Many eateries employ the cutting-edge digital ordering technique known as the QR code. With only a quick scan, it directs users to a restaurant’s menu so they may place their food orders.
What is QR ordering?
Simply put, it is the trendiest yet smoothest way to make an order with your favourite local restaurants! What happens here is, the restaurants simply move their ordering process online. Which means the customers can place their orders easily on their mobile phones by scanning a QR code provided by the restaurant. In addition to that, many restaurant owners even claim that this method of ordering saves them an average of 8-10 minutes per table. Which effectively assists in exterminating the issue of not having enough manpower to handle the operations of their restaurants. So we say, that’s definitely a win!
Features of QR ordering:
1. Marketing
One of the biggest marketing functions of QR ordering would be the system’s ability to request and capture customer information to track customer visits. This enables restaurant owners to give out promotions and member price discounts to their loyal customers. Another function would be automated target-marketing on certain types of dishes, motivating increased sales on the orders taken by the restaurant. QR ordering systems also help restaurants recommend their best-selling dishes to their customers during peak hours.
2. Functionality
As an example, setting different membership prices according to membership tiers, limiting the number of orders taken based on different dishes, allowing customers to leave special remarks on their order, and more.
3. Interactivity
When customers go into restaurants with friends or family, they can all scan the QR code for the menu simultaneously to place an order, or to get the order information of their peers in real-time.
The advantages of using QR code for ordering
1. Improve staff efficiency
The traditional way of taking orders manually is outdated. The time taken to complete the order process is too slow and the peak checkout time is even longer. During peak hours, there’s a high chance of customers needing to wait too long to even get their orders taken. That eventually reduces the customer’s satisfaction level, and on the other hand, increases the chances of receiving customer complaints. Now that’s not so great for business, isn’t it? This can all be solved with QR ordering. Whenever a customer scans to place an order, the system collects the order information and automatically synchronizes it at the cashier and in the kitchen at the back. That reduces the frequency of your waiters visiting the kitchen to pass on the orders instead of focusing on other important tasks. On top of that, it also reduces the likelihood of customers deciding to leave the restaurant because they waited too long since the order process is simplified. Aren’t the advantages of QR ordering obvious yet?
2. Reduce operation costs
Cost of printed menus:
The traditional way of ordering is inseparable from the use of printed menus. Let’s say the restaurant has a change of menu or an increase in item prices, they will need to update the menu and print out new ones. That requires the restaurant owners to spend more money to print out new menus that cannot be further optimized and improved. On the other hand, by using QR ordering, the information on the menu can easily be updated at any time. Besides that, out-of-stock items can also be marked in the menu with just a click away. This way it avoids bad impressions from customers who order an item thinking it is available when it is not.
Personnel cost:
Peak hours are the least of the restaurant’s worries if they implement QR ordering. Waiters do not have to rush from one table to another, instead, they can focus on other important tasks and tend to the needs of their customers. In addition to that, QR ordering also assists in reducing the manpower needed for the operations to run smoothly. After some time, you will find that the initial amount of 10 staff in your restaurant has a higher service quality than before.
3. Shorten the order process and improve the turnover rate
The steps taken in the order process of a typical traditional method would seem as follow:
Customers who walk into the restaurants, are greeted by the staff and shown their seats,
The waiter proceeds to the cashier to collect the menu and passes them to the customers,
The waiter then pours a drink while the customers decide on their orders,
Writes down the order of the customer on a piece of paper,
Waiter then goes to the bar and kitchen separately to pass on the orders for preparation,
Once the food is prepared, waiters go to the bar and kitchen separately again to collect the order before serving them to the customers,
Service between meals, such as water refill, collecting empty dishes, or handing napkins when necessary,
Introduction of restaurant membership (if any), after customers are done with their meals.
The waiter then goes to the cashier to print a receipt for the customers, confirms and collects payment before heading to the cashier again,
Now the waiter finally completes the process by cleaning up the table and setting it for the next customer.
On the other hand, the order process of a restaurant that uses QR ordering is as follows:
Customers who walk into the restaurants, are greeted by the staff and shown their seats, and advised to make an order through the QR code the waiters provide,
The waiters pour some water for the customers while they place their orders,
After the customers place an order, the kitchen is automatically notified them by the system,
Kitchen finishes preparing food, & waiter collects them to serve to customers,
Service between meals, such as water refill, collecting empty dishes, or handing napkins when necessary,
Customers are done eating and leave,
Now the waiter finally completes the process by cleaning up the table and setting it for the next customer.
In simple comparisons between those two methods, it’s noticeable that the restaurant that has implemented the QR ordering method skips certain steps in the order placing process. Waiters won’t have to serve menus, place orders, recommend memberships(if any), and handle checkout and invoicing. It takes an average of 13 minutes for customers to order their meals with the traditional method, while it only takes the customer 8 minutes to order using the QR code provided. That successfully saves the restaurant an average of 5 minutes per table.
4. Strengthen brand exposure
Printed menus may prove to be a powerful tool in some instances, but can you include your current marketing activities in them? Using QR ordering, restaurants can include their social media accounts in their e-menu (shown in figure 1). That enables the customers to gain access to the latest news on events, promotions, membership privileges, and other updates, with one click of a finger.
5. Improve customer satisfaction
In any traditional dining scenario (queuing, ordering, and checking out), when the waiters get too busy, the customers are required to wait, sometimes longer than they have to. When that happens, customers may start to get a little annoyed and upset with the service.
6. Pull member data
Traditional ways of signing up for store memberships required customers to queue at the cashier to fill in their personal information like their name, mobile number, identification number, etc. The whole process there is complicated and takes too much time. Some may even skip the whole process and just proceed to pay. With QR ordering, customers could just input all their personal information on their phones while being seated. The data collected would also be easily extracted from the system for discount purposes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, shifting to QR ordering methods from the traditional way could benefit you and your business in the long run in terms of marketing, reducing operation and labor-cost, elevating customer satisfaction, and more.
Along with the QR e-menu, equipping your restaurant with a powerful Point-of-Sale (POS) system would also prove to strengthen the operations of your restaurant. In addition to providing the QR ordering function, OrderPin POS system offers other functions such as waiter orders and takeaway orders, split bills, shift handover, and more. And guess what? All these extra functions are usable without any additional or hidden charges!