As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate the global restaurant market, many eateries are attempting to adapt to the situation by offering delivery services.
For some establishments that have previously offered exclusively dine-in options, it can be hard to adjust your business to suddenly start delivering your food instead.
Any eatery that is struggling to pivot and move into providing food delivery should check out these practical tips.
Support Your Staff
Adjusting to offering a delivery service will be tough not only for you, as the business owner, but also for your team. As such, you need to make sure that you are supportive and provide them with the assistance they need to produce quality food for delivery to your valued customers.
The first step towards supporting your team is to reassure them that they will be working in a safe environment. Create social distancing plans in your kitchen so that no two staff members are ever in close contact. You also need to make sure that you offer them a clean space to work in, so check out the service offered here to find out how a professional commercial cleaning company can completely clean and disinfect your establishment after every shift.
Communicate With Customers
Your customers will know your business only as a dine-in restaurant, so it’s crucial that you make your diners aware that you are offering delivery services. You also need to share details of how you are going to protect your staff, customers and local community while you continue to serve delicious meals.
To do this, reach out to your customers via your social media pages, and consider taking out adverts on the platforms that you receive the most feedback and interaction on. By promoting your new offering and showing customers that you are still offering them the tasty treat they love, you will be able to entice new and existing diners to order from you.
Optimize Delivery with Food TrucksFood trucks have emerged as an innovative way for restaurants to optimize their delivery business. As a result of the pandemic, many restaurants have had to adapt to delivery services, but not all have the physical space or infrastructure to accommodate delivery drivers. Food trucks offer an easy solution, allowing restaurants to expand their reach and offer deliveries without the need for a physical location. Food trucks can also be positioned strategically to reach different areas of the city, helping restaurants to attract a wider customer base. Additionally, food trucks can be used to test new products or concepts, giving restaurants the flexibility to experiment with different menus and offerings without investing in a new brick-and-mortar location. Food trucks in Tampa are one such example of how restaurants are utilizing this strategy to optimize their delivery business. These food trucks can be found in various locations throughout the city, offering customers the convenience of restaurant-quality meals without having to leave their homes.
Invest In Takeaway Containers
When you transition from serving diners in-house to sending food directly to their door, you need to ensure that you have enough disposable cutlery and takeaway containers. The plates and metal cutlery you use in your establishment will be too fragile, expensive and inconvenient to use for delivery, so it’s vital that you find a supplier of quality takeaway containers.
Once you have found a supplier, make sure that you keep on top of ordering your containers, so that you don’t run out and have to stop delivering. As you are delivering mostly to people’s homes due to the lockdown, disposable cutlery might not be as important as previously, but it is still worth offering it in case essential workers order food to eat while on shift.
Avoid Using Delivery Apps
Delivery apps might seem like a convenient choice for restaurants that are seeking to enter into the food delivery space, but they often exploit the eateries they serve. That’s because they charge extortionate fees for their services and offer poor customer service to restaurants that need support or assistance.
Instead of choosing delivery apps, work with independent delivery companies to put money into the pockets of local people, rather than international corporations. You can use your social media platforms to encourage customers to communicate directly with your restaurant, rather than using an intermediary to order, so that they can support you and keep your establishment open and serving delicious food well into the future.
