As a business owner, you might often see customers cancel their dine-in plans just because they spot a long, snaking line at the cashier and your staff looks overwhelmed handling transactions one by one.
Providing a self-ordering facility via smartphones is a smart business strategy to make your restaurant operations run more efficiently, save on labor costs, and deliver an enjoyable service experience.
Understanding how this web-based ordering portal works and the real benefits of self-ordering technology will help you take your business to the next level.
Let's thoroughly break down this complete guide, from the basic concepts, a comparison with third-party apps, the array of benefits, to the practical steps for setting it up at your outlet!
What is a Restaurant Web Order and Self Order System?
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To ensure we're on the same page and not getting dizzy with all the tech jargon out there, let's dissect the basic definitions in a friendly and easy-to-understand way.
Essentially, a restaurant web order portal is a dedicated website or digital platform that allows customers to view the menu, select dish variations, and make payments directly through their smartphone browser.
On the other hand, the self-order concept is a service system where customers have full control over their own ordering process.
When combined, the restaurant web order portal becomes the primary medium for implementing the self-order method.
Customers simply scan a QR code placed on their table, and the digital menu page instantly opens in their phone browser so they can start selecting their favorite foods.
Adopting this self-ordering technology creates extraordinary efficiency in your restaurant's service flow. Your waitstaff no longer needs to stand around at the customer's table just to write down orders one by one on paper.
The implementation of the self-order method through this browser-based digital platform has proven to be the key to success for modern restaurants in increasing their daily service capacity.
So, why should you build your own restaurant web order platform instead of just relying on popular third-party food delivery apps?
Why Should Restaurants Have Their Own Ordering Website? (Website vs. Third-Party App)
Sumber: Istockphoto
Utilizing third-party food delivery apps is indeed very helpful in bringing in new buyers quickly.
However, relying on third-party platforms as your sole digital sales channel can erode your profit margins due to high daily commission cuts, which can reach 20% to 30% for every transaction.
This is where having your own restaurant web order portal plays its role as your business's independent sales channel.
With your own ordering platform, you hold full control over your net profit margins without being slashed by high third-party commission fees.
All sales transaction funds from customers will land in full directly into your restaurant's bank account.
Another massive advantage of having a private restaurant web order portal is complete ownership of your customer data (customer database).
You can see customer order histories, their WhatsApp numbers, and their favorite menu items in detail.
You can utilize this valuable data to send birthday promos, loyalty programs, or direct special offers so they visit your restaurant more frequently.
Besides saving on commission fees and controlling customer data for delivery orders, this web-based ordering portal technology is also incredibly powerful when applied directly inside the outlet for dine-in.
Curious about the abundant benefits you will get? Let's dissect them together in the following section!
The Benefits of Using a Self-Order System for Modern Restaurants
Implementing an independent or self-order method in your restaurant is guaranteed to have a highly significant positive impact on your operational performance and monthly financial reports.
The main benefit you will immediately feel when implementing self-ordering is an increase in Average Order Value (AOV), or the average nominal spend per customer.
A self-order system equipped with appetizing digital menu images is proven to be highly effective in triggering impulse purchases.
When customers see visuals of delicious food on their phone screens, coupled with automated recommendation features (upselling) like offers for extra cheese, refreshing beverage add-ons, or desserts, their transaction amounts tend to soar compared to ordering conventionally.
Another extraordinary benefit of adopting self-ordering is substantial savings in labor operational costs.
Because the ordering and payment process is done independently by customers from their dining tables, you don't need to hire too many cashiers or waitstaff just to take orders.
This allows you to save on employee salary allocations or redirect them to improve the quality of kitchen dishes.
In addition, using a self-ordering system drastically speeds up your table turnover rate.
Customers can order their food as soon as they sit down without waving to call a waiter, and they can pay digitally as soon as they finish eating without having to queue up at the cashier.
Seeing the multitude of benefits offered by this technology, you are surely eager to start implementing it in your culinary outlet, right?
So you don't get confused about where to start, let's learn the practical steps to set it up in the next section.
Read also:12 Ways to Create an Attractive and Profitable Restaurant Menu
Steps to Create and Integrate a Restaurant Order Web
Building an internet-based ordering platform for your restaurant is actually not complicated at all and doesn't require complex computer programming skills!
Nowadays, the process of creating a restaurant web order portal can be done extremely fast using a modern, integrated POS technology ecosystem.
Here is the easy workflow you can follow to build your very own self-ordering platform:
- Choose an Integrated Modern POS Provider: The first step is to choose a POS system provider that already offers a direct web-based digital ordering portal feature without requiring expensive system development costs.
- Upload the Menu List and Attractive Product Photos: Prepare photos of your food and drinks with bright, appetizing lighting. Input the menu names, tempting short descriptions, choice variations (toppings/sizes), and prices into your ordering portal's dashboard system.
- Integrate Digital Payment Methods: Connect your ordering system with a payment gateway so customers can instantly pay for their orders using various e-wallet options or QRIS automatically from their smartphones.
- Print Ordering QR Codes for Restaurant Tables: Generate unique QR codes for each dining table in your restaurant, print attractive stickers or acrylic stands, and place the QR codes on the tables so customers can immediately scan them to start transacting independently.
By following the four practical steps above, your restaurant has now transformed into an efficient modern culinary business, ready to provide the best service to every visiting customer.
To complete your understanding and answer any minor doubts lingering in your mind, let's check out the quick Q&A summary in the FAQ section below!
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
1. Will elderly customers have difficulty using this self-ordering system?
Not at all! The browser-based self-ordering system is designed with a user-friendly interface that resembles a typical online store catalog. Plus, your staff is always available to assist customers if they need assistance right at the table.
2. What if there are customers who still want to pay using cash when ordering?
A good digital ordering system still offers a cash payment option. When a customer selects the cash payment option on their mobile screen, the order is still sent to the kitchen, and the system will prompt them to confirm payment at the cashier's desk before or after the food is served.
3. Can orders received from the ordering website be directly connected to the kitchen printer?
Yes, of course! When the ordering system is fully integrated with your smart cash register, every time a customer successfully submits an order, a receipt will be automatically printed in the kitchen and bar area, without the need for staff to manually deliver it.
Conclusion
Aligning all these operational needs may sound challenging, but it's not impossible. This is where having an integrated system to help control every detail of transactions and service at your outlets comes in handy.
To save you the headache, you can use Android-based smart cashier technology, for example ESB POSLite. ESB is a simple, economical, and fully integrated smart cashier system with optimal features.
Come on, it's time to reduce operational drama and make your business run more automatically! Find the complete solution for smooth cashier transactions and digital ordering at your outlet by clicking ESB POSLite right now!
Get in touch with the ESB Team today and let's discuss what your F&B business needs!
