What ordering apps do you need to operate your post-lockdown pub?

 

What ordering apps do you need to operate your post-lockdown pub?

 

 

App store With uncertainty in the air around how and when pubs are likely to be allowed to open and under what rules, one thing is definitely certain - technology will play a huge part in kick-starting the return to business. Traditionally, technology and pubs have maintained a somewhat awkward relationship, with a large number of companies struggling to find traction with innovative solutions to push the sector forward. However, necessity is the mother of all invention, and the corona crisis has prompted operators to take a long hard look at their businesses and seek solutions in a wide range of new areas. As a result, app technology is looking likely to have finally come of age in the UK on-trade as operators seek innovative solutions to help provide security and safety to staff and customers alike as we all adjust to the new normal, post-Covid market. One of the UK’s more innovative operators summed the situation up recently, in an interview with The Morning Advertiser ​(MA​).

 

 

 

Nick Collins said his business was now starting to change: “He added: “We are looking at ways in which the consumer might, perhaps evolve, change and how we can best change anything within our business to look after them better. “One of the things we have looked at in the past is order-at-table apps and decided they weren’t something we wanted to introduce but now we are looking at that a little bit more closely.” In the past, ordering apps will have had to face an uphill struggle from operators reluctant to cut back on the interaction and operational resource at the bar, while consumers remained reluctant to change their habits as well – table ordering? In a pub? Heaven forbid! The crisis has changed all that and consumers will now be actively seeking the operators that are embracing this technology to create a comfortable ordering process for nervous customers.

 

 

As a result, the MA​ has teamed up with a number of ordering app providers to the market place to provide a round up of some of the solutions available to operators looking to embrace the new opportunities the market presents them... Sort-It​™​ Post lock down, operators will need to reassure customers that their health and well-being are the operators top priority if they are to win back trade over the competition, says John Sanderson of Sort-It™. Customers need reassurance that they will not have to join queues to take a table, jostle for attention at the bar or queue for the toilets. Reduced turnover will mean fewer staff, who will take those table orders?

 

 

How will I maintain my service levels? How can I manage the toilets? This is where Sort-It™ steps in to provide an order at table solution. Unique toilet request management prompts staff to implement your hygiene system in between visits and simple phone touch screen menus provide a friction free ordering process, the only thing they need touch is their own mobile. Sort-It™ displays a live running count of customers helping you remain inside your risk assessment capacity and can display customer messages i.e: Frequent hand washing recommended. Requiring only Wifi or the customer’s own mobile phone data, there are no fiddly apps to download, Scan a QR code and Sort-It™ ‘opens’ a secure table that no one else can charge to without permission. Orders are placed by selecting from menus that are time and day driven meaning that the correct menu is always on show (Breakfast before 11am and lunch after 12pm) – allowing you to save time –

 

 

 

 

no more trips to switch and wipe down menus. Use your existing till and kitchen printers or adopt card pay at table, the choice is yours, setup is easy and straightforward and assistance is at hand. A simple flat monthly fee is charged based on the number of tables you serve, starting from £25 +VAT per month. As lock down eases more tables can be added and you can move between price plans. There are no additional commission charges for cards or charges related to your turnover and your sales data remains private and is not shared. Easy to set up, free trial and no charges until UK bar opening date - be prepared - get ahead of your competition visit www.Sort-It.co.uk​ App2table​ The digital menu and table ordering app, app2table, is the latest addition to the portfolio of apps from Image Retail Solutions, aimed at helping hospitality and retail businesses adapt to social distancing, post-lockdown. Patrons can order food and drink at the table, through the app, with orders being sent to waiting staff on their phones or tablets. When the order is ready to collect from the bar or service area, the customer is notified. As payment is all handled through the app, there is no need for staff to deal with cash or pin pads, reducing physical contact and the risk of infection. App2table can be used as a standalone solution, or fully integrates with supported hospitalityEPOS systems uk to provide direct transaction entry to the POS. The app also supports home ordering for delivery and click & collect, for those establishments already offering, or are considering to offer, those services. Businesses can register on the app2table app to be included alongside other registered businesses for customers to find, or the app is available as a white-labelled product for businesses to exclusively brand and licence as their own app in the app stores.

 

As pubs and bars across the UK plan and prepare for reopening, there is much that remains uncertain,” says Richard Carter, co-founder of OrderPay. “But one thing for sure is that with distancing measures in place and hygiene and safety front of mind, the way in which we drink and dine out will have to be markedly different. “OrderPay is a hospitality ‘super app’ that supports a sector-wide coalition of leading eating and drinking out businesses across 6,000 venues. OrderPay technology provides a seamless ordering and payment experience, with no location or table number entry required. Payment can be made immediately or automatically taken on departure, with the option to split the bill before or after ordering. “The ground-breaking order and payment app includes a number of innovative features that will be key for venues once trading resumes, including the following: Leveraging beacon technology, the app automatically identifies where customers are sat in a venue, facilitating easy ordering and table service, minimising person-to-person contact OrderPay ‘re-skins’ and locks the app to a specific brand as a customer crosses the venue’s entrance, so only your brand’s menu is accessible when in venue, eliminating the need for consumers to download numerous apps “OrderPay has already partnered with leading operators such as Stonegate and Drake & Morgan, as well as developing OrderPay Lite, a version of the app which is tailored for leased and tenanted pubs. The app will be available from July to coincide with the reopening of pubs and bars.”

 For more information, visit: https://www.orderpay.com/​ Tabology​ With Tabology’s OrderTab a new customer can place an order on their phone as quickly and easily as ordering at the bar, the company says.

 

 

 

 This is achieved by removing all of the barriers in the ordering process – there is no app to download (OrderTab is web-based) and no registration needed. Customers simply scan a QR code and can immediately browse a menu and place their order. The table number can even be incorporated into the QR code, skipping the need to select a table. Payment options include Apple and Google Pay so no card details need entering and payment takes seconds. All of this means a first-time user can place an order in less time than it takes to download an app.