The chances are that right now, you will be eager to achieve sustained growth for your restaurant – but also worried about whether personnel shortages and escalating costs could imperil your business’s very survival.
These are very uncertain and shifting times for UK hospitality. But what if we told you there was something quick and easy to implement, that will immediately help your restaurant operate more efficiently?
We give you (drum roll please)… table ordering! Also known as “mobile ordering” or “QR ordering”. Yes, we know this is no longer a new concept to most people. Whipping our phones out and scanning a code to order has practically become second nature. So, how could an order-at-table solution could help your restaurant business survive and thrive?
It’s not exactly news that the hospitality sector is currently one of the UK industries in the greatest need of workers. More than 11,000 vacancies were recently advertised on just one jobs site, according to a report in July.
Thankfully, our order-at-table technology represents a digital solution that could help your restaurant operate more efficiently with the staff you do have. Your team members won’t have to manually take orders, thereby freeing them up to thrive in other aspects of customer service.
The industry has also seen that customers may be likelier to tip more when they order restaurant dishes via an app, rather than in person.
Several possible reasons have been suggested for this phenomenon of tips being higher for mobile orders, such as the sheer heightened ease of paying, and the fact that digital payments might not feel as “real” as physical cash to many diners. Regardless, it’s something worth accounting for if your restaurant is thinking about investing in a table ordering solution right now.
Giving your restaurant diners the option of mobile ordering from their table means they can be placing their order straight away, without the need to find and talk to a human being on your team.
That means they can be eating sooner, and leaving early enough to boost table turnovers, allowing you to serve more guests. It makes for a slicker all-round operation that – combined with the higher tips and order values – could support your hospitality business’s growth.
Turn to Slerp for your order-at-table solution, and our split-the-bill feature will further help you keep up a high level of speed and convenience for everyone involved. If you think of the awkwardness with working out who owes what manually, our split-the-bill tech eradicates all of that. Customers have the ability to split the bill evenly or in varying amounts, and even for the customer to send the bill to friends via text or WhatsApp.
Table ordering really comes into play if your restaurant has areas that might not be in constant sight of your employees, like seasonal outdoor seating. Customers can simply get their smartphone out, and scan the QR code on the table, it’s a win win for everyone involved.
They can order through your website or app and have their food and drinks arrive at their table quickly and easily. Eradicating any unnecessary long wait times or trying to capture someone’s attention, their order can be received and processed straight away.
Like us, you’re probably all too familiar with the expense of having to constantly print new menus. And what business wants that cost and agg every time a small change is needed, or they are damaged or dirtied?
Our mobile ordering solution via QR code can end all of that. Embracing tech can be a great way of minimising waste and lowering costs for your business. At the very least, it will almost certainly mean not needing to have a printed menu on every table; you could simply offer one on request to those customers who aren’t able to use QR ordering for whatever reason.
While we’re on the subject of costs, did you know that Slerp’s own order-at-table tech isn’t just super-quick and easy to set up – it’s also extremely affordable? It’s actually free (yep you heard us right) for restaurants that partner with us and already use another order type. You can find more information on our pricing page.
It’s astonishing how straightforward it could be for your customers to order and pay, when they can use a table ordering solution. And of course, the convenience of it all encourages them to come back again and again supporting a restaurant business’s survival and growth.
When it comes to order-at-table systems for bars and restaurants, we can offer the full service here at Slerp – and a comprehensive digital solution. Simply get in touch to get started with the Slerp team.