As businesses look to bounce back from the pandemic year of 2020, restaurants can expect that diners are ready and willing to visit over the holidays. As Fronteras reported, “Memorial Day saw a 100% increase in foot traffic this year [2021] compared to last [2020].” The holiday season presents a great opportunity to connect with your customers on a different level, in addition to drawing in new business. From cafeterias to table service restaurants, it’s important that your food service operation is well-prepared for the holiday season.
Allow People to Reserve Tables
Reservations are key to successful table service dining these days. Be sure you have a reservations platform in place that will help you manage your guests in addition to helping people find you online. Your reservations website can also serve as a marketing tool, highlighting your special holiday menu or upcoming promotions and events. With most diners planning in advance and using reservations nowadays, you’ll want to get up and running with reservations as soon as possible (if not already).
Promote Your Holiday Menu Internally & Through E-mail
Plenty of restaurants are celebrating the holidays by offering special menu items, promotions, discounts, or vouchers. If your chef has created a holiday menu, be sure that the appropriate signage and menus have been created that highlight the creativity of your feature items. If you’re utilizing a loyalty program and have customer email addresses on file, sending a holiday eblast highlighting the upcoming menu is a great way to get mouths watering in advance.
If you are offering specific discounts or specials, such as half price wine bottles or premium cocktails for the price of standard cocktails, having a feature menu included with your standard menu can help point guests in the direction of these items and boost sales.
Link your online promotions and communications to your reservations platform to help get a better idea of how many people are planning to visit you, helping both you and guests deliver a better experience when the time comes.
Plan Ahead with Staff
With staff shortages dramatically impacting restaurant’s abilities to deliver top notch service, the sooner you can get organized for the holiday rush, the better. Encourage your staff to book their time off as soon as they can, so you have proper time to schedule around any book-off requests. If you’re dealing with an inability to support your operations due to lack of adequate staff, consider technology that can help you continue to deliver a food experience without the need for staff in place – such as self-serve kiosks.
Get a Gift Card Program in Place
There are numerous benefits to implementing a gift card program, highlighted in our blog post here. If you don’t yet have a program in place, talk to your POS partner about getting one set up. Gift cards are a great way for family and friends to encourage visitors to your restaurant while helping you boost average spend. Be prepared to sell, reload, and redeem gift cards throughout the holiday season and ensure your staff are trained on doing so to make the process easy and efficient.
Plan and Order Your Inventory
The last thing you want is for guests to come flooding through your restaurant doors only to run out of stock. If you were up and running in 2019 (our last year of ‘normal’ dining), try using the data from your POS that year to help set your expectations for this year. If you are utilizing a seasonal or special menu throughout the holidays, you’ll want to ensure these items in particular are stocked, as you’ve been advertising these items. Keep a pulse on supply chain issues and try and investigate local alternatives to help ensure you remain well stocked.
Do a Staff Training Refresher
From servers and cashiers to kitchen staff, everyone needs to work together to deliver an exceptional customer experience in your restaurant or cafeteria. It’s always a good time to ensure your staff feel well prepared to deal with questions and deliver better service. Taking a few hours to review your menu, best practices in service, and refresh on the goals of your food service establishment will help with staff morale and encourage a more cohesive workforce.
Have questions about how technology can help you better manage your operations during the holidays and on the day-to-day? Talk to us today!
