How digital technology can improve your season with fewer staff

The current economic climate, with inflation, rising wages, energy and raw materials costs, and staff shortages, means that you need to find solutions to ensure your services and maintain a viable business.

Closing for 2 days a week, or for lunch or dinner, reducing your menu, offering fewer premium products – these are all operating decisions you’re considering or have already made.

Digital is also a solution! Complementing your teams and business tools, it optimizes your activity and makes you more efficient.

Discover the 5 digital solutions and their advantages for a successful season

1️⃣: Online booking

With online booking, you receive your booking requests from your website, your Google My Business listing or from your social networks. And the benefits are many:

you know your filling in advance,
you anticipate your services, you don’t overbook,
you optimize your inventories because you know what you need to cover your needs,
you can see at a glance how full your room is, and optimize your services,
you fight against no-shows,
centralize your reservation management: no more notebooks, no more oversights,
you receive reservation requests even when you’re closed,
you have your customers’ contact details and can build up a customer file.

Online booking seems obvious, but not everyone offers it yet!

Solution 2️⃣: The digital QR Code menu

With the digital menu by QR code, you can provide your customers with a menu that can be consulted on their smartphone by simply scanning a QR code, affixed directly to the tables.

You reduce the demands on your front-of-house team, and need fewer staff to provide service,
you sell more because your menu is always available to your customers,
you highlight the products with the highest margins,
your menu is always up to date,
modify your menu in 3 clicks, from one day to the next, according to your business and profitability needs,
you reduce your costs by eliminating those of paper printing,
all for an experience that will keep your customers coming back for more!

Quick to set up, the QR code menu is also easy to use on a daily basis!

Solution 3️⃣: Ordering and payment at the table

Ordering and paying by smartphone is one of the most efficient ways to deliver your services with fewer staff:

you eliminate the order-taking and payment steps that waste 15 minutes per table,
you turn your tables faster to increase your fill rate (+30% on average),
you increase your sales (+25% increase in average ticket),
you increase your team’s tips,
your customers can share the bill and pay independently.

Everything you need to know about payment & ordering at the table.

Solution 4️⃣: Click & Collect

Over the past 2 years, click and collect has become increasingly popular in the foodservice sector. If the COVID context was a gas pedal, your customers are still used to it.

You sell your takeaway offer online,
you sell pre-orders in advance to anticipate and rationalize your inventories,
you sell even when you’re closed,
reduce your need for front-of-house staff on certain services.

Now a must for customers, offering click & collect is a guarantee of additional revenue. If you’ve already got a takeaway, it’s time to get started!

Solution 5️⃣: Delivery

The explosion of delivery services over the past 3 years is proof that your customers are asking for more: +85% of orders will be delivered by 2021! You can deliver to your customers via delivery platforms, via partners like Stuart or with your own fleet.

Maintain your margins with proprietary or partner solutions.
Increase your sales opportunities by expanding your catchment area,
you reach customers who are unwilling/unable to travel,
you can only deliver certain services when you’re short-staffed.

Delivery is a channel you can no longer neglect, especially as affordable in-house delivery solutions are available.

3 preconceived ideas to forget!

1- The long set-up ⌛

Wrong! You’ll need between 24 and 72 hours to get your digital menu, online booking and ordering modules, and even your own e-shop.

2 – It’s too complicated ????‍♂️

Wrong! The solutions are easy to use, with an administration interface accessible by telephone, easy-to-use functions and local support. Really. This is the case at DOOD, which develops solutions that anyone can easily use, from anywhere, on the move, on a smartphone or computer.

3 – Customers don’t want digital in my restaurant ❌

Wrong! Digital ordering will account for 470 million visits by 2021, and 57% of digital orders will be made by 18-34 year-olds. You won’t destabilize your customers, you’ll position yourself as an innovator and you’ll reinforce your brand image.