As we all continue to wrestle through these challenging times, government regulators are implementing new rules to help ensure the safety of customers and staff at restaurants and pubs across the world. An example of these efforts was put forth by the UK government this week, as regulators outlined a series of new rules and curfews. In this article below, we will highlight the primary changes that all UK based restaurants must adhere to in order to continue operations.
All hospitality venues inclusive of restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and pubs are expected to be closed at 10PM. This means that restaurants must be prepared for shortened hours and must close their doors ahead of the curfew time. As expected, this may have a significant impact on businesses which expect order volume and customers through the night. Restaurants and pubs will see a massive loss in sales due to these adjustments.
With Ritual ONE, restaurants and pubs can increase their order volume and top line sales by providing a way for customers to order through a platform that looks and feels like their own brand. Ritual ONE enables customers to place orders digitally on the restaurant’s website, which will increase overall sales and help restaurants that suffer from the new curfew restrictions. By ordering through the restaurant’s website, these orders will be commission-free for life. Ritual ONE is a first-party provider rather than a third-party like Deliveroo or JustEat who take a percentage per order.
There will be a restriction on pubs and restaurants to offer table service only, meaning buying drinks at the bar will be banned. The implications of these changes can be significant for restaurant and pub owners. Businesses will need to potentially adjust their menus, hire, or retrain staff on taking orders at tables. This can be taxing for small business owners at this time.
Ritual ONE offers a simple solution to help solve this problem. As an online ordering platform, Ritual ONE offers digital menus that can be accessed by customers scanning a QR Code. QR codes can be placed at the tables within the restaurant or pub, enabling customers to remain seated while placing their orders. Furthermore, customers can review, select, and order items they want directly to their tables via their mobile devices. Ritual ONE also integrates directly with multiple POS systems, thereby creating a seamless experience for the restaurant and pub operators as well. Again, all orders that come through scanning the QR code menu, are commission-free.
According to the new rules around socialising, restaurants and pubs are allowed to take bookings of up to six people in line. Even though the six people can be from different households, customers are expected to social distance and restaurants are expected to support the enforcement of these rules. This does not mean that these venues have only six people inside, but customer tables can not exceed six per table. The penalty of not following this rule can be a fine up to £10,000. The limitations in capacity in terms of the number of people that can be in the restaurant at any point in time will result in restaurants and pubs not being able to service the number of people they had before and will effectively hurt dine-in sales.
Ritual ONE offers contactless takeaway and delivery options that can help drive additional sales to restaurants outside of their storefront. If a restaurant has reached capacity in terms of number of people in-store, enabling restaurant owners and pub operators to still service their customers via delivery can help businesses not only stay afloat, but also thrive. There are no commissions charged at any point in time, unlike traditional delivery players.
Pubs and restaurants are now legally required to collect details of their customers for the purposes of track and trace. Prior to the change made this week, this was only a recommendation made by the government. At this point in time, this is a must for every pub and restaurant owner. Collecting customer details can require significant efforts on the restaurant owners part. It requires training employees to collect info, keeping records organised, and invest in a database to store this information.
Ritual ONE helps solve this issue. As an online ordering platform, customers will place orders directly online. As a result, their records will be kept for the purposes of Track and Trace. The investment for Ritual ONE is minimal at £39/month, which is substantially less than most online ordering platforms.
Ritual ONE was designed to help support local restaurants, pubs, bakeries etc. during these unprecedented times. We offer the most affordable pricing relative to others in the space, while undoubtedly providing the most value to restaurant and pub owners. Our ‘commission-free for life’ pricing ensures that restaurant owners do not have to pay on every order unlike most third-party delivery platforms. To further sweeten the deal, if you sign up and try Ritual ONE in 2020, we will waive your first month as well as all credit card fees for the remainder of the year.
