The QSR industry is one of the industries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on data from BusinessInsider.com, more than 85% of restaurants experienced closure by the end of 2020.
Entering 2021, the restaurant industry seems to have found a bright spot to return to the track of profitability. However, to face post-pandemic competition, restaurant owners must understand what they have to prepare.
Here are three important tips that will help restaurant owners to re-establish their business once the pandemic is over.
To re-establish a restaurant, owners need to adapt to changes and create relevant and meaningful innovation. This may be a hard process as making pivotal changes can make or break mindsets. While one strategy proved to be profitable in the pre-pandemic, it may be different now after the pandemic hits the world hard.
This post-pandemic is the right moment to start thinking outside the box and be creative. Start by recreating the menu that you want to offer, the facilities provided, and the restaurant's design. You can also add facilities that will help to improve customer engagement to further boost their experience.
However, with all that upgrades, restaurant owners should also amp up the protection against the pandemic. This can be done by using proper PPE such as gloves in handling the food and providing services, improving the cleanliness of the restaurant, and making sure that the health protocols are well met.
Pandemic takes a toll on everyone mentally as well since there are a lot of challenges that come with it. For example, staff will be forced to face people who disobey the mandated health protocol, which can be mentally exhausting. That is why restaurant owners are responsible for making sure that the staff are mentally healthy all the time.
During this transition time after the pandemic, owners should lead the team mindfully and prioritize the staff's mental health. Help them to practice mindfulness during their shift to increase resiliency. By keeping the staff mentally healthy, restaurants will maintain their service excellence amid this global crisis.
Strangely, the pandemic also has an unexpected benefit for the service industry. That is because older generations have now finally learned how to use a third party app comfortably, even for ordering a package and delivery. They no longer need help ordering food or other things online.
That is one reason why restaurant owners need to start implementing technology in their service. Create effective, safe, and secure apps to improve the health protocol by implementing contactless ordering methods. This way, customers and employees alike will feel safe when they are at the restaurant.
Another way to leverage technology into the restaurant business is by implementing digital checklists. This digital checklist can help restaurants to manage their daily operations better. Analyzing and reporting is also easier with this tool, which helps owners to review what needs to improve and implement in their restaurant operations.
Post-pandemic will be a great challenge for every business, including restaurants. There are a lot of things to prepare to be able to survive during the pandemic and thrive once the pandemic ends.
Utilize a digital checklist such as Nimbly to streamline your restaurant operations and help you prepare for facing post-pandemic competition.
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