NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 2, 2023 / While the restaurant industry in America dates back several hundred years, it has remained remarkably unchanged. A customer is hungry and wants something to eat, so they go to a cafe, sit down, order, and have a meal. However, while the basic concept remains the same, the space has seen a fundamental shift, due in no small part to the pandemic, when establishments closed and the public was forced to go online. Now, in addition to physical locations, restaurants are running virtual kitchens, which allow customers to order on the Internet and get their food via DoorDash and other delivery systems. It is a new day for owners, who are presented with crucial new revenue opportunities but are struggling to blend them into their operations. The solution, says vGrubs, is restaurant management software - but the trick is choosing the right one.
The digital era is rewriting the rules of success for a restaurant, leading to new problems for owners
Before online delivery platforms like Uber Eats, customers flowed into a restaurant from one direction: through the front door. Everything within the business was ordered around this fact, including the number of staff and their duties, preparation of orders, billing, and even the resolution of complaints.
Now, however, the rules have changed. Customers may still walk into the restaurant as usual, but they also "arrive" via as many as six or seven delivery systems. This poses unique challenges for the owner, as the Internet is an undeniably important source of orders and revenue and cannot be ignored:
- The ability of customers to order online is evolving so rapidly that owners are being left behind, revenue-wise.
- Owners now must look in multiple directions to manage customers and can no longer efficiently direct order traffic.
Owners know that the answer is restaurant management software, but they are still struggling to optimize their operations
The solution is, perhaps ironically, technology: owners need software that empowers them to get on top of the orders and effectively manage them just as they did in the days before delivery platforms.
To some extent, that is already on the market. There are several well-known vendors who aggregate on tablets, meaning they provide one central location for restaurants to access their orders on multiple delivery platforms. While useful, that is only one vital piece of the puzzle.
Restaurant owners are overwhelmed by new responsibilities because of deficient management software
Multiple problems still remain that are preventing owners from capitalizing on crucial revenue streams. Each one must be solved so that a restaurant's operations can find momentum and enjoy new productivity.
Marketing
A restaurant's physical location may have an excellent reputation, but it took time to cultivate it. Matching it online, let alone on various delivery platforms, can be a challenge. To capitalize on the ability of the Internet to open up doors to new customers, owners must create a strategic marketing plan, one that is carefully thought out and implemented by dedicated team members.
The issue in a nutshell: Too much time and resources are required from a restaurant owner who is already busy with other tasks.
Branding and customer data
Another difficulty with marketing, or branding, is that when a customer goes to DoorDash or UberEats, they are interacting directly with the delivery platform, not the restaurant itself. With that built-in obstacle, the ability of a restaurant to establish a loyal customer base becomes that much harder.
Also, while some platforms may provide customer analytics for the restaurant, they usually do not reveal the most valuable data. This prevents an owner from offering targeted promotions or customizing their marketing efforts.
The issue in a nutshell: Restaurant owners are limited in their ability to 100% connect with customers, run relevant, effective promotional campaigns, and optimize revenue.
Quality control
Quality, or how satisfied a customer is with their order when they open it at home or elsewhere, begins in the kitchen. While restaurants undoubtedly understand the importance of food arriving at the proper temperature and nothing being forgotten, a customer's satisfaction is heavily impacted by the organization of a kitchen. When staff are pulled in multiple directions because they lack one central place to handle all aspects of deliveries, that creates a domino effect. That confusion spirals outward, creating further problems that ultimately lead to a dissatisfied customer.
The issue in a nutshell: Restaurants are unable to keep full control over delivery orders from start to finish, resulting in poor quality of food.
Adjustments, cancellations, and accounting issues
One of the little known facts about Grubhub, UberEats, and DoorDash is that restaurants don't really know how much they will be paid until the pay date. There can be a difference between what they believe they will make from delivery sales and what is actually deposited in their accounts.
The issue centers on adjustments and cancellations. Online deliveries come with both risks, of course, but when a customer questions an order or cancels it, the restaurant owner is not always immediately notified. The result is that what they receive from Grubhub, UberEats, and Doordash is less than what they expected.
The issue in a nutshell: Restaurants are unable to accurately predict what their revenue will be, even from completed orders.
Too much time on the phone
When a restaurant does learn of a cancellation or adjustment, they can spend an hour or more on the phone with Uber and other delivery platforms to try to resolve it. What is the cost of one hour? Fifteen dollars? Considering that the restaurant may get back $.50 or $5 in return, that can be a frustrating investment to make.
The issue in a nutshell: Restaurants are wasting valuable time and money to get back money that, yes, matters but is not always proportional to the length of the phone call.
Extra staff
One option for restaurants - hiring a staff member to handle all the intricacies of delivery management - is doable but can be expensive. As one example, if an employee spends 40 hours each week managing delivery fulfillment, resolving complaints, and other tasks, the restaurant will pay them over $2,400/month.
The issue in a nutshell: Delegating delivery management to one person is an expense that should not be necessary for restaurants.
vGrubs is filling in the holes and smoothing a restaurant's transition to 21st-century revenue opportunities
If it sounds like restaurant owners and their staff are wearing far too many hats in 2023, you are right. The reality is that they were already incredibly busy long before online deliveries became possible. Expecting them to take on extra duties is just not viable.
The solution is vGrubs, the universal delivery tablet that aggregates, increases, and supports a restaurant's online orders (and does a whole lot more than that). Let's start at the beginning so that you can see how vGrubs empowers restaurants to optimize their food deliveries by doing the heavy lifting for them - all through one tablet and your cell phone.
Aggregation
vGrubs' White Glove Service makes it simple for restaurant owners to manage their online deliveries via a tablet that aggregates all of the delivery platforms (and their virtual kitchens, by the way. More on that later). vGrubs' expert team members configure the tablet remotely and then ship it safely to the restaurant, where it arrives 100% ready to be used. Orders are routed by vGrubs directly to the kitchen.
Issue solved: Restaurants have one central place for all orders from multiple delivery platforms. There is no need for employees to monitor their cell phones or hover awkwardly over computers. One tablet - always.
vGrubs' dedicated text line
vGrubs has broken new ground in the restaurant management software industry by offering the 24/7 assistance of its agents. Even in the best of kitchens, things go wrong: deliveries are missing items, or something is removed or added to an order. vGrubs' clients are able to just text its agent and receive assistance instantly.
Issue solved: Rather than fix delivery issues themselves, restaurants can easily communicate with vGrubs and get the help they need.
vGrubs, adjustments, and cancellations
Arguably the most popular service offered by vGrubs is its complete handling of all complaints, cancellations, and other "surprises." Remember that in the past, it took an hour on the phone with UberEats to resolve one problem - not the most profitable way for a staff member to spend their time.
vGrubs handles this frustrating process from start to finish. For example, when a customer cancels an order, vGrubs instantly receives notice through its system. Its real agents then immediately call the delivery platform and work to resolve the issue for the restaurant. As great as this is, here is the best part: vGrubs will then text the restaurant and notify them of how much money its staff just recovered for them. Over time, this can add up to hundreds of dollars being saved every month.
Issue solved: Restaurant staff no longer have to resolve issues with delivery platforms or spend hours on the phone. They are free to simply serve customers and keep the orders flowing.
vGrubs and virtual kitchens
As exciting as this is for restaurants, vGrubs takes their capabilities one step further with its virtual kitchens. This represents a significant potential source of new revenue for owners. Here's how it works:
- Consider a restaurant that is known for serving up incredible hamburgers. While sales are great, part of its menu isn't doing so well: five or six pasta dishes.
- Remember, there isn't anything terrible about them - just the opposite, in fact. Pasta just isn't what the restaurant's typical customers want to have.
- Rather than drop it from the menu altogether, an owner decides to sell the line online via vGrubs' virtual kitchens.
- vGrubs has two options for an online restaurant:
- It can create a new virtual brand for the customer and help them sell their line to more customers this way.
- Or, it can promote the pasta under one of its pre-existing, well-known virtual brands.
- With either choice, vGrubs' team customizes the menu and handles the branding.
- Crucially, vGrubs handles all marketing for the virtual restaurant and does not receive any sales commission from the original restaurant.
- The process is as intensive or hands-on as the client prefers. vGrubs is able to match the original brand in the new virtual kitchen or create one from scratch.
Issue solved: Restaurants can optimize the sales of their dishes, even those that haven't performed as well as they could, and create a new customer base.
Why vGrubs is the right solution for restaurant owners in the digital era
With any business, including in the restaurant industry, it comes down to numbers, so let's lay them out:
- vGrubs' competitors charge around $3,000/year to only provide aggregation.
- vGrubs charges $129/month for all of its services and includes an unlimited free trial for a limited time.
- Some of vGrubs' best clients are enjoying an additional $20,000/month by selling via its virtual restaurants.
- vGrubs is convenient and easy, and it not only saves its clients money but it makes them money.
In the end, the choice is obvious. While every owner must optimize the operations of their restaurant to be competitive online, they shouldn't have to take on the jobs of three or four more people to do so. With vGrubs, they have the best of both worlds: Internet deliveries are streamlined and run like clockwork, and owners can simply concentrate on making the food. By leveraging the best restaurant management technology to run their online kitchens, they can concentrate on the real reason they got into business in the first place.
About vGrubs
vGrubs is the universal delivery tablet that gets more orders. Through its virtual restaurants, clients can generate more revenue via extra delivery orders, enjoy 24/7 customer support, and rely on vGrubs' agents to dispute claims and recover revenue. For more information, please contact:
Jon Gabb
818-600-7488
jon@vgrubs.com
www.vgrubs.com
https://www.facebook.com/vgrubs
https://www.instagram.com/vgrubs.us/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/vgrubs
SOURCE: vGrubs
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