Have you ever seen a happy person waiting in a queue? I’ve never seen a happy person waiting in line before. When I’ve spoken to customers waiting in line for their food no one ever said they were happy to wait. Some people have more patience than others, but for the most part no one has ever enjoyed a long wait.
Waiting patiently for your turn to be served was something that the previous generation simply had to deal with. Ticket Q’s at the deli were simply a way of life, now such a thing would induce stress and aggravate customers.
If you want to be successful in the restaurant world you need to have a clear understanding of how long your customers are willing to wait. Then you need to make sure your staff is beating that deadline every time.
On average customers are willing to wait 14 minutes for service. After that they grow increasingly bored and agitated. Some may even show signs of stress if they’re running late for another engagement.
Learn How Long Your Customers Are Willing To Wait For Service And Then Beat The Time
In order to figure out how long your customers are willing to wait, take a look at who you’re serving and what kind of restaurant you are running. If you have a coffee shop your clients will have a much shorter attention span than they would at a sit down restaurant.
Are you in a busy metro where people need to catch a train? Or is your restaurant across the street from a concert venue where customers want to grab a quick bite before seeing a preformance?
You can also conduct a customer survey to figure out how long they’re willing to wait. Once you’ve identified this number, start to look for ways to speed up service.
3 Ways To Decrease Wait Times
1. Add More Staff
Adding more staff is the most common way to decrease wait times. When customers are on a slow line they often complain that the establishment has too little staff working the register or kitchen. Increasing labor will not only increase labor costs but you need to train the new team members. That means you won’t have an instant return on investment.
2. Use Mobile Ordering
Mobile ordering ahead isn’t just for big chain restaurants like Starbucks. These days any restaurant can utilize this time saving feature by introducing a simple QR code menu software with interactive ordering. Typical QR code digital menus can only be accessed by customers once they’ve sat at the table. Even though they can open the menu themselves, they can’t place their own order.
An interactive system like Orderific will allow your customers to open your app or website from a QR code so that they can place a mobile order. Once you have mobile ordering in place make sure to set your restaurant up for order and delivery.
3. Use A POS Software System That Allows Customers To Help Themselves
Let customers place their own orders and pay the bill themselves! When you give your consumers the power to place their own orders and pay, you’ll decrease the amount of time customers:
- Stand in front of the register
- Sit at the table
Traditional P.O.S. Systems Are Too Expensive For Most Restaurants
Traditional point of sale software for restaurants is cumbersome to install and expensive. It often involves physical equipment and custom software systems. Most systems of this nature are older, slow, hard to use and prone to bugs. If the server goes down your restaurant could loose it’s valuable data base.
An Affordable Cloud Based Solution To Your Line Problem
Luckily there is a solution for small to medium restaurants that provides the same benefit as traditional point of sale technology without the cost, physical equipment or risk of blackout. Orderific is a restaurant software system that uses nothing but your phone to create an easy and extremely affordable solution to cutting wait times. Orderific is also a cloud based software. This means that even if your technology goes down your customer’s data is safely stored away where it cannot get deleted. Cloud based storage also allows your system to run quickly since you don’t need a computer to pierce the data.
If you’re a small restaurant simply trying to keep your head above water, the sheer thought of introducing new technology probably sounds exhausting and expensive. But the truth is that it’s easy to initiate, simple to use and will save you countless headaches in the future. If you’re looking for an intimate experience with QR code menu software that involves free customer support and training then give Orderific a call.
We’re different because we care about our customers enough to take the time to create a QR menu code for you. This menu is also secured by a QR code that we guarantee will remain secure and your own for the course of your restaurant’s life.
What Orderific Can Offer
Orderific is so much more than just a QR menu code. Orderific is the only software you’ll ever need to run your restaurant. It replaces quickbooks and food costing software. Here are just a few of the benefits.
- Live up to the minute sales reports
- Automated inventory sheets for taxes
- Inventory Tracking and Ordering
- Customer Information Storage
- Reward Program Implementation Capabilities
