How to organize the restaurant in new conditions

Many companies from the HoReCa industry have stopped indefinitely. They risk not quarantining. Other, more experienced and famous, switched to work in the format of delivery and pickup. Their chances of keeping the business afloat increase significantly. Those who are at first confused but intend to fight will benefit from the experience of a famous restaurateur and consultant in the field of restaurant startups.
Inna Andreishina, owner of Good Idea, a restaurant consulting company, shared her recommendations on how to conduct business in unusual conditions. Prof HoReCa StartUp & Consulting, Managing Partner of the Georgian restaurant chain Puri Chveni Georgian restaurant and author of the Gaumarjos project! wine Georgian cafe.
Goal definition
It is important to understand and realize that delivery and Take Away at this stage are not about profit or even break-even point. The objectives that delivery delivers in the network of our restaurants in the Dnieper, Krivoy Rog and Irpen are as follows:

• Provide line-level employees with a minimum level of earnings.
• Save the most loyal and valuable employees.
• To stay in the guests' field of vision, to maintain their trust and interest.
• Do not give up on the owners and partners themselves.

Execution of obligations

Employees, products and utility bills are the main areas that require costs. We determined the minimum daily and hourly rate for employees who agreed to go out to work. We made a work schedule for employees so that everyone worked for a month for a while and had earnings. We wrote to all contractors who are not suppliers of products letters of temporary termination of cooperation and payments. They promised payment at the start of restaurants in normal operation. We always have a minimal lender, so most reacted with understanding.

Employee Safety

Some employees have personal cars. We have formed routes, and they deliver their colleagues to work and home. So we do not spend money on someone else's taxi, but pay for delivery to employees as drivers. Of course, the cars are disinfected, the guys ride in masks. All protective equipment for employees: masks, respirators, gloves, hand sanitizers, disposable bathrobes, vitamins - is also a restaurant concern. We also constantly conduct educational five-minute sessions on personal hygiene and quarantine. We have implemented contactless delivery with our personal couriers and strictly demand this from delivery operators.

Guest safety guarantees

Sanitary disinfection of the room - as in a hospital. All work surfaces, kitchen utensils, utensils, places for placing orders - are disinfected every few hours. We carry out a rigorous health check of working employees: measuring the temperature while still at home, testing our well-being before going to work, checking the temperature at the entrance to the restaurant, checking the temperature and hygiene measures by inspections during the working day. We inform the guests about social protection measures taken by the restaurant in social networks, newsletters, and advertising - this will reduce their anxiety and increase the number of orders.

Marketing and sales
No one was ready to work in such conditions, except for networks originally aimed at delivery. Our initial actions were as follows:
They also subscribed to the delivery application and Take Away http://e-app.com.ua/, on the basis of which they launched their branded delivery application on Google Play.

• We sent links to the application throughout our guest database.
• We ordered distribution services with geolocation to telecom operators.
• They personally phoned all the guests from the restaurant database, informed them about the format of work and the security measures taken.
• We carry out active work in social networks.
• Upon delivery, we make discounts and pleasant emotional gifts. A special concern is to deliver masks and a hand sanitizer along with dishes.

We developed new products: ready-made options for a family dinner or lunch, semi-finished products for cooking at home with online support from our chefs.

Management

All our management switched to the intensive and manual daily remote control mode. Be prepared to work in a very flexible and intensive mode, without planning for more than 3 days. If any of the actions turns out to be ineffective or does not find a response from your guests, we change decisions quickly. Another important ingredient: support morally staff and each other. We have a kind of "Emergency Psychological Georgian Khachapurn-Khinkal Assistance."

In our case, there is still support from investors and their understanding of the situation. All decisions are made online here and now.

I manage the quarantine headquarters of five online establishments from another country, from Georgia. And this is a new experience.

Useful Results

The situation forced to test new formats. Perhaps in the future we will display them in separate business units. And this has its advantages:

• Create profitable directions based on new products and solutions.
• Weed out "not our" staff.
• Allocate and necessarily give development to all employees who have shown themselves to be most effective during this period.
• Create a close club of loyal guests and offer them an exclusive loyalty program.
• Streamline all business processes in restaurants.
• Bring to absolute and automatic all standards of sanitation and hygiene in the institution in accordance with HASSP standards.
• Learn to make decisions quickly.
• Optimize your operating budget.
• Test the effectiveness of all marketing channels for future work.