People have been ordering delivery for certain types of takeout for decades. The most popular is pizza, of course. During all this time, delivery wasn’t very common for the vast majority of restaurants. Fast forward to today, and having some delivery service is not only recommended but also practically required. Even high-end restaurants are choosing to offer delivery to their customers.
While delivery services were getting more popular before Covid-19, the pandemic accelerated the trend. People were staying home in droves, and delivered food offered them an opportunity to avoid contact with other people. During this time, many of us decided that we liked the convenience. If you run a restaurant, you know that delivery is now a possible great source of revenue. However, it’s not as simple as hiring a driver and sending them on their way. Here’s how to properly set up a delivery system for your restaurant.
Carve Out Space In Your Establishment
There should be at least one designated space in your restaurant for drivers. This will help avoid confusion and make it easier for them to navigate through any lines or crowds you might have. All delivery orders can be placed in that spot, so a driver must get there, check the order, and be on their way. The faster you can get the drivers in and out, the better. The customers at home will be waiting, and the last thing you want is your delivery service to get a reputation for being slow. You can add extra efficiency by having a designated space just for packaging delivery orders, but that would depend on the layout and size of your restaurant and your ability to invest in more staff.
Decide Who You Want to Deliver the Food
Because of the rise of restaurant delivery, there are many different options in every city and community to outsource the service. This is a viable choice for many since these services provide a built-in market and access to drivers. However, they also charge fees that can get pretty steep. Therefore, you will either have to absorb those costs or pass them on to the customer.
The choice is to do it yourself. Many establishments choose this route since they can control every aspect of the transaction with the customer. It requires more of an investment, but there are no fees. When you make the projections, you may find that hiring drivers gives you a better return on investment.
Upgrade Your Website and Point of Sale
Online ordering is another service that all restaurants should have in this day and age. If you are now providing a delivery component, you need to make it easy on your website and at your point of sale. There are many online ordering platforms for restaurants that will quickly upgrade your website. Plus, point-of-sale programs all have delivery components as well. You will need to shop around to find what works for your business. Remember, it’s a significant investment, and going through the process is time-consuming, so do your best to make the right choices the first time.
Get Insurance
If you own a business, then you know how important insurance is. Adding delivery will also be adding a risk. Your drivers will be out on the road with plenty of opportunities to get in accidents with other vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. You need to have insurance for this. Otherwise, you will be in big financial trouble if something happens. Make sure to buy a policy for your business vehicle that covers everything that your drivers might be at risk for. Plus, you should make sure that the coverage limit is high enough to protect you sufficiently.
Training
You can’t just start handing your new drivers a bag of food and sending them on their way. There is significant training involved in starting up a delivery program. For one, you must train your drivers and kitchen staff on using food-safe equipment such as delivery bags. In addition, they must know how to properly package food for delivery so that it doesn’t fall over on the drive or boxes don’t break from the weight on them. In this era of risk avoidance, drivers must also be fully trained to give customers food safely and with as minimal contact as possible. If you do not have this training, your team will make mistakes early on, and your delivery program will get a bad reputation.
Have a Delivery Menu
A delivery menu makes everything simple for everyone. You can have this separate menu listed on your website so that customers know exactly what is available to eat at home and what isn’t. There may be items at your restaurant that aren’t convenient for delivery. They may get soggy very quickly or are too big or unwieldy to deliver. There are always solutions for these types of things, but you and your staff might find it not worth the extra effort. If you find that your menu for delivery seems slim, you can always create some dishes that are delivery friendly.
Buy Supplies
There are going to be new supplies that you will need for your delivery service. You will need insulated food delivery bags, paper napkins, plastic utensils, insulated food boxes, and containers that will fit the specific foods you will have available. If you don’t have the right containers, your food will slide inside them or even leak out. So be very careful to have everything you need before you start delivering to customers.
As with any business, you should be looking for ways to diversify how you can earn income at an affordable cost. Offering delivery for your clients is one of the best ways to do that. Outsourcing options make it easy, and you can do it yourself by following a model that pizza and other food services have been using for decades. Delivery will make your customers happy and help your bottom line.
