Star Micronics

Author: Dinesh Saparamadu

  • Provide a Touch-free Experience to Your Dine-in Guests with Contactless Digital Menus

    Provide a Touch-free Experience to Your Dine-in Guests with Contactless Digital Menus

    One of the major concerns for restaurant dine-in was the use of traditional (printed) menus because they are found to be the dirtiest thing on a restaurant table. Guests are hesitant to touch these traditional menus and also the CDC regulations have made it clear that disposable menus should be provided. But printing disposal menus are not ideal given the rising costs. Restaurants are quickly pivoting by offering their guests a touch-free experience with contactless digital menus/QR menus.

    Why Contactless Digital Menus?

    1. Contactless is here for the long haul

    The global pandemic has literally been life changing. More than ever, society is concerned and obsessed with their health. With COVID-19 cases still surging guests are looking for more ways to go contactless to protect themselves from the possible contact with the virus. These measures are even more heightened when it comes to ordering food at the restaurant. Therefore, contactless digital menus are ideal for restaurants like yours to adapt to.

    2. Cost-effective

    If you are going for disposal menus, a single paper menu, uncoated, in black and white print costs about 50 cents. If you are doing over 100 for lunch and 100 for dinner that’s $100, adding up to about $3,000 a month. QR menus are very cost-effective. You only have to print and place the table tents on the table and this can be used for a more extended period of time. 

    3. Easily accessible

    Accessing the menu is as simple as scanning the QR code from their phones or tablets, and then accessing the web page to place their orders.

    4. No app download

    With QR menus or digital menus, guests do not need to download heavy apps to their phones. They can simply place their orders online through a web URL.

    5. Flexible menu updates

    Restaurateurs can instantly add, edit, and delete menu items and update item descriptions. If the menu is updated once, it updates on every menu scanned.

    6. Attention with images

    Traditional menus do not have images mostly because it is costly to print high-quality images on paper. But with contactless digital menus, you can have mouth-watering images to make customers want to order more. Having images help them decide what they want, which therefore makes their ordering process easier.

    7. Less wait-staff assistance

    Wait-staff can be re-allocated to add value to other parts of the business. When orders are placed through contactless digital menus, the order can be sent directly to receipt or kitchen printer.

    8. Cashless payments

    Guests and staff do not have to handle cash. Cash being passed from hand to hand and can be contaminated, and compromises the safety and health of both customers and staff. 

    9. Re-ordering

    Guests can re-order their favorite dishes, or a beverage refill without having to wait for the staff approach the table, and eliminating more human contact.

    10. Quicker table turns

    With seating capacity reduced to allow tables to be placed at least 6 feet apart, restaurants are not getting their normal amount of guests, resulting in less revenue. Contactless digital menus increase the speed for ordering and payment and so you can turn more tables and increase the potential for revenues.

    11. Collect guest information and traceability

    You do not need to manually take down customer information. With contactless digital menus, the guest will have to input their information to complete their order.

    12. Run targeted campaigns

    Ordering through contactless digital menu captures guest information like email, contact number, etc. This helps you run future targeted marketing campaigns such as email campaigns on your latest offers, SMS on going discounts, and more.

    How to get Contactless Digital Menus/QR Menus?

    When you sign up for a demo with Applova, the team will get in touch with you to set up contactless digital menus. This can be ready in a couple of days. The Applova team will build the menu with enticing food imagery. Then the team will also provide you with a free marketing pack to launch contactless digital menus at your restaurant. The marketing pack would include customized table tent designs with QR codes on it for each table (each QR code will carry the table number so that the restaurant staff can easily track the table that made the order).

    How is the process contactless? How does it work?

    When you get your table tent designs, you can print them and place them on each table.

    1. Your dine-in guest scans the contactless digital menu to view the menu on their phone or tablet.
    2. They can select their food and beverages
    3. Tip the waiter and make their payment online
    4. Orders will be directly pushed to the POS and printed in the kitchen printers
    5. When the order ready, the order will be sent to the correct table.

    To wrap it up, ever since the wake of COVID-19 restaurants are quickly adapting to contactless digital menus. These contactless digital menus are hygienic and easy to roll out. They are cost effective, environmentally friendly, engaging to customers and they are mobile-optimized, simple to search and navigate. They are easy to update instantly. Adapting to contactless digital menus is a new experience for guests and it is now the way of dining life. 

    Access Contactless Menus with Applova

  • How Your Restaurant Can Implement Curbside Pickup During the COVID-19 Crisis

    How Your Restaurant Can Implement Curbside Pickup During the COVID-19 Crisis

    While many businesses are struggling to keep their doors open due to the current COVID-19 situation, it’s possible that restaurants have a much better chance to sustain their revenue and reduce operating costs. Why? Because people everywhere still have the need to eat and would love to continue to order from their favorite restaurants if they are provided with a safe opportunity to do so. To meet this need, restaurateurs can introduce methods of takeout with minimal human interaction for their customers, such as curbside pickup.

    So how exactly can you do this? The first step is to choose an online ordering provider that provides a website and mobile-responsive app which allows you to quickly roll out curbside pickup services. What exactly does that mean? Customers will be able to order their favorite meal remotely through a mobile-responsive website or app, pay online through a secure payment processor, and select a delivery method (to-go, delivery, or curbside pickup). When the curbside pickup option is selected, the customer can drive to the restaurant’s parking spot and have the restaurant’s staff deliver their meal to their vehicle.

    Sounds nifty doesn’t it? By offering curbside pickup, you offer many benefits to your customers. Here are three main reasons your customers will love curbside pickup:

    1. No Human Interaction During the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Many governors have warned the public about how human interaction is a key reason why the COVID-19 virus spreads. Therefore, customers will likely avoid walking into your restaurant and ordering over the counter. Instead, consider providing them the convenient, appealing option of mobile ordering and curbside pickup. Put yourself in the shoes of the customer for a second: Wouldn’t you like the option to drive up to a restaurant and not even have to get out of the car while the food is being prepared, and then have the meal delivered right to you? Of course, you would!

    2. Simple Pickup and Drive-Off

    Not only will your customers find it convenient to have a curbside pickup option during times of crisis, but they will enjoy it long-term, as well. Think about it – who wouldn’t love the convenience of only having to drive and park near your restaurant to receive food and not have to do anything else?

    3. Guaranteed Line-Buster

    Long lines are something that burden the minds of customers and employees alike. For customers, a long waiting time can be frustrating and for employees, long lines mean extra stress and pressure to place every order correctly in a timely fashion. With online ordering and curbside pickup however, you can stop worrying about having long lines because customers will likely naturally prefer a convenient method of ordering as opposed to standing in line for a long period of time.

    Curbside Pickup Tips

    A few tips you can remember when rolling out curbside pickup are:

    • Ensure that your customers have a convenient location to park in while waiting for their order which is also easy for your staff to find.
    • Enable online payments to make the entire process convenient for your customers.
    • Use appropriate packaging for your food to ensure hot items stay hot, cold items stay cold, and liquids don’t spill about anywhere. Also, make sure the packaging is covered properly with no air contamination.
    • Ensure that pickup happens with as little human interaction as possible. One idea to consider is delivering the items to the backseat so that there is minimal interaction.

    Features to Look for in an Online Ordering and Curbside Solution

    • Custom-Branded Mobile App: A mobile app can be a great marketing tool for your restaurant in addition to being a golden ticket in terms of convenient remote ordering for your customers. With the presence of your mobile application in Google Play and the Apple App Store, more customers will become aware of your restaurant and be tempted to try it. Couple that with other benefits such as being able to offer exclusive promotions to customers, send push notifications featuring special deals, and advertise your entire menu online, and a custom-branded mobile app is clearly a smart business decision.
    • Fully Functional and Seamless Ordering Website: A website serves as a great tool for your customers to order their favorite food from any location, and it can also help to increase customer engagement and publicity. You can also add special offers to your online ordering website, including the latest deals, discount codes, and other rewards. A smooth and convenient ordering option will certainly be something that both you and your customers love and benefit from.
    • Easy and Secure Payment Options: Security is priority when it comes to online ordering. Ensure you choose an online ordering and curbside pickup solution that allows your customers to make their payments in a convenient way, but also through a safe and secure gateway.

    Applova Curbside Pickup

    Applova’s curbside pickup solutions can help you do all the above – and more.  Click here to discover how Applova can help your restaurant stay afloat during these challenging times, while also eliminating wait times, boosting loyalty and customer engagement, and more.

    Curbside Pickup to Sustain Business During COVID-19

    With the slowdown in business due to the outbreak, online ordering solutions provide a great way to sustain your restaurant by providing your customers with the smoothest, safest, and most efficient remote ordering solutions. By providing your customers with the option of obtaining their meals through curbside pickup by ordering via your restaurants’ mobile app or website, you can greatly reduce or remove the need for your customer to spend time physically at your restaurant. It’s truly a win-win for both your business and the customer (and the public at large).

    The COVID-19 outbreak has adversely affected many businesses worldwide, and it’s extremely important that we all play a part in minimizing the impact caused by this virus by using the best measures to offset the reduction in revenue and protect the public’s safety

    Free Resources During COVID-19 & Beyond

    Now more than ever, safety is a priority in retail and hospitality environments. Star Micronics is proud to offer a line of solutions and resources for businesses during this challenging time, designed to keep consumers and employees safe, as well as mitigate business impact caused by COVID-19.

    Visit Our Health & Safety Toolbox

    At Star Micronics, our hearts go out to anyone impacted by COVID-19, either directly or indirectly, especially to those who are sick, to whom we extend our heartfelt wishes for a full recovery. To learn more about what we are doing as an organization to reduce the global impact of COVID-19, in terms of health and business, please click here.

    To browse all of our blog posts covering tips for small businesses during COVID-19, please visit our #StarForSmallBiz blog collection.

    Is Your Restaurant Ready for the Growing Online Ordering Trend?

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