Today’s casual restaurants are more popular than ever with time- and cash-strapped customers. They are gaining favor because they provide the tasty, affordable food that busy diners crave.
Digital ordering with the help of payment processing for quick service restaurants is making this possible.
Speed
While traditional ordering can be complex and time-consuming for staff and customers, its digital counterpart generally involves one exchange. Even checkout can be faster and more efficient.
In the conventional ordering process, a great deal of time and energy is spent with the server describing the various menu items and recording customer choices on smart devices or paper slips.
Additionally, your employee often returns to the table several times to refill drinks, drop off orders, and make sure that everything is going well.
By contrast, digital orders only begin after the patron has entered their preferences into the system, either online or via your smartphone app. Generally, the only interaction occurs when one of your staff members brings the prepared food to the table or curbside.
If you accept online payments, the bill can either be settled in advance or at your physical register after the meal is completed.
Both of these options involve minimal complexity, with less of a need for you to run credit cards or print out checks.
Cost savings
When orders are taken online, through your mobile app, or via a tablet at the table, you can reduce what you need to pay your staff.
You expend significant financial resources to pay your in-person wait staff. In the traditional ordering model, much of their time is spent taking and fulfilling orders.
With online and tableside digital ordering methods, much of this financial burden is lifted. After all, the need to have several servers on the floor at any given time is reduced or eliminated altogether when orders flow into the kitchen digitally.
With digital ordering in place, you can pare down your workforce greatly. Consequently, you will realize significant monetary savings without compromising on the quality of your menu or the service you provide to your valued customers.
Accuracy
Digital ordering puts control in the hands of your customer. This leads to fewer mistakes.
Busy diners wish to be able to tell you what they want from your menu without preamble or delay. Digital methods give them a way to specify their preferences for themselves, including any changes or extras, and information about food allergies.
This increases the likelihood that details will be conveyed precisely and in full to your kitchen staff.
When one of your servers records an order, there is always a chance that they will miss something important.
By contrast, online, mobile, and tableside ordering allows customers to review their choices and confirm them before hitting the “submit” button. As a result, control is in their hands, and confusion and delays are kept to a minimum.
Easy reporting
Digital ordering enables you to capture patron and inventory data in real-time, boosting efficiency and elevating customer experience.
Every time an online, mobile, or tableside digital order comes in, your restaurant's point of sale system instantly captures all of its data. You immediately have access to valuable insights about bestselling menu items, busiest and quietest days and times, and diner preferences.
With just a few clicks, you can harness your restaurant POS’s reporting features to leverage this information to your advantage. Figure out which ingredients you need to order in greater or lesser quantities, and make more intelligent decisions about specials and promotions. You can even use these insights to launch or improve your customer loyalty program and garner more referrals and return visits.
Digital ordering and payment methods have revolutionized how people interact with restaurants. Offering these options at your quick service establishment can significantly enhance your operations.
You'll quickly see the impact as diners respond positively to the expanded services they’ve been looking for.
North is a leading financial technology company that builds innovative, frictionless end-to-end payment solutions designed to simplify and grow businesses of all sizes. From the front door, to the back office, the developer world, and partnerships that expand the payments landscape, North offers proactive, comprehensive merchant services, in-house processing, and more.
