The challenge
The popular restaurant spotted that it was losing sales due to only having the capability to take orders for takeaway by telephone. For the customer, this meant frustrating call congestion and long waits sitting in the restaurant’s foyer awaiting the collection of their food. This also became a problem operationally for the restaurant when staff were spending too much time answering the phone. The restaurant has a strong customer following and therefore wanted to reward that loyalty, not just with great food, but with the best possible service.
The solution
288 Bar & Wok met initially with aggregator platforms such as Just Eat. The commission fees were too high and didn’t allow the restaurant to access its company data or showcase its brand. Preoday was selected due to a number of factors, firstly the platform is white-label, meaning that 288 Bar and Wok could retain its brand and control the customer experience. This was of particular importance to the business, which had worked hard developing the popular brand over the last 13 years. The restaurant also gained control of its customer data and can now get to know its customers better, both as individuals and as a wider group. This in turn has led personalised loyalty campaigns boosting profitability and attracting a higher number of repeat visits.
The implementation
The implementation of the technology was a very simple process. All the restaurants details were populated into an app submission form where they were able to attach menus, artwork and app details so the app could be built how the restaurant wanted it. The restaurant then received training so the team understood the platform and knew how to manage orders operationally.
Preoday also offered marketing support to ensure the launch plan was effective as possible. The restaurant wanted to get customer feedback before it went live, so decided to do something innovative to get their customer’s attention. Via its popular Facebook page, it asked for twenty volunteers to take part in a ‘Top Secret Project’. All twenty spots were taken within one hour. The volunteers were then invited to use the app and submit their feedback, rewarding them with a 50% discount in return. The feedback was very positive and the restaurant was able to fine tune the final stages of the app before the launch. When it launched, 288 Bar & Wok ran a 20% off all orders promotion to encourage the use of the app as well as publicising to its dine-in customers by sticking customised post-it-notes to the paper placemats in the restaurant. This was a simple and very cost-effective way to promote the app.
The results
The feedback from customers has been extremely positive. It allows them to order at a time
that is convenient to them, even when it is not for an immediate collection. Customers who have tried the app come back again and again, with over half of app orders coming from repeat customers. The restaurant is now encouraging large bookings of dine-in customers to pre-order via the app before they arrive, so there is flexibility in how they use it. There have been over 700 orders placed through the app since the launch in September. The restaurant has also discovered the most popular items on the menu – prawn crackers, crispy shredded beef and Singapore noodles – helping it to get to know their customers even better. By offering mobile and online ordering, 288 Bar & Wok has achieved its aim of boosting convenience, preventing phone call congestion, and improving overall customer experience.
“I regret being a late adopter of digital ordering technology. I didn’t realise the large number of customers who preferred to order online or via a mobile app. By setting up promo codes, we’ve even been able to encourage customers to switch to digital ordering from ordering via the telephone”
Pak Wai Hung, Owner, 288 Bar and Wok
It’s not as catchy as: ‘When is a door not a door?’ (answer, when it’s a jar) but it speaks to the idea that in-car collection, and the technologies that support it, are flexible enough to bend to the needs of a business and its guests.
Delivery can be daunting to the uninitiated, and it might be tempting to sign up with a third-party ordering aggregator that offers the service, such as UberEats, but other options could suit your business and brand better. Here we present three different ‘levels’ of delivery, starting with the most basic – and cheapest method: doing it yourself.
