How to Get Customers to Follow Safety Precautions in Your Restaurant
If you own a restaurant, you are doubtlessly eager for things to return to normal.
Fortunately, most states are taking steps to begin opening the economy back up in the coming weeks. As exciting as this is, it’s important to remain cautious.
You don’t want to risk customers getting infected at your establishment. Here are a few things you can do to keep safety your top priority as government restrictions relax.
Continue to Encourage Pickup Options
Pickup (aka takeout) is a great way to show customers that you are taking the current situation seriously, while continuing to offer delicious food. You can make pickup easier when you add online ordering options to your website.
As you begin to open your diner, don’t abandon pickup options. Many of your customers will have become accustomed to the convenience of pickup and may wish to continue using it. Others may still be concerned about visiting a busy establishment and wish to continue maintaining social distancing. You may find that it is economically advantageous to make pickup a permanent option. You can encourage people to continue using pickup by offering deals exclusively for meals that are picked up.
Remind Customers about Pickup, Takeout, and Online Ordering
You need to continuously remind customers of safety protocols so your employees and other customers can remain safe.
- You should have signs posted as visual reminders. There are several ways you can make your signs and safety notices stand out better at your restaurant.
- Attach reminders to your menus and table advertisements to ensure that they get seen.
- Whenever a server approaches a table to take an order, have them give a short reminder about safety as part of their introduction. They could say something like, “In order to keep everyone safe, we ask that you keep to your table and avoid walking too close to other parties.”
Space Out Tables
Due to the losses you have recently experienced, it can be very tempting to want to fill your dining area with as many customers as possible. This would be a very dangerous thing to do. A crowded restaurant is the perfect place for the virus to spread. You can safely seat your customers if you remove some of your tables and spread your seating out.
If you have a large party come in, greet them personally, apologize for the inconvenience, and ask that they split into smaller groups to be seated. Make sure that you
sanitize between each customer.
It’s important to realize that not everyone is going to appreciate your efforts to keep your customers safe. Some customers may complain about delays caused by your protocols. However, this will be a vocal minority. The majority of your customers will greatly appreciate everything that you are doing to provide quality service in such a difficult time.
As restaurants begin to open back up, it’s important to make sure the customers continue to have a stellar experience when they check out. Watch a video demo today of our outstanding POS system!
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