An estimated 800,000 jobs in Canada’s foodservice sector have already been lost due to the COVID-19 crisis, and now a national movement is afoot to support the industry. A national “Takeout Day” has been declared, in the hopes that Canadians who are able to do so order out a meal on Wednesdays for take-out or delivery from their favourite local restaurants.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic restaurant owners are turning to take-out meals and delivery.
Whether your are a restaurant owner or ordering food for yourself and your family we want to help you in any way we can.
whether you are a restaurant owner.
SERVING TAKE-OUT ORDERS
Here are some tips to give your customers the best experience possible.
1.) Make ordering and payment as simple as possible
Many people are already familiar with online ordering but if your restaurant has not done this before you may not know where to start. We have put together a list of tips and services you can use to help with your ordering process. The first thing you want to do is make sure you can accept orders over the phone by credit card, or through a service such as your bank’s e-transfer options, or a service like PayPal. Next you will want to have a way to let your customers know what you have available, but also to let them know exactly how they can order from you. You will also want to plan out how you will get the food to your customers. If your restaurant has not offered delivery before, you will want to weight out your options, if having a delivery driver makes sense for you. If not, then there are services like UberEats, Doordash, and more that you can work with to get your meals delivered.
2.) Let your customers know what is available and the best way to order.
Engagement on social media is an essential strategy particularly during a time like this. Include a note with their take out order asking your customers to share their meal on social and help support local businesses.
3.) Change up your restaurant layout to accommodate larger volumes of take-out orders if possible
Think of an assembly line in the way you organize your takeout operation to help maximize your efficiency and organization.
Revamp your staffing if needed.
There’s no doubt you will not need the same number of employees as a full-service restaurant requires but you will still need enough to keep you up and running professionally and prepare for a return to more normal operations. Don’t try to do it all yourself.You’ll still need cooks (short order especially), cleaners, order takers and payment processors, delivery staff, and quality control personnel.
