Even before the advent of COVID-19, the convenience of mobile technology was rewiring the way restaurants do business.
POS systems combined with apps or web-based portals have become more and more common, and this trend toward convenience through technology has gone into overdrive since dining rooms were forced to close earlier this year.
2020 has become the year of takeout (among other things), and a variety of solutions have jumped to the forefront to help a quarantined public more easily and safely get the food they crave.
Online ordering solutions like OneDine’s have been an important part of this transition that so many restaurants have been forced to make from on-premise dining to a delivery/takeout/curbside only service model.
OneDine’s technology eliminates the need for hand-held menus and the passing of credit cards, receipt holders, pens, etc. by turning your parking lot into a touch-free takeout zone. Initial setup is easy, and data-driven insights help make your operations more efficient and your service more personalized as well as contact-free—all with no guest app required.
Guests can easily browse the digital menu, order, and pay right from their vehicle on their mobile device without having to make a phone call or wait for a server to visit them.
Not only is unnecessary contact eliminated and service streamlined, but guests can also receive customized recommendations by inputting their dietary preferences, favorite cuisines, dishes, spice levels, and more.
The more the merrier
But that’s not all.
OneDine’s solution can also be harnessed to expand easy ordering and payment to multiple venues in one central location with multi-venue ordering.
Ideal for malls, airports, food courts, etc., multi-venue ordering gives guests one central place to order instead of juggling separate apps for each restaurant. Guests simply order from the venue(s) of their choice, and payments are conveniently handled from within the same interface. If you want, you can even let guests pay for orders from multiple venues with just one convenient transaction.
Menus
The OneDine system offers a choice of menu types for guests to peruse: the browsable menu for a more traditional dining selection experience and the orderable menu, tailored for increased efficiency.
This browsable menu is ideal for guests who have a general idea of what they may want to eat. They can use the menu as a visual cue, much as they might with a physical menu. Guests can also “favorite” the items they’re deciding between, and go back to their favorites to make their final selection.
The orderable menu is designed for customers who know exactly what they want to order, and is geared to find and select items quickly. This menu feels more like the app experience with quick movements and simplicity.
Guests can toggle between these two menus, and in each menu you can choose to display a wide variety of information, including:
- Nutritional data
- Descriptions and disclaimers
- Tags for certain items that allow customers to filter, such as “Gluten free,” “Vegan,” “Spicy”
- Larger pictures
- Ability to favorite specific items to mimic the behavior of pulling up the portion of the menu you’re interested in to ask a server their opinion.
- Categories at the top, a search bar, and the ability to modify the order or increase quantities
Case in point
In the face of pandemic dining restrictions, Tempe Marketplace is using OneDine to turn its parking lot into a multi-restaurant, no contact drive-in where guests can order from a variety of restaurants, including Yogi’s Grill and Panera Bread.
Guests simply pull into designated parking spots and scan a QR code to bring up a list of available restaurants on their own mobile device.
Diners then make their choices, place their orders, make their secure payment, and wait for a quick, friendly delivery right to their vehicle.
No touching, no calling ahead, and no hassle.
Emilie Andrews, regional marketing director at Vestar, Tempe Marketplace’s parent company said, “We are thrilled to provide a safe dining destination and easy ordering options to the Valley during this time. Whether your family is in the mood for different cuisines or you want to mix and match dinner and dessert from two restaurants, our unique drive-in can accommodate it all.”
