With patio season in full swing, it’s important to make the most of the opportunity to see higher revenues before the colder weather arrives. Filling those patio seats can help you get ahead, bring in new customers, and develop relationships that will have guests visiting year-round. Operators leveraging technology can improve the outdoor dining experience, from better service to efficient reservations to marketing that reaches the target.
Service
Offering outdoor dining requires organization and efficiency and technology can help. Make it easier for your staff and faster for your guests with outdoor terminals. This saves the time of servers needing to go inside to place an order, retrieve a terminal for payment, or make additional visits to the table. This also means that you may be able to turn tables faster and accommodate more guests to boost your sales.
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Your POS system can also provide unique insight into who is dining on your patio and when it’s the busiest. This can help you develop a more efficient floor plan, tailor your menu, and schedule your staff for an optimal guest experience.
Reservations
Fill your patio without a frustrating lineup using an updated reservation system. Staggering guest visits and managing flow in real-time helps keep traffic and service smooth for your team. As well, many systems make it easy to transfer cheques from outside to inside, should the weather turn unpleasant. Efficiently managing reservations can also help to better manage labour, upping the customer experience, and saving unnecessary costs.
Online branding
Build your online brand with a patio that gets attention. Create a unique ambiance with seasonal décor like flowers and greenery, social media photo wall, live entertainment, and more. Studies show that 86 per cent of people check out a restaurant online before they visit, so be sure to advertise your patio on social media. Post behind-the-scenes content of setup, feature live footage, use relevant hashtags, and share content that your guests post to boost engagement.
Before patio season winds down for the season, make the most of your technology tools to build your brand, fill those seats, and improve your guest experience.
