Eateries are not like restaurants although they are in the same category of an eating establishment. What separates them is that restaurants are usually tied to a certain cuisine, they may offer fine dining, they serve dishes that have a gastronomic history. However, an eatery is traditionally home cooked meals done really well. They’re comfort food to the masses. A notable example if Swiss Chalet which serves meals that you could happily cook at home, but the chain does it in a special way that keeps customers coming back. No one would confuse Swiss Chalet with one of Gordon Ramsay 3-star Michelin restaurants now, would they? If the meals you offer are delicious and remind people of meals they grew up eating, and have fond memories of, why not allow them to bring your food home? Not only could this increase your profits and reach but it creates a flexible service that leads to expansion and growth.
Bringing it home
If you want people to bring your food home, you need a system that allows them to do so from your website. A click and collect method has been achieved successfully by many franchises. Even if you don’t wish to do delivery, you can use a system such as a waiting line for online orders. A customer is given a number and they adhere to a queuing process. They can order what they want and the kitchen will receive their order just as it does for customers that are eating inside your establishment. The customer will be kept up-to-speed with regards to if they’re order is in the kitchen and when they can come to collect it in person. If you send their ticket number and details to your smartphone app, all they need to do is show it to cashier upon arrival to verify who they are and which order is theirs.
The ordering system
You are an eatery but you are not a fast food chain. It’s prudent to remember that as you go on to create your ordering system. Take pictures of your menu items in your establishment so customers online get the sense of how the dishes are supposed to look. They also get a backdrop of what your place looks like and it sets the mood nicely. Just like a basket for any other online business, the menu items stack up and await the customer at the checkout page. Once they ready, you can ask them to pay online. A merchant payment process such as a payment service provider is going to connect the dots for you to make sure purchases and payments are made. The PSP will need to be connected to your acquiring bank. Whatever credit card is used online the PSP will take the customer’s sensitive information and run some security checks before contacting the issuing bank. The IB will then confirm the purchase and the confirmation is given to your website. After this process which takes just 3 seconds, the customer can drive to your eatery and collect their items.
Eateries are homely, they specialize in making food that reminds us of good times. But if you want more business than your establishment can physically handle, a click and collect system will help you massively to grow to your full potential.
