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Month: November 2020

Restaurant Operations Manual

Posted on by inresto

Have you started a new restaurant and find it difficult to manage its operations? Are the stressful situations taking a toll on you? Do you find it tough managing the staff and restaurant operations? If you reply affirmatively to any one of the above questions, you are on the right page. Through this blog, we share some tips to help you with the smooth running of the restaurant operations.

Firstly, you need to start maintaining a restaurant operation manual. 

What is a Restaurant Operations Manual?

A restaurant operations manual is a guide that contains a list of all the restaurant activities that are an integral part of the restaurant, such as customer service, food preparation, cleaning, buying raw material, accounting, etc. 

It also has a complete list of guidelines, instructions, and checklists to perform each task along with the employees responsible for it. Make sure to include critical activities such as dining room processes, reservation handling, cleaning instructions/ guidelines, and kitchen procedures in a lucid and easy to understand language. 

Things to Consider While Curating a Restaurant Operations Manual

When creating the restaurant operations manual, remember to jot down how each task needs to be carried, who would be responsible for each task, and make it comprehensive for all to understand. And while you jot these down, here’s what you need to remember:

  • Checklists are easier to understand when jotting down tasks to be carried out. A calendar checklist can help the staff keep a check every hour to know if the task is accomplished.
  • Explain the processes in detail. This will reduce goof-ups and maintain an admirable level of productivity.
  • Make a how-to guide for every procedure. With the exact details jotted down, making mistakes in even the most complex of tasks is reduced a great deal. Apart from that, new personnel can gain better insight and training becomes seamless.
  • Update the manual regularly. You don’t want to be stuck with a process that is ages old when everything else is progressing rapidly. If you introduce a new technology or kitchen equipment, make sure you update it in the manual.
  • Assign two or more people to a single task as a backup. If you intend to specify who will be taking over which task, it is always best to have backups so that one of them carries out said task. This also means that you would need to train them all for the particular task in question.
  • Have every new employee read the entire manual as a norm before they begin practical training.

Keeping all of these pointers in mind will help you create a checklist that is easy to read, understand, and implement while eliminating all chances of things going haywire.

How does a Restaurant Operations Manual Benefit your Restaurant?

A restaurant operations manual essentially works as the go-to book for every problem, allowing employees to rely on the book in the absence of a trainer. The manual will also reduce the chances of goof-ups and improve productivity in the long run. Here’s a list of all the benefits you can reap by having a manual ready:

1. Lowers the learning time of staff

For new staff, learning your restaurant’s operational style takes some time. If, however, you provide them with a manual with all the instructions and guidelines to perform a task, they learn faster. The ready reference document helps in saving a lot of time as your staff trains themselves using the manual. The mismanagement arising due to a staff forgetting their responsibility gets efficiently managed with the use of the manual.

2. All-round employees

The guidelines mentioned in the restaurant operation manual saves you from any embarrassment due to no backup for staff on leave. With the regularly updated manual, employees can perform any task following the clearly defined instructions. The checklists help them to perform any task efficiently. Since the manual makes it possible for staff to perform any task, your employees become all-rounders.

3. Aids in maintaining a consistent standard of operation

Once you have a restaurant manual in place, you will see a visible difference in your operational standards. Since all tasks will follow a given set of guidelines, your restaurant will have a consistent standard of operations. Be it in cleaning, customer service, food hygiene, reporting, etc, a big noticeable difference would be the positive feedback from diners for the consistent service levels. The restaurant would certainly have a better chance at retaining customers with a uniform impressive service.

4. Task delegation gets simplified

With the restaurant operations manual carrying details of the job guidelines and the staff responsible for it, delegating work gets simplified. Each task is assigned the ownership making it easier for you to track the progress. This will also reduce micromanaging without negatively impacting the process.

5. A visible rise in customer delight

The improved performance of the staff along with the consistent operations standard lead to a happy and delightful diner experience. By mentioning how the staff can deal with customer queries and follow-ups, the customer experience is positively heightened. Waiting on the management for directions is no longer necessary and customer interactions are more pleasant when the staff has the right answers.

With the help of an operations manual, restaurants are more likely to ensure consistency and efficiency in the service. By minimizing the chances of mistakes, the manual can improve the quality of service as well as the productivity of the staff significantly. 

To further streamline the restaurant operations, you can make use of some handy and beneficial apps. The inresto Feedback Management app helps you to collect feedback from your diners and take relevant action. The inresto Reservation Management app helps you to handle all reservations and walk-ins effortlessly on a digital platform. The DineIn product of inresto allows you to offer your diners an unforgettable dining experience.

Also Read : Supply Chain Management Guide

Restaurant Loyalty Program Ideas: Re-engage Your Valued Diners

Posted on by inresto

Restaurant loyalty programs are powerful tools for winning new diners and retaining the old ones. In an increasingly competitive restaurant business, building customer loyalty is a momentous task. Happy diners are the key to driving your revenue. Hence, implementing simple, yet effective restaurant loyalty program ideas is an inherent part of marketing strategy. When customers are delighted and surprised by earning rewards, it compels them to make emotion-driven purchases rather than a necessity-driven one. 

Here are five restaurant loyalty program ideas to convert regular diners into your brand evangelists:

1. Spent-based and Visit-based Restaurant Loyalty Program

This program is designed for gratifying your loyal diners based on their total expenditure rather than individual transactions. For instance, the popular coffee chain, Starbucks, made a transition into a spend-based rewards program from a previous transaction-based one in 2016. For you, as a restaurant owner, opting for inresto’s spent based loyalty program will enable seamless management of reward points and also enable you to heighten sales.

2. Design Secret Menus for Loyal Diners

Secret or hidden menus are increasingly becoming popular to entice loyal diners, particularly in quick-service segments. Millennials love the idea of customization and special experiences thereby making this program a highly successful one. Delicious new creations not only build loyalty but also encourage word-of-mouth marketing. However, such programs will only be beneficial if they are combined with good customer service and good training. 

3. Use of Customer Relationship Management for Marketing Campaigns

Integration of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) with the restaurant’s loyalty program will allow you to run personalized email and SMS campaigns. Through technological intervention, you can enhance your brand presence by adopting unique promotional strategies. Using CRM for informing customers about things such as the reward points they need to earn to win a free meal will bode well for your restaurant’s sales.

4. Capitalize on Real-time Motivation

Diners are attracted to real-time incentives rather than prospects of earning rewards in future. For instance, if you offer certain future benefits in return for joining your loyalty program as soon as the diner places the order, he or she may not be motivated enough to make the purchase immediately. However, apart from future benefits, if you offer real-time motivation such as free dessert, the diner is more likely to sign-up for the loyalty program. 

5. Share Diner Testimonials on Your Website

Schedule interviews with loyal diners who have benefited from your restaurant’s loyalty program. Asking them to share their experiences and posting their testimonials on the website is paramount in this digital age. These testimonials can be in the form of creative videos or quotes and photographs. 

Many diners turn to these insights to decide whether to make a visit to your restaurant or not. 

Price differentiation strategy is becoming complicated due to expansion of e-commerce players such as Zomato and Swiggy. It is extremely convenient for diners to scroll through a list of restaurants and compare the prices. Therefore, an efficacious loyalty program will allow you to promote your restaurant using a different and viable strategy. 

6. Create a Digital Loyalty App

How about an app that notifies the diner when they have earned reward points? Developing a restaurant loyalty app for your regular visitors where they can easily redeem their rewards is highly convenient. With the help of a digital loyalty app, there is no need for conventional paper punch cards. Many restaurants are implementing digital loyalty apps as part of their restaurant reward programs. All your diners need to do is to download the app and create an account. As a restaurant owner, it allows you to offer rewards tailored according to the needs of your diners. 

7. Refer-A-Friend Loyalty Program

This is perhaps one of the most conventional restaurant loyalty programs out there. But don’t make the mistake of underestimating its power! Many diners don’t want to sign-up for any long-term program. Therefore, as simple as asking them to refer your restaurant and services to their friends in return for 10% off, is a perfect idea in this case. You can just send the voucher code to the diners via email and the job is done!

Diners love this restaurant loyalty program idea because the more friends they refer your services to, the more discounts they receive. You can now gain more walk-ins by using the inresto Loyalty Program

8. Membership Programs for Loyal Diners 

You can opt for paid membership programs designed for exclusive diners. Through paid loyalty programs, diners can get access to members-only promotional events, members-only prices and vouchers that non-members cannot redeem. As it was pointed out earlier, the millennial population prefers exclusivity and customization. They are more likely to choose paid membership loyalty programs. Of course, it does not have to be mandatory for diners to sign-up for membership programs. However, they would most certainly be motivated to if they want such exclusive rewards at their favorite restaurant!

9. Key to Successful Loyalty Program: Keep it Simple!

While implementing a perfect restaurant loyalty program idea, do not forget the key success factor here – to keep it as simple as possible. If your loyalty program has tons of stipulations, rules, and regulations, chances are no diner will sign-up for that. You do not want to overwhelm the diners with a complex loyalty program. It should be quite easy and convenient for your guests to redeem their points. 

10. At Last, Spread the Word!

It’s important to have a strong social media presence for promoting your restaurant. Create Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram page for your restaurant if you haven’t done so already. What better way of promoting your loyalty program for people visiting your city and staying somewhere nearby? Another great idea is to partner with an influencer or local business owner to help spread the word. Remember to place table tents in your restaurant from where your diners can easily read the benefits offered by your membership program. Local diners are the ones who are going to visit your restaurant more often. Hence, these measures are absolutely necessary for a successful rewards program. 

Introducing In-Room Dining Technology for Hotels in India

Posted on by inresto

A hotel is a place that resonates with comfort and leisure. To add to the luxury, inresto introduces In-Room dining facility to allow the guests to order from the comfort of their room while maintaining the least contact possible. 

With the right solution at its disposal, the F&B industry is easing into the new normal. Hotels are adopting technology to ensure contactless services by minimizing high touchpoints within the premises. In-room dining tech by inresto also allows hotels to use the same tech to take reservations for other services. Guests can simply scan the in-room QR code to make reservations at the Gym & SPA to avoid overcrowding and to follow the hygiene protocols. It also allows guests to book laundry services without reaching out to the guest service executive. 

Some of the main features of the In-Room Dining technology are:

1. It allows guests to place an order from their room in a contactless manner. 

2. With our intuitive interface, hotels can run exclusive campaigns and do cross-promotion activities. 

3. Hotels can take reservations easily for its other facilities like gym, spa among others. 

4. The technology empowers hotels & restaurants to own their guest data

5. With the ownership of guest data, hotels & restaurants can run loyalty programs. 

Now your diners can order from the comfort of their room while maintaining the least contact possible.

Contact us here to know more.

All eyes on 2021: International travel revival can lead to full recovery of restaurants

Posted on by inresto

With the onset of the festive season, restaurants are currently witnessing a recovery rate of 70%. It will be a little long but a positive journey for restaurants to restore to their full capacity. Hospitality and the F&B industry largely depend upon tourism, where restrictions are predicted to be lifted by the second half of 2021. 

Restaurants form an integral part of the travel industry. With technology at their disposal, all kinds of restaurants- independent, large chains or restaurants servicing within hotel properties are ready to serve the diners with necessary safety & hygiene measures. The lifting of Government restrictions brought in a new ray of hope for the industry and properties across the country that are now well equipped to cater to the new normal. 

Trends to keep a close eye on that can speed up the restaurant recovery rate:

Things are happening over a cup of coffee: Cafes.

People who are skeptical about crossing domestic boundaries for leisure have found their solace in coffee shops. With life treading back to normalcy, people have started to dine-out again, but most are spending their time in cafes during working hours to combat the emptiness of working with colleagues. Most customers have regained their confidence in restaurants & cafes as they use technology & hygiene measures to ensure safety. 

Once the international travel reopens, restaurants & cafes can expect a V shape recovery with more walk-ins. Many tourists prefer to explore small cafes & restaurants while spending hours there. 

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy: Workations.

With Work From Home taking a permanent route, people are becoming more restless. It has opened the doors for a new trend called Workations. This is the new way to travel and end the monotony of WFH. The concept has become a much-needed escape for the corporate workforce and is eventually helping uplift the local travel industry & restaurants. Travelers opt for more extended stays, which means weekends buzzing with people who will be dining out.

Currently, this trend is popular among local travelers. Once the international border opens, workations will continue to be preferred amongst locals and foreign tourists. 

Luxury has a new definition: Staycations.

One of the trends that has shot up on the graph is the Staycations. Weekend leisure has taken an amplified form with luxury staycations. Restaurants operating within hotel premises have taken a sigh of relief with this upcoming trend. The demand for a relaxed stay is rising, along with the need for gourmet food. 

2021 looks more promising, with more tourists coming in and spending on some exquisite cuisines from around the world. 

Revenge is a dish best served by Splurging.

The F&B industry is picking up its pace as customers are now revengefully splurging while stepping out and having a nice meal at their favorite restaurant. With almost an entire year under lockdown and cooking fatigue looking like a syndrome to the most, people are rushing towards food to comfort their souls. The trend is likely to continue with the ongoing festive season and will only rise once the international travel restrictions are lifted. 

It’s time to sing a new rhyme- Sticks and Stones couldn’t break our bones and no obstacle can hurt our spirits. 2021 will be the year of revival and the F&B industry can expect a recovery rate of 90%.

Let’s get back to business!

Also Read : Reopen Doors To The New Normal Using Technology

Best Ways to Advertise Your Restaurant

Posted on by inresto

Creating delicious recipes is not enough to successfully advertise your restaurant. A well-defined approach is crucial for attracting more diners to your doorstep. Effective restaurant advertising can make your recipes go viral overnight! Being in the public’s eyes is of utmost importance whether you have an existing establishment or a new restaurant. Strategic promotion across all social media platforms works like a charm! The best thing about it? It is quite inexpensive as opposed to traditional television advertising which most local brands cannot accommodate in their marketing budget.

Here are the top restaurant promotion strategies to adopt in 2020:

1. Restaurant Advertisement Across Social Media Platforms

Social media is an incredible way of giving a voice and a face to your restaurant. Creating engaging content can drive your sales through the roof. Soaring internet usage across the globe means that users are spending a considerable amount of time on social media rather than television. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram are popular social media channels for restaurant promotion. 

What Kind of Content Should You Create?

Just having different social media accounts of your restaurant will not bolster sales. Content creation should be combined with content marketing to drive audience engagement. Optimize your page and videos for niche keywords and do not forget to include call-to-actions in video descriptions. Of course, the quality of content takes the front seat when it comes to enticing your potential customers. 

Some of the best video ideas for restaurant advertisement include:

  • Behind the scenes videos of popular dishes at your restaurant
  • Ambience on special occasions
  • DIY videos and recipe videos
  • Interview with guests 
  • Live video streaming 

2. Paid Digital Marketing for Restaurant Promotion

The number of internet users has crossed 4 billion! More and more restaurants are choosing paid digital marketing over traditional advertising because of this sheer number. Creating online ads is the most viable option for reaching out to an untapped pool of diners out there. Brand awareness is the first step of any restaurant advertisement campaign. 

Digital marketing allows you to undertake a more targeted approach in your promotional strategy. For instance, Google Ads allow various targeting and customization options that will allow you to reach your potential customers. In addition, networking with influencers and other local businesses is imperative for digital marketing strategy for your restaurant. 

It will give you a competitive edge in the fierce restaurant business. Not only would it help you drive traffic to your website but also convert visitors into diners! 

3. Promote Your Restaurant Using inresto Campaigns

Prominent restaurant owners are combining their promotional strategy with customer relationship management (CRM) software. With the help of CRM, you can automate your restaurant advertisement campaign. The CRM marketing strategy for restaurants is used for personalized email and SMS campaigns, especially on festivals, events, and other special occasions. This strategy has proved to be a remarkable way of drawing visitors to restaurants. 

Getting it Right

Once you have purchased the CRM software, there are few things that you must keep in mind. First of all, ensure that the first 10 words of your campaign and the title are catchy. Failing to do will land your email in the bin. The best time to send automated emails and SMS is at least an hour before lunch and dinner time. Personalization of campaigns according to different categories such as most frequent diners and high order value customers will bring desired results to you. 

4. Start a Food Blog

Blogging may seem intimidating to you but it has enormous benefits for your restaurant marketing strategy. Fresh website content is indexed by search engines like Google. It ranks your page on the basis of backlinks from authority websites and keyword density. Hence, having an optimized website for restaurant marketing is absolutely essential in this day and age. 

Make a separate section on your website for the food blog. It will unlock several potential avenues for your restaurant where you can blog about popular recipes, diner reviews, chef highlights, and cooking tips. Moreover, guest posting for the blogs of other local businesses where you can recommend their services will bode well for your restaurant. Do not forget to include links of all social media accounts on your website to tie them up together!

Read more : restaurant marketing solutions

Supply Chain Management Guide: How to Manage Your Restaurant POS System

Posted on by inresto

Every restaurant, big or small, requires an effective point of sale (POS) system for maintaining the supply chain. Without supply chain POS, there is a risk of popular items going out of stock or inventory overflow. In both cases, you will suffer a significant reduction in sales.

An all-in-one POS system is essential for managing online orders from leading aggregators and their own website and social media channels. the kitchen display system, order management, order taking, and inventory management. Moreover, an efficacious POS system will do wonders for your restaurant’s supply chain management. Here’s how-

1. Minimize Food Waste

A supply chain management integrated POS system will allow you to detect when certain ingredients are in excess quantity. Therefore, you no longer have to worry about food items getting spoiled! Once you identify surplus ingredients, you can easily incorporate those in the existing delicacies. Not just that, you can even boost your sales by giving special offers to your diners. Hence, one fo the biggest advantages of a supply chain management POS is that it will help you save food.

2. Combine Supply Chain Management POS with Manual Operations

There are numerous advantages of a restaurant POS system including automated inventory tracking, integrated accounting, order planning reports, and data forecasting. However, various causes of inventory loss are not automatically taken into account by the POS system. Some of these factors include theft, customer complaint resolutions, drink preparation process, inefficient food, spillage, and spoilage. 

Unless someone manually updates these aforementioned scenarios into the POS system, these factors will remain unaccounted for. Hence, you must undertake a well-rounded approach that combines the POS system with manual operations. 

3. Train Restaurant Staff on the POS System

So, you have invested in a great restaurant POS system, but who would take the responsibility of managing it? Certainly, POS system management cannot fall upon on a single person. The responsibility has to be divided especially when your brand is spread across multiple locations. This is why training shift leaders and managers on the food chain POS system is of utmost importance.

They should be able to alert the team whenever there are any issues of a major outage. Remember to train your restaurant staff on how to deliver detailed reports to the upper management. Informed decisions are necessary for generating significant profits. You can analyze which ingredients are popular in your restaurant and capitalize on that insight. 

4. Role of Reporting and Analytics

Every restaurant POS system comes with critical features such as reporting and analytics. These features would allow you to track raw material usage. With the help of POS analytics, you can create future plans based on forecast data. When it comes to reporting, the system generates detailed profit and loss statistics 

Your Complete Restaurant Management Solution

The restaurant management platform offered by inresto by dineout will take care of your supply chain, POS, and inventory management problems. Right from raw material procurement to sales and distribution, their software provides a convenient end to end management for users.