Curbside Pickup & Online Ordering: Adapting to the “New Normal”
In the face of COVID-19 and social distancing, restaurants have two options: close their doors and hope to recover once the pandemic has passed, or move to pickup and delivery operations only. Any full-service operations would be putting the safety of your staff and your customers at risk.
Thankfully, the same technology restaurant owners utilize for full-service operations can be adapted while restaurants are forced to limit the scope of their operations, meaning that sales can continue to flow while continuing to protect the safety of employees and customers alike.
Online and Digital Ordering During COVID-19 Social Distancing
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, online and digital ordering had been taking hold of the restaurant industry. Now more than ever, it’s critical that restaurants adopt this technology in order to keep their doors open and continue to operate.
Third party online ordering solutions enable customers to send orders directly into the preparation queue. And though customers have the option to use cash or pay at pickup, this software also comes with the ability to allow for online payments. With this streamlined ordering in place, customers and employees can significantly reduce or even eliminate face-to-face interactions, reducing the risk of contracting a virus and keeping everyone safe.
On top of that, online and digital ordering offers added benefits, streamlining production and cutting back on prep times by sending orders directly from the customer to the kitchen. Because customers can enter their own orders and check for errors without the need for employee assistance, you can enjoy increased accuracy without increasing labor costs.
Tableside Payment Solutions Transform into Curbside Pickup and Delivery Solutions
It’s critical that in this time of social distancing, business owners do whatever they can to prioritize the safety of the public. Because the virus is so easily transmitted through tiny droplets of mucus that are expelled when infected people exhale or cough, it is a top priority to limit the face-to-face interactions between employees and customers. Many restaurants are ramping up efforts to further this cause by adapting the same technologies used for in-house dining and repurposing them for use off the table.
Tableside payment solutions like rugged tablets and other devices equipped with payment processing software and peripherals can be leveraged to process payments curbside for pickup orders or at the door for delivery operations.
Many restaurants are requiring all orders for pickup to be placed and paid for online or via tableside (now curbside) payment solutions to completely eliminate the risks of spreading the virus between customers and employees.
Put the right technology solutions in place
In order to weather this COVID-19 storm—both the virus and the lingering economic aftershocks—restaurants need to put the right technology solutions in place that allow them to maximize profits as much as possible while maintaining employee and customer safety. Thankfully, NCC has your back, offering a variety of restaurant solutions that help increase revenue, improve order accuracy, and collect useful customer data to make more informed business decisions. To learn more about how restaurant owners can leverage our digital ordering systems while they adapt to thrive in this uncertainty, contact the industry experts at NCC today!
