July 1st, 2024

Smoother Service, More Sales: Reducing Friction in Your Restaurant, Cafe or Bar

Restaurant Efficiency

Customers want great food and drinks and an easy, hassle-free experience from the moment they step through your door to when they leave – an enjoyable time without delays or frustration. Let’s look at dozens of practical ways to oil the cogs of your operation and increase restaurant efficiency.

Long queues, kitchen bottlenecks, and clunky payment systems can turn a potential regular into a one-time visitor. Modern payment and ordering options, better menu design, plus organised queueing and wait times are critical to the efficiency mix. Many small changes add up to making a big impact.

Smoother Payments and Account Handling…

By implementing these payment options and ensuring they’re used efficiently, you can significantly reduce friction at the payment stage of the customer’s visit. Payment could be made upfront or at the end of the visit – either way, many improvements are possible.

  • Move payments from the end of the visit to the beginning – this depends on the style of service, but customers are increasingly ready to adapt. Are you ready to experiment?
  • Accept a wide range of payment types: cash, debit cards, credit cards, contactless payments, and mobile wallets (like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay).
  • Encourage the use of ordering apps so customers are ‘self-contained’ and can handle ordering and payment when they choose.
  • Ensure your payment terminals support the latest contactless technology – no more inserting cards or signatures!
  • Implement handheld card machines that servers can bring directly to the table. This will save time and increase table turnover, as customers won’t need to wait or queue to pay.
  • Use modern POS systems that seamlessly handle various payment types and integrate with the payment terminal – no rekeying of the payment amount.
  • Ensure your payment system can easily split bills for large groups, or set up clear rules if this is not available – consider apps or systems that allow customers to split the bill themselves. This is another advantage for ordering apps – each transaction is personal for the customer.
  • Use a system that can pre-authorise a card for bar tabs, reducing the risk of unpaid bills.
  • Implement systems that automatically calculate suggested tip amounts – 5%, 10%, 15% or No Tip. This will speed up the payment process and increase staff tips.
  • Offer the option of emailed receipts to save paper and provide customers with an easy record of their purchase
  • Train staff thoroughly on all payment systems and troubleshooting eg handline credit card declines.
  • Ensure they can guide customers through different payment options quickly and efficiently and handle payment declines.
  • Display accepted payment methods clearly at the entrance and on menus. If there are any restrictions (e.g., minimum card spend or no AMEX), make these obvious to avoid surprises.

See also: How to Choose the Right Point of Sale System for your Restaurant or Cafe

Restaurant Efficiency

Wait Times and Queue Management…

The goal is not just to move people through quickly but to ensure they have a positive experience even when they do have to wait. Most people will accept a delay if they see the line is moving quickly. How many of these can you use to improve restaurant efficiency?

  • Use clear signage and floor markings to guide customers
  • Implement a numbered ticket system for busy periods
  • Use digital displays to show estimated wait times to customers
  • Design your space to allow for efficient customer flow
  • Ensure the queue doesn’t block entrances or seating areas
  • Provide entertainment (e.g. TV screens, free Wi-Fi, mirrors, even a magician) to provide distractions and make wait times feel shorter
  • Display menu items or promotions to keep customers engaged while queuing
  • Install touch-screen ordering kiosks to reduce queue times
  • Ensure kiosks are user-friendly and offer multiple language options
  • Develop a branded app or use existing platforms for pre-ordering
  • Allow customers to order and pay before arrival, reducing queue times
  • During peak times, have staff take orders from those queuing using tablets
  • Implement a ‘grab and go’ section for quick purchases
  • Create separate queues for simple orders (e.g., just coffee) and complex ones
  • Offer a dedicated pickup area for pre-orders and delivery drivers
  • Implement off-peak discounts to spread demand throughout the day
  • Use dynamic pricing so people pay a little in peak times
  • Use data to predict busy periods and staff accordingly
  • Train staff to be flexible, moving between roles as needed
  • Use your wait management or booking system to track wait times and alert managers when queues are too long
  • Implement virtual queueing so people receive a notification when it’s their turn, allowing them to sit or browse while waiting.
  • Design your bar as a waiting area so customers can enjoy a beverage and feel cared for while waiting.
  • Staff headsets – have greeters and floor staff connected so there’s immediate advice on when tables are free.
  • Train staff in efficient order-taking and multitasking
  • Ensure staff can handle customer queries quickly to keep the queue moving

See also: How to Get Better Results on the Busy Days
30 Ways to Wow: Better Customer Touchpoints in Your Restaurant

Menu Design for Faster and Easier Ordering

By focusing on menu design for easy understanding and ordering (not just aesthetics), you can significantly increase restaurant efficiency and reduce friction in the customer experience. People will be ready to order more quickly, with fewer questions about ingredients or how something is prepared. A menu is often the first point of interaction between your food and the customers, so there is probably work to do!

How many menu design and presentation elements can you improve while staying true to your culinary style and reputation?

  • Use easy-to-read fonts and appropriate font sizes – especially for low-light spaces
  • Ensure good contrast between text and background
  • Avoid cluttered designs that overwhelm customers
  • Outside menus are well-lit and easy to read, encouraging passers-by to enter.
  • Group similar items together (e.g., starters, mains, desserts)
  • Use clear headings and subheadings to guide customers
  • Consider using an item numbering system for easy reference and ordering – this works well with ethnic menus with unfamiliar names.
  • Aim for a ‘sweet spot’ in the number of items offered—too many choices can lead to decision paralysis, and too few might not accommodate diverse preferences. Most menus could be cut by 20% without any loss of customer satisfaction
  • Use clear, appetising descriptions without being overly wordy – highlight key ingredients or cooking methods
  • Consider adding icons for dietary requirements (e.g., vegetarian, gluten-free)
  • Place high-profit items in prime positions e.g., in the top right corner or the start of a section
  • Use high-quality images sparingly to highlight key dishes or draw attention to extra-profitable items.
  • Remove currency symbols to reduce price sensitivity and hesitation
  • Use separate inserts or boards for frequently changing items – nothing worse than being told, ‘sorry that’s not on today’
  • Start to use QR code menus in addition to printed menus. Include filtering options for dietary requirements eg vegetarian, gluten-free
  • Analyse sales data to identify popular and profitable items and adjust the menu based on this data – it’s an easy way to reduce the size of your menu.
  • Offer menus in multiple languages if you have many international customers
  • Use simple language to describe complex dishes – most people can’t speak a foreign language and don’t use ‘foody talk’
  • Mark allergens on the menu to avoid endless questions – some venues create a special ‘gluten-free menu’ to simplify ordering; which is very much appreciated by people with this allergy. Train staff to confidently answer allergen-related questions
  • Clearly show how items can be customised, but balance customisation with kitchen efficiency – this may give valuable upsell opportunities
  • Suggest drink pairings with food items to enhance the dining experience and encourage sales – these ‘modifiers’ are also an important part of ordering apps
  • Ensure your physical menu aligns with any online ordering platforms – a digital wall menu can be fed from the ordering app and embedded on the restaurant’s website – a change to one feeds through to them all
  • Ensure all staff are familiar with the menu – regular tastings help staff describe dishes confidently, and quizzes make sure they know it in detail.

See also: Improve your Menu as a Sales Magnet
How to Find Big Profit Opportunities with Cafe & Restaurant Dessert Sales
How to Increase Restaurant Kitchen Productivity

Restaurant Efficiency

Check the other useful blog posts on the Foodie Coaches website…

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