Nextep Systems Blog What Now? Delivering a Socially Safe Dining Experience in 2020

Post-Covid Café Operations and Guest ExperienceAs businesses begin the process of bringing staff back to the office, there are many questions about what that means for on-site cafes, and managed food service providers find themselves facing challenges from both sides. Operational issues such as staffing and supply chain problems are more acute than ever.  Add to that COVID-19 concerns affecting the workplace and food service operations, and it is clear that a new approach is needed. As a leader in self-order kiosks and mobile food ordering, here are trends that we at NEXTEP are seeing and delivering on for 2020 and beyond.Fewer workers and social distancing: Many companies are bringing workers back to the office in phases and may not ever be back to pre-COVID occupancy. For the foreseeable future, there will be a smaller population of employees in most offices. The good news is that leaving the workplace for lunch is more challenging than ever, considering local restaurant restrictions and general concerns about leaving and re-entering the office. Given these dynamics, we expect higher percentages of employees dining on-site in the café or picking up prepared food within their workplaces. As employers are encouraging their staff to remain in the building during lunch, there is an opportunity to increase guest counts with higher participation rates. Café hours may need to be extended as companies stagger lunch periods to promote social distancing. This makes self-order technology and mobile ordering a key component of back-to-work for on-site corporate dining in 2020 and beyond.Grab and Go is King: Prior to 2020, the most popular items in many cafes were salad bars and other similar make-your-own offerings. As those items were also often the most profitable items, their loss is a double whammy to operations. How does a cafe replace its salad bar? Our view is that stepping up your Grab and Go game with greater selection and quality is an essential offering that will bring customers back to the cafe. In addition, Grab and Go items complement what the brown baggers bring to the office as well as offer a contactless option for guests not yet comfortable with the person-to-person contact.  Grab and Go items also allow for extended café hours with limited staffing.  Kiosks are socially safer than cashiers: You may already have noticed that the self-checkout lanes at your grocery store are busier than ever. We have also seen a rise in the percentage of guests choosing to use a kiosk, even when a cashier is available. As our knowledge of COVID-19 has increased, many experts believe that the virus is most easily passed through the air rather than through surface contact. Person-to-person contact is the most common method of transmission. Social distancing and masks help reduce COVID risk, but compliance can be difficult to monitor and enforce. Instead, we have found that guests prefer self-order kiosks because they control the environment themselves and risk can be virtually eliminated with frequent hand washing. Using internal accounts such as badge pay can support completely contactless self-checkout solutions. And new technologies such as UV screen cleaners that automatically clean the touchscreen between users and no touch kiosks with motion detection will make guests even more likely to choose self-order options.Online ordering is not THE solution: Online/mobile ordering can be a part of the solution, especially when used with multiple pickup areas. However, relying solely on mobile ordering is unlikely to succeed. Our experience has shown that the best strategy is to offer guests many ways to order, and that remains true in 2020. Online/mobile ordering is most effective with delivery orders where the convenience outweighs the reduction in food quality that often occurs with delivery items. Quick service restaurants have struggled with online ordering because the food quality declines quickly if held only for a few minutes. Many have adopted the strategy of preparing the order only when the customer arrives to pick it up. That works at the drive-thru but significantly limits the advantages in a corporate dining setting. If guests must go down to the café to pick up an order, most people prefer to simply place their order at the café to enjoy the highest food quality possible. Prepackaged items are a little different, but again the desire to see “what looks good today” is strong. We recommend that nearly every client should have the option for online/mobile ordering, but it should be only one part of your overall café ordering solution.Messaging: Just as important as taking effective safety measures is informing guests about new procedures. Newsletters and café signage are key components of getting your message out, but you can include some outside-the-box options, as well. Adding information to splash screens or payment screens can help guests feel more comfortable in your café. Opening up is only part of the challenge -- guests need to feel safe before they are willing to frequent the café.Patience: There is no on/off switch to bring business back to normal. Reduced building occupancy will be a reality for some time, as will the new habits people have developed while working from home. But the same reasons that brought guests to the café in the past are still in play.  Adapting to the new normal and offering the choices guests are seeking will continue to be the path to long-term success.NEXTEP Systems (a Global Payments company) is a leading self-order technology leader for the managed food service industry.  We continue to innovate to enable our customers to thrive in a socially safe environment. If you are looking for solutions for your guests, put our expertise to work for you. Visit www.NEXTEPSystems.com for more information.