While vaccinations against COVID-19 are becoming more and more widespread, the pandemic isn’t quite over yet. Even months after widespread vaccine rollout began, the Delta variant is causing cases to increase in nearly half of all U.S. states. Because of this, it’s still important that people maintain as many safety precautions as they can, especially when out in public.
Businesses need to stay mindful of safety procedures as they continue to serve the public, and restaurants especially need to be careful. Food handling is a particularly unpredictable industry when it comes to the spread of diseases, as it often involves close contact between workers and customers.
Because of this, contactless ordering has risen dramatically in popularity throughout the pandemic, delivery especially. Customers spent an estimated $435 billion on online food ordering throughout 2020. The pandemic also caused many restaurants that didn’t already have one to implement an online ordering system, whether it was for delivery or in-person pickup.
But as the pandemic winds down and eventually ends for good, should restaurants continue to offer existing and even new contactless ordering systems? The answer is yes. The benefits of contactless ordering makes it a boon to any business, both now and in the future. Let’s go over some of the safety benefits that contactless ordering provides.
Customer Safety
If your customers don’t feel safe ordering from your restaurant, they’re not likely to give you any business. Younger, healthy customers may not pay much attention to the safety implications of going to restaurants during the pandemic, but over 16% of the U.S. population (or well over 52 million people) are 65 or older, putting them at higher risk of COVID-19 complications.
According to the AARP, restaurants are some of the germiest public places to go, so many older adults will think twice before going out to eat at a full-contact restaurant. Giving them the option of contactless ordering — whether it’s through an online order-ahead system or an in-restaurant solution like a self-ordering kiosk — can help older customers feel safer and stay safer by limiting their contact with employees to a minimum.
With traditional ordering methods, customers stand somewhat close to an employee to tell them their order. Even when that isn’t an issue (such as in the drive-thru, where customers can order over the intercom), normal payment methods require the customer to either handle cash and receive change, or give the employee their payment card and then take it back. Several parts of the traditional ordering process require unnecessary, as well as unsafe, contact.
Employee Safety
Every employer wants their workers to feel as safe and comfortable as possible when they work. Contactless ordering can provide just as much, if not more, protection for employees as it does for consumers.
Restaurant employees, especially those that take orders and work the register, can serve dozens or even hundreds of customers each day. McDonald’s alone serves 68 million customers every day. With so much exposure to customers, front-of-house employees may feel unsafe and vulnerable to catching diseases like COVID-19.
By using contactless ordering, employees can spare themselves hundreds of close interactions per shift and drastically reduce their chances of catching any diseases, giving them peace of mind and body.
Health Safety Beyond the Pandemic
The benefits and safety of contactless payment serve a purpose beyond just now, during the pandemic. The same measures that people take now to protect themselves against COVID-19 also reduce the spread of other diseases. Flu cases were at an all-time low during the 2020 season, as people were socially distancing from each other.
This means that by using contactless ordering and payment, your customers and employees are less likely to get sick from any communicable disease than if they’re face-to-face with one another. Keeping customers and employees away from one another leads to less employee sick days, and more happy, healthy customers.
The safety benefits of digital ordering can especially be beneficial to people with immune disorders, who may be at increased risk from diseases like influenza. Minimizing human contact can help these people feel especially safe patronizing or working in your restaurant, which is good for business.
Financial Safety
In addition to keeping your personnel and customers safer, contactless ordering makes your whole business more secure and efficient. Cashiers can make mistakes when inputting orders or taking payments that can end up costing your business money, whereas contactless ordering means the customer can directly communicate their order to the kitchen and use their preferred payment method. This nearly eliminates any chances of mistakes or payment mishandling.
In addition, contactless ordering just makes for better business. Employees not having to take orders in the front-of-house means more efficient work can be done in the back-of-house, making your service faster and more accurate. This helps keep your customers satisfied, which keeps them coming back for more.
Implementing contactless ordering and payment into your restaurant’s business model helps your establishment stay modern and competitive, helping to ensure thriving business for years to come.
Conclusion: Better For Everyone
All of these safety benefits to contactless ordering and payment systems means there’s practically no downside to implementing it. It’s something that many customers have come to expect every restaurant to have throughout the pandemic, and they’re not likely to stop using it anytime soon.
Contactless ordering gives you the chance to keep your customers and staff safe while also helping boost your business’s revenue. So what’s stopping you from using it?