As the COVID-19 outbreak becomes a matter of global concern, social distancing has become our only saviour. While we are all inside our homes, minimizing physical contact, the outbreak has taken a serious turn. The government has declared a strict lockdown with all restaurants being closed for dining out, however, the delivery and take away business is still operational. People are not dining out, but they are still looking for safe food delivery options.
Contactless delivery is one such simple initiative to carry-on business, responsibly. Here restaurants take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of the customers, and staff. Fast-food giants across the country have adopted this new safeguarding method to ensure social distancing and continue to deliver good food.
What is Contactless delivery?
It is a new way to practice social distancing in the food delivery business. One of the several initiatives for businesses to sustain sales without compromising on safety, this method ensures that there is zero physical contact between the delivery agent and the customer. The delivery agent leaves the food package at the customer’s doorstep, and the customer is notified about the delivery status via call or on the track order feature available on the food delivery app.
Here’s how you can execute contactless delivery for your restaurant:
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Train your Staff Around Safety Measures
- The instruction manual issued by your restaurant for the employees must include these important pointers:
- Wear gloves while preparing and delivering food
- Use sanitizer before and after making each delivery
- Do not hand the delivery package to the customers; leave it at their doorstep.
- After placing the package at the doorstep, notify the customer about the delivery status.
Remember to take your customer’s feedback, digitally, to ensure that your delivery agents are following all the safety guidelines.
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2. Promote Contactless Delivery
Use your restaurant app/website to promote contactless delivery and make your customers understand why it’s important for them as well as your staff. It is the need of the hour to stay socially distant to stop the spread of the virus.
You can also personally inform your customers about all the precautions that your restaurant is taking using SMS, email as well as social media campaigns. Your regular customers would feel connected, and they would know that you are with them in this fight against COVID-19.
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3. Focus on the Packaging
- Make sure the food packaging is intact and solid —stock up on extra tapes. The delivery person’s handbags should be properly cleaned and sanitized at regular intervals. And remember the package should always be handled with gloves on.
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4. Food Untouched with Bare Hands
Make sure the food packaging is intact and solid —stock up on extra tapes. The delivery person’s handbags should be properly cleaned and sanitized at regular intervals. And remember the package should always be handled with gloves on.
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5. Symptom Check and Staff Survey
- Regularly check the temperature of your staff; anybody with the symptoms should not be allowed to work at the restaurant. If there is anyone who is sick, give them leaves and advise them to get their tests done. Anyone who has been in contact with a person who has recently travelled abroad must be asked to stay in quarantine for 14-26 days.
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6. Promote Cashless Payments
- To further facilitate successful contactless delivery, you must encourage your customers to make cashless payments. While placing the order on the app, the cash on delivery option must reflect a warning like- ‘The exchange of cash can be a transmitting channel of the virus. Pay online to avoid direct physical contact between you and the delivery agent.’Send personalized SMS and email to your customers, informing them of the importance of cashless payments for the safety of everyone.
And lastly, while we are all thankful for the chefs and delivery executives who are working selflessly during these trying times, we must encourage our customers to be cooperative and extra kind.Stay Safe. Stay Responsible. 🙂
