How to get takeaway and delivery right

To help foodservice operators navigate their way through takeaway and delivery, here's a quick checklist to getting takeaway and delivery right.

Plan

As tempting as it will be to get set-up quickly, taking some time to plan out the logistics for your new takeaway service will help it to go more smoothly.

The key questions to ask are:

• When will you open?
• What dishes will you serve?
• Who will prepare and cook them?
• What containers will you put them in?
• How will you take payment?
• Is collection safe from your site?
• How will you deliver food (if you do decide to offer this service)?

Adapt your menu

Your restaurant's signature dish might be a popular choice with your regular diners, but remember, it usually only travels from kitchen to table, not several miles in a car or on the back of a bike, before the customer takes a bite. To ensure the quality of your offering remains high, you may need to adapt dishes to be enjoyed at home. For operational reasons (having less staff on site and fluctuations in customer numbers) it may also pay to cut the number of dishes available.

Remember allergen legislation still applies for takeaway dishes, so ensure allergen information is available to customers at the point of ordering.

Think logistically

Once you have devised your new takeaway menu, you'll need to decide when you will serve it, how you will take orders and payment, and how your customers will receive it.

A simplified menu adapted for takeaway should make it easier for orders to be taken and cooked, but because customers may be turning up to collect them (see social distancing below), or waiting for them to be delivered, good management of orders is crucial. If you can take orders online and collect payment online this will ensure a smoother transaction. Access has partnered with Preoday and Qikserve to enable operators to do just this. Find out how easy it is to get set-up, click here.

To maintain the quality of a dish as it leaves the kitchen, you’ll need to source suitable packaging to contain it on its journey and avoid spillages. If you are offering to deliver orders, make sure that you, or the company you use for delivery, has enough insulated food bags or boxes to keep orders suitably hot or cold and that they are kept clean.

Social distancing

The social distancing rule, which requires individuals to leave a space of at least 2m between one another, applies to both staff and customers, so operators will need to ensure staff have enough space to do their jobs safely. This also applies at break times.

If customers are coming to collect their orders, you will need to leave space for them to queue at 2m intervals ideally or 1m with extra precautions in place in line with the latest Government advice, or give them an allotted pick-up time if you will not be able to safely do this. Signs up outside your premises and on your website (see communicate below) explaining the system will help them understand what you are trying to do.

Communicate your plans

If you’ve gone to all the above efforts to set up at takeaway offering, you’ll want customers to use it. With the Government urging us to stay home, footfall past your outlet will be minimal, so you will need to advertise your services online. Update your website with your new menu and communicate terms of your service clearly, sign up to a delivery partner, use social media, or do all three to ensure your new takeaway and delivery service is visible to all.

Visit the ‘Adapting your business in unprecedented times’ hub, where you’ll have access to useful information and resources on how you can adapt your hospitality business and help to support your teams through these unprecedented times.