As home delivery and online ordering of food continues to be on the rise, it is critical that any restaurant providing this service maintain certain standards and procedures to ensure the customer experience of receiving the food via delivery is comparable to that of the customer dining at the restaurant. Whether the restaurant uses a delivery management software or has manual systems in place to monitor the entire delivery process, consistency is key.
Listed below are a few points that will help take your restaurant’s food delivery game up a notch:
1) Follow a standard delivery procedure: A standard delivery procedure needs to be maintained whether you are providing delivery from an in-house fleet or outsourcing delivery to third party vendors. Maintaining consistency is key and can only be achieved if your restaurant is following proper procedures. Ensure your kitchen staff are well coordinated with the delivery team to avoid delays or other customer complaints. Ensure that the deliveries are delegated to drivers as per their experience and familiarity with delivery areas.
2) Maintain consistent quality: When customers order food online, they expect the same quality that they would get if they were dining at the restaurant. Ensure that the food is securely packed, remains fresh, and contains all the required accompaniments. If there is a possibility of the order being delayed or a particular menu item becomes unavailable, be sure to inform your customer well in advance, so as to provide a better customer experience.
3) Be cautious of third-party delivery service providers: There may be times when your existing fleet of delivery drivers might not be able to match the pace of rush hour delivery orders or cover a certain delivery radius. Partnering with third-party restaurant delivery partners like Zomato, Deliveroo, UberEATS, will allow you to ensure customers receive their orders in a timely manner, and will bring added exposure to the brand, allowing the restaurant to cater to a much larger audience via the vendor’s database. However, this comes at a cost and the impact on the business’ profitability must be thoroughly analysed before choosing to partner with such vendors.
4) Maximise your social media efforts: Through location-based target marketing, restaurants can target customers in areas where they deliver. This can be done via the restaurant’s social media page. The most common and definite way of running these ads is by offering discounts, coupon codes or other promotions to diners within the delivery area. This allows the restaurant to reach out to new customers and make them aware of the brand, and encourages existing customers to revisit the restaurant.
5) Create a customised app for your restaurant: White labeling your restaurant app will not only speed up the ordering process for your customers, but will also help you push through new products and promotions. A standalone app of the restaurant can help you maintain a database of your customers, keep track of their order history, organize special events / dates / anniversaries and will enhance the overall customer experience. When the app is being developed, ensure that the user interface is kept simple and that the app is compatible with all operating systems, easy to use and updated regularly.
An efficient food delivery infrastructure can go a long way in creating a positive image of your restaurant, in your customers’ minds. For customers who are unable to dine in, getting food delivered is the next closest thing to experiencing what the restaurant has to offer, at the customers’ convenience. This itself should encourage restaurants to improve their delivery services, without compromising on food quality.
If you’re interested in how to improve the food delivery service of your restaurant, you can reach out to us at Ribbon Consulting. You can also write to us at info@ribbon-me.com or call us at (971) 4360 5758.
