizers. You can even make standard masks available for your customers.
Staff Training
The efficiency of your staff plays an important role in optimizing your costs. The knowledge of your waiters with respect to the items ensure that orders are placed faster and without any discrepancies. Professional chefs ensure that the food does not compromise on taste, health, and quality, leading to less instances of food being returned. The quicker the tables can be cleaned, the easier it is to accommodate the next set of diners.
When we talk about optimizing cost, it also implies that some budget should be set aside either to train or to recruit knowledgeable and proficient staff.
Spot Pick-Ups
It would not be an exaggeration to say that pick ups and home delivery orders have become the major revenue drivers for restaurants. While restaurants are opening up, they should not forget that a considerable chunk of revenue can come from pickups and delivery requests. Therefore, restaurants should have a proper pick up mechanism like drive-thru lines, advance ordering, digital money transfers, and possible customization.
Concentrating on pickups and deliveries while still keeping the dining atmosphere congenial will ensure that you get the best of both worlds!
Customer Checkpoints
Checking the temperature of customers when they enter into any business location has become an everyday affair. Restaurants should also incorporate these ideas to ensure that they do not entertain any customer who has obvious symptoms like fever.
Although on the surface, it might seem like a deterrent, it surely helps in assuring customers that you comply with the safety norms.
Conclusion
Technology is expected to play an important role in the transformation or more precisely, the evolution of restaurants, so they can be the “fittest“ to survive in the new normal! Technology is expected to provide solutions with respect to food delivery, food ordering, and payments. These apps are also expected to bring rich data, so restaurants can make intelligent business decisions.
If you would like to be the new age restaurant well equipped for the new normal, you will need to invest in restaurant delivery app development. You can get in touch with the company that specializes in restaurant app development solutions, so you can load your arsenal with the features and tools it takes to conquer the indomitable goal of profitability in these testing times!