Accepting Bookings: How To Do It The Easy Way

Ease back into business safely, smoothly and successfully. Eighteen months after COVID-19 first reached Australian shores, the impact the pandemic has had on local businesses cannot be understated. Recurring and unpredictable lockdowns pose a significant issue for every merchant whose product or service offering relies on face-to-face interaction. The culmination of every lockdown comes with an unwelcome wave of uncertainty. Business owners are often faced with questions such as, have I lost regular customers? How much stock should I order? How many staff should I have working at any one time? How do I keep them safe, happy and motivated? Through multiple lockdowns, it’s become clear that forward-planning is key to locking down and opening up safely so you can get back to business as quickly as possible. Here are six actions merchants can take to safely open their doors, when a lockdown ends. 1. Protect your customers One of the best things you can do for your business is to make it a safe and hygienic space for staff and customers alike. For hospitality merchants, this is especially important. Zeller research found diners care more about the COVID-safety policies and procedures in place at a venue more than the price of a meal, or the restaurant's location. To do this, ensure you’re up to date on your local, state, and federal guidelines around capacity limits, masks, and checking in. You may even choose to employ an extra layer of protection by ensuring social distancing at your premises and requiring masks for entry (if this isn’t already a mandated guideline). This could involve rearranging your physical spaces, including creating one-way traffic zones, establishing check-in points, removing furniture, and spacing the remaining items six feet apart. If you haven’t already, it could also be worth installing protective plastic guards to minimise contact between workers and patrons. Many businesses are simply sliding their EFTPOS machine under the glass, to allow for transactions to take place. If in doubt, always check the current guidelines as they can change rapidly. Every business owner has a responsibility to ensure the safety of customers. The consequences of not doing so, both health and financial, can be extremely costly. 2. Rethink ‘business as usual’ cleaning practices Particularly with the contagious nature of the Delta variant, it’s extremely important that all of your physical spaces are regularly (and rigorously) cleaned. Ensure close attention is paid to high-touch areas such as the staff room, countertop, bathrooms, doors and any items that may have been interacted with throughout the day. This is a priceless preventative strategy that will not only instill a sense of safety, but ensure the consequences of high-risk encounters are effectively minimised. 3. Implement regular wellness checks Because the symptoms of COVID-19 largely mirror the common cold or flu, it’s essential that no staff come to work sick, however minor the symptoms. Prior to the pandemic, it was not uncommon for workers to assume that only severe injury or sickness could justify missing a day's work. For this reason, it must be emphasised that even the most minor symptoms are to be treated as a potential COVID-19 infection, which means isolating, monitoring symptoms and getting tested. To ensure your staff feel comfortable missing work, it’s worth reassessing the flexibility of your sick leave policy. Give employees the opportunity to work remotely if possible, communicate that their position is secure regardless of sick days, and emphasise that workers should stay home if they are feeling at all unwell. 4. Keep the lines of communication open The tumultuous nature of lockdowns means it’s not only important to keep your clientele updated on ever-changing opening hours, but also on the services you offer, and exactly what you’re doing to keep your employees and customers healthy and safe. For example, if you run a café or restaurant that now offers contactless delivery or pickup, or a gym owner that now hosts strength classes online via Zoom, let your customers know. This is also your opportunity to strengthen your business's ties to the community. Emphasise what customers' ongoing support means for your business, and educate them on what breaching guidelines could cost you. Remember to remain consistent with your communication platforms. Whether it’s Facebook, email or website updates, it’s important to ensure your customers know where to go when looking for updates. This includes keeping your Google My Business profile up to date with operating hours, menus and services. 5. Consider keeping additional offerings An agile mindset has enabled many merchants to pivot their offering and keep revenue coming into their business — albeit in new ways; fine dining has become finish-at-home meals, while personal trainers have become video coaches. If you pivoted to offer new products or services during lockdown – new delivery options, phone orders, product combinations, or business collaborations – consider hanging on to them as you re-open again, particularly as many people may still be working from home and weeks away from getting back to their usual routine. It can also give you a second stream of income to rely on while your ‘brick and mortar’ revenue recovers. This is also a good opportunity to encourage your customers to continue using contactless services that keep them and your staff safer while the threat of future lockdowns loom. 6. Rethink your standard processes in the long term Unfortunately, small businesses will be feeling the impacts of COVID-19 for the foreseeable future. The good news is that adapting quickly and cleverly can help you persevere during tough times. If you haven’t already, look at your business with a long-term lens and make adjustments that will keep your staff, customers and income protected from the pandemic in the long run. This means investing more in virtual, pickup and delivery services to ensure lockdowns have minimal impact on operations (this includes contactless EFTPOS machines like the Zeller Terminal ). In the same vein, you should also invest more in your digital presence to ensure your audiences and clientele are kept informed and potential customers are presented with a strong first impression. In addition to business services, consider how expanding or changing your product offering could help you fare better in the future. For example, if you run a boutique wine store that has been offering a fortnightly subscription service during lockdown, you could make it a fixture so that customers can make your offering a permanent fixture in their new normal. Suffice to say, we’ve seen enough lockdowns as a nation now to appreciate that restrictions have become a regular part of life, both commercial and otherwise. And while they can be extremely disruptive, we’ve seen some incredible pivots as a result, proving that Australian small businesses are a resilient, supportive and hardworking bunch. Once you've considered the above and applied what's relevant to your business, you'll be in a better position to efficiently reopening your business out of lockdown. Sign up to our Business Blog to cash in on valuable insights sent straight to your inbox.

Decreasing wait times is one of your biggest challenges. Every restaurateur, bar, and café owner wants the hype that can be associated with wait times and queues outside their establishments — making it the local "It Spot". However, queues and extended waiting times can also signify something is amiss with your business. The reality is, diners don’t like wait times. In fact, the tolerance level of the food experience is low when this occurs. As a business owner, you want to work out a way to make the queues flow and minimise wait times — in turn preventing issues such as unhappy patrons, lack of crowd control, low table turnover, and a decrease in revenue. Here are some ideas to assist you in providing a more streamlined and pleasant experience for your patrons, which can lead to a big payoff for your business. 1. Prep the kitchen The kitchen is the engine room of any hospitality venue. The way it's run, and the ease at which food is prepared, can impact a customer's overall experience at your establishment. Reassessing the menu is the starting point in assisting chefs and kitchen staff to ensure the kitchen isn’t a place of chaos and disorganisation. An extensive menu adds stress to the kitchen come service time. Considering limiting the items available and keep it simple — people often like condensed menus, as they aren’t overwhelmed with too much choice. Perhaps also consider including set menus for larger parties, so the flow of service is efficient, and the kitchen isn’t scrambling to have everyone’s individual meals on the table at the same time. Fewer options on the menu can also assist in food preparation. Can the kitchen can pre-prepare any elements? Having the bases of your dishes pre-prepared will free up time in the kitchen and lead to lower wait times for diners. Another way to reduce wait times and better prepare your kitchen is to create signature dishes. As a restauranteur, you want to draw in the crowds by offering something that isn’t available at other cafes or restaurants in your vicinity — or something you're well-known for doing better than the competition. Not only will these dishes give you an edge against other competitors, they will also assist you in predicting the volume of ingredients required and help the kitchen prepare dishes well before the orders start to come through. 2. Take bookings Walk-in-only restaurants can lead to unsatisfied and frustrated would-be patrons, who are either turned away at the door or asked to wait outside for extended periods of time. This is an even greater risk while capacity limits are in place.  Having a booking system is a great way to control your table turnover and manage wait times, both inside and outside the restaurant. Taking bookings helps you manage your business in a couple of ways. It cuts out crowds and wait times, ultimately assisting you to control the flow of your patrons and their overall experience, meaning they have a more pleasant experience and will likely return. Efficient service builds customer loyalty. This can also minimise the likelihood of bad reviews on social media and websites. Bookings help manage table sittings and staffing. For instance, if you have a number of large group bookings, this knowledge will assist you in assigning the proper staff ratio to your patron intake for the night. It will also assist in you having a better understanding of the day-to-day needs of the business. If you want to take it a step further, some businesses offer sitting times. This concept assists in knowing what table turnover will look like for the day. You may want to have a seating time of ninety minutes or two-hour for each reservation, for example. Not sure where to get started? Read our blog about how to make taking bookings easy . 3. Train staff to clear tables efficiently Having properly trained wait staff is fundamental to your business. Training ensures service runs smoothly and efficiently, and leads to your diners having a great experience — ultimately attracting more patrons to your business. Customer service training will also ensure that your staff manage expectations and tend to diners promptly, from the time they enter to the time they leave. When it comes to concluding the diner’s experience, well-trained waitstaff will be able to read the room and understand signals that indicate a diner is finished with their meal. Not only will it be a better experience for your patrons, it will also lead to faster table turnover. Having diners tap their fingers or cutlery whilst they wait for their bill isn’t a good look for your business, or to the other diners. On the other hand, some diners like to linger — and getting them to leave so you can clear the table can be a delicate situation. This is where having the proper training to politely move them on comes in handy. After all, their time is your money. 4. Take payment at the table As a business owner, you know that great service begins from the moment someone walks through your doors to the moment they leave. Taking payment at the table is a nice touch to end your diner’s experience. It also has its benefits for your business, as it reduces the restaurant wait times saving up to nine minutes per table. Portable payment devices also have great features which can assist both waiters and diners . Your staff has the ability to add gratuity prompts and reprint receipts, all in the palm of their hand.  In short, a mobile EFTPOS machine will help staff finalise bills and clear tables faster. The hospitality industry is highly competitive. All of the above can assist merchants in starting a new restaurant, bar or cafe, rebranding an existing venue, or boosting their business. You may also want to consider investing in the latest restaurant technology – such as the Zeller Terminal , that will allow staff to effectively manage payments with ease and convenience for both you and your diners. For more business tips and ideas, sign up to the Zeller Business Blog . Ready to get started with Zeller? Sign up now