With the advent of new technologies, the customer experience has greatly evolved, as have consumer habits. Today, restaurant and bar customers have several options for enhancing their experience: online ordering, home delivery, click and collect, menu consultation via QR code, ordering by phone and now payment at the table. Let’s take a look at this latest option, which offers numerous advantages for both customers and those in charge of catering establishments (restaurants, bars, food courts).
What’s more, given the current labor shortage in the catering sector, this solution appears to be a lifesaver.
How payment at the table works
Payment at the table is a new approach to cashiering, and takes the form of digital payment via QR code. Just as customers can access the digital menu and order at the table from their smartphone by scanning a QR code, they can pay the bill and tip the waiters in the same way.
Depending on the pay-at-table services offered by the restaurateur, customers then have the option of paying their bill with their credit card, a dematerialized ticket-restaurant card, Apple/Google Pay, or any other authorized payment method.
Diners can choose to pay all or part of the bill, select the products they wish to pay for, or share the bill equally.
As soon as the bill is settled, the receipt is automatically generated and the table is closed on the restaurant’s cash register software.
The benefits of pay-at-table for restaurateurs and bar managers
While paying at the table seems to benefit customers first and foremost, staff are also particularly concerned by this revolution in room service.
Improved team productivity
During their shift and in the midst of the rush, waiters have to juggle taking orders, dealing with requests from the kitchen, serving and cashing up. For optimum efficiency and to reduce customer waiting times, it is then necessary to recruit more staff, and to give up a little on customer relations.
Pay-at-table greatly enhances team productivity, allowing waiters to focus solely on serving and accompanying customers. It eliminates non-value-added, time-consuming tasks that make the job less relational.
This dynamic can then have an impact on team retention.
Greater table rotation
Collection is often a step that slows down service. Customers have to wait at the table or cashier to pay their bill, and waiters are limited by their obligations and the number of payment terminals available. Digital payment is an interesting solution for freeing up tables more quickly. Table turnover is up 10% with pay-at-table.
No more tips for waiters
With payment by cash register, and especially by credit card, customers don’t necessarily think about leaving a tip. With digital payment at the table, it’s easier to tip from your smartphone when the option is offered. On average, employees receive 2 times more in tips when they pay at the table, which contributes to staff recognition and professional commitment.
A higher average shopping basket
Coupled with order-taking by telephone, payment at the table enables a 15% increase in the average basket, thanks to suggestions and highlighting of flagship products. Indeed, customers who order and pay at the table tend to consume more.
In addition, orders are more numerous (+20% with payment at the table), because the menu is always available, and the customer doesn’t have to call a waiter and wait until he’s available to satisfy a new craving. They are free to order and pay on their own.
Hygiene measures perfectly respected
Finally, with the pandemic, hygiene measures have never been so stringent, and no-contact has become the norm. Payment directly on the smartphone is one of these measures, limiting the use of the bank terminal, the exchange of money and contacts. This solution can also be a hygienic approach much appreciated by customers.
A solution to the labor shortage
Pay-at-the-table is one solution to the labor shortage. Even if recruiting staff remains the primary objective, being able to provide services at this time of recovery in tourism and with the summer vacations approaching, remains a major challenge. Pay-at-table is the answer, thanks to the time savings and improved productivity it brings.
What’s more, it takes no time at all for customers and staff alike to get to grips with the technology.
The benefits of pay-at-table for customers
Offering restaurant customers the option of paying at the table is also a way of improving the customer experience, as the benefits of such a solution are also numerous for consumers.
A playful new digital table experience
Novelty always attracts attention, and payment at the table is yet another innovative technology that many customers will be curious to use. More than just a novelty, payment at the table refocuses customer relations on real exchanges between customers and waiters. The staff, relieved of a tedious operational aspect of their job, can then concentrate on the relationship, and contribute to a customer experience that’s both fun and more sincere.
Less waiting, more customer satisfaction
During their shift and in the midst of the rush, waiters have to juggle taking orders, dealing with requests from the kitchen, serving and cashing up. For optimum efficiency, it is then necessary to recruit more staff, and to do without customer relations.
Greater autonomy for customers
The great advantage of pay-at-table is that it gives customers a high degree of autonomy. He’s free to manage his own bill, paying and tipping as he sees fit. They no longer need to wait for a server to become available, and can take advantage of great payment flexibility. Customers can choose their method of payment, but also divide a bill equally between all the people at the table, choose to pay only for their own menu, or pay for all the drinks…
This great autonomy is a definite asset, especially for customers in a hurry at lunchtime, or during busy services. All customers need is their smartphone to scan the QR code and pay for their meal.
Payment at table by DOOD: a personalized experience in the restaurant owner’s image
With its fully-integrated offering, including order-at-table and pay-at-table, DOOD enables customers to personalize their entire customer journey, offering them a unique experience. The restaurateur is free to choose the graphic rendering to suit his image. The customer evolves in a unique environment, specific to the restaurant, and benefits from a digital experience that is fully integrated into the dining experience.
For the professional, DOOD’s pay-at-the-table offer and comprehensive digitalization packages provide a “data-driven*” approach, enabling you to manage your online business in its entirety with the help of performance reports. The restaurateur can then track the evolution of his sales, the number of orders by consumption mode, the average basket, and identify the best customers and the best products.
Telephone order-taking: an essential complement to payment at the table
DOOD offers more than just payment at the table, with telephone order-taking. A complete solution for redefining the customer experience in restaurants and bars, smartphone-based table ordering with payment reinforces all the benefits outlined above: less waiting for the customer, time saved per table, reduction of time-consuming tasks, refocusing of teams on customer relations, increased sales, a menu accessible at all times.
Would you like to offer your customers a unique digital experience and a tool that improves your employees’ daily lives? DOOD supports you by launching payment at the table and multiple options for digitizing your catering service.
* Data-driven: a data-driven approach to management. To find out more, read our article on data management to boost local business.