Chuck Tanowitz

As we all try to adjust to the new reality of doing business, the Paytronix community is coming together to share best practices for customer outreach in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak. We hope you find some ideas here that will help you in your day-to-day marketing operations.

Extend Your Outreach

Right now, use your loyalty resources to connect with both existing and potential customers, regardless of whether they are loyalty program members. Let them all know if you are open and to what extent. Are you open only for takeout or do you offer ordering and delivery? How about curbside pickup?

While your loyalty program has always been a great communications channel for reaching your best customers, consider taking your campaigns into new channels.

Primanti Bros. Restaurant and Bar, the 87-year-old, Pittsburgh-based creator of sandwiches topped with French fries, took a one-off reward usually only available to loyalty members, such as two sandwiches for $10, and promoted it on all available channels – loyalty, e-club, and social media – to reach the widest possible audience.

Stay home. But order big. Safely snag some comfort with FREE delivery and takeout at https://t.co/LoI9al5RUM, on our mobile app or through @DoorDash. pic.twitter.com/LJMXD2vtvL

— Primanti Bros (@primantibros) March 17, 2020

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When the COVID-19 pandemic forced Prime Hospitality Group of Indianapolis to close its dining rooms, the leadership team needed to maintain a source of revenue to help keep its 750 employees safe, fed, and part of the team. 

That’s a key reason why the company signed with Paytronix to offer ordering and delivery through the rapid-response product that launched last week. In just a few days, Prime was able to get delivery up and running at its flagship location in Northside Indianapolis and keep serving guests. It also plans to use the DoorDash connection for delivery, in addition to existing deals with Uber Eats and Postmates. These efforts will enable this location to continue doing the highest volume in Prime Hospitality Group’s portfolio.

Takeout and delivery had previously been a secondary focus, intended to fulfill guests’ preference for convenience. Until recently, Prime had always concentrated almost exclusively on the on-premises experience.

“I believe that online ordering and delivery is a necessity in our current circumstances,” said Prime Hospitality Group President Kristy Rans. “We still think that our product is one that can be enjoyed at home even outside the traditional service and hospitality that we provide within the four walls of our restaurants.” […]

With dine-in and bar experiences shut down for nearly every restaurant in the country, Paytronix has quickly rolled out a way for restaurants to implement an online order-and-delivery program. This highly focused offering gets a simple program going in one to two weeks.

It’s built on the cloud-based Paytronix connector, which sends information through a connected Windows machine to generate output at a printer. An employee then takes that information and enters it into the POS system. The system also features self-service menu management, so restaurants can make menu changes quickly to adjust to inventory changes. Clients can also easily activate delivery through our DoorDash partnership or offer delivery from their own in-house operation.

Rapid launching is designed to be a fast, easy way to get moving and not intended to replace the full-featured version of the Paytronix Order & Delivery product. 

For more information, contact the Paytronix team at 617-649-3300, ext. 5. 

The Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell University estimates that the cost to restaurants for employee turnover averages $5,864 per person. There is also an ongoing labor shortage brought on by a combination of low unemployment, a decaying transportation system, and a lack of suitable housing near the nation’s urban cores. With minimum wages rising around the country it’s easy to understand why restaurants want to automate as much of the guest experience as possible. This is why Taco Bell is now paying some managers six-figure salaries. 

Turnover in the restaurant industry reached nearly 75% in 2018, with quick-service restaurants registering higher numbers. Panera Bread reports a 130% turnover rate, while Chipotle says that turnover for its hourly employees is 145%. […]