Up until very recently, restaurants were amazing places to enjoy food and music with the ones close to you. However, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some are terrified to enter public spaces with groups of people. As restaurants begin to reopen, it is essential that they regain the trust of the consumer by practicing new safety measures that prevent the spread of the virus.
In today’s new world of social distancing, consumers will not want to enter the restaurant at all during the food ordering process. Businesses must ensure their customers that they can still order, pay for, and pick-up food in a manner that is safe, efficient, and accessible. Contactless food ordering is as easy as customers scanning a QR code, ordering food off a menu, and paying with just a few clicks. Contactless food ordering, however, is only the beginning for trust-building.
What actions should be made beyond contactless food ordering?
Beyond contactless food ordering, businesses must also demonstrate to the public that they are taking extra steps towards kitchen safety. For example, some restaurants might mandate that chefs complete a temperature check before arriving at work. Chefs make the most contact with the food that is consumed by the public, so it is crucial chefs are healthy and aren’t showing any signs of COVID-19 symptoms. Those showing symptoms should take off from work. This should also apply to the delivery workers and those who carry the food curbside.
Consumers will be hesitant to order food from a restaurant that can’t prove that its kitchen is spotless and its chefs are healthy. Now more than ever, restaurants must aim to get a health inspection score of over 90 from the Food and Drug Administration, as well as a Sanitary Inspection Grade of an A. These satisfactory levels of cleanliness will attract consumers quickly and garner trust. Restaurants should consider wiping down their kitchen spaces more regularly to avoid any further transmission of infection throughout the restaurant. Although there is currently no evidence of COVID-19 spreading through food, kitchen workers must aim to clean and disinfect all equipment before and after preparing food orders. These hygiene practices will go a long way in winning the trust of customers.
Will restaurants ever gain the full trust of consumers again?
Yes. But it’s not going to happen overnight. The last place consumers want to be right now is in public spaces where crowds can easily congregate. Gaining back the trust of the customer is going to require the effort of all facets of the restaurant business. Waiters and cashiers need to ensure that the kitchens are clean, chefs need to remain healthy and guarantee food safety, and managers need to introduce new methods of food distribution such as GRUBBRR’s contactless ordering system. These new methods are the keys to winning back the trust, and therefore the business, of the consumer for years to come.
