18 May Is this the future of dining?

It’s Friday evening, you’ve had a long week and cooking seems like far too much effort so you reach for your phone and order in using your favourite takeaway app. It’s a common story and customers have a huge choice of apps when ordering a takeaway.

Imagine deciding to eat out with that same ease – you pick a restaurant, choose your food via the app and place the order and pre-pay. You turn up to be served within minutes, enjoy your meal and then leave when finished. Not only is this a positive experience for diners, but also for the restaurant, pre-orders fit into the flow of the business, increase table turnover and the restaurant can focus on making the dining experience as enjoyable as possible.

Yet, actually being able to order ahead at restaurants doesn’t seem to be as freely available particularly if dining outside of London. There are a number of restaurants that offer the option to order ahead, for example Wagamamas, but these are few and far between. More restaurants, such as Pizza Express, allow customers to pay at their table and easily split the bill between the group via an app. Being able to book a table, order ahead and then pay at the table all via one app greatly enhances customer experience and this is something that restaurants need to address.

Paypal recently updated its app allowing customers to pay their bill via the app in restaurants. Whilst it is possible to order ahead, few restaurants offer their customers that option. Customers demand convenience and speed, so why aren’t more restaurants taking advantage of apps offered by the likes of Paypal and Flypay, especially when the technology is there?

The benefits of offering a pre-order and pay app are clear – restaurants can focus on customer service and diners enjoy a fast and efficient service resulting in a good experience and repeat visits.

We would love to know your thoughts… contact us via hello@discoverglobal.co.uk