Hospital Cashless and payroll deduction IS a great idea and if your organization has not yet embraced this service, you may wish to give this solution some serious consideration. Likewise, if you are unhappy with your current solution or provider, there are options. We're happy to help answer any questions you may have.
2) Your audience has a small window of service
In part one we indicated your audience has a limited window of service. This should remain a constant factor in your thinking as you prepare your service offerings. Now, let's discuss the window of service.
- How long does it take to place an order?
- Is the ordering process clear?
- Is it easy to see your daily specials?
- Are your signage and other announcements a quick read?
The first item on the list should be obvious. How long does it take to fulfill an order and get your patron on their way to enjoy their meal. If this is a complicated process, fret with too many steps, this will become a hinderance and make your patrons think twice about visiting.
Keep the order process simple. If your system can produce a barcoded ticket for easy payment, perfect. Better yet would be to eliminate the checkout process altogether. As the saying goes, make it easy to do business with you!
When patrons visit to pickup their order, or at the time of checkout, make it easy to add some additional goodness to their order. These upsells go straight to the bottom line. Upsell, it’s quick, simple, and adds a smile when the items are perceived of value. Make the quick-pick items special and interesting.
Second, is your ordering process clear? If you a kiosk station, is it evident how to place an order or maybe even evident that you HAVE a kiosk? Are the lines at the kiosk a pain or are the kiosks poorly placed? If your ordering process is less than ideal, perhaps having some fliers handy that explain the process, signage that explains it, OR, better yet – FIX THE ISSUE. Guess that last part goes without saying, but hey, sometimes we need a little reminder.
Third, has to do with our daily specials. It may look nice to have an 8 ½ x 11 page with 8 point font explaining the all the goodness and ingredients in the special but WOW, that is painful to navigate while your patron is hungry, limited on time, and just wants to know what their options are. Post your specials where they are easy to see, maybe even at the entrance which gives your patrons the time to consider the option against their favorites they are likely to purchase. Keep it SIMPLE, BIG fonts, and a QUICK read.
This leads us right into our last item. How easy is your signage to grok? I realize that having text with fancy fonts and amazing backgrounds makes for some pretty displays, BUT, can your patron READ IT? If the fonts blur with the background, your contrast too difficult to see, or several other factors that detract from the message, your patrons will “notice” the signage but won’t SEE the message. It’s the message we’re trying to convey so would highly recommend that we consider the message first, and then just enough “pretty stuff” to make it noticeable. Less is more! If you do not have a digital signage option, we can help there too.
Key takeaway: Make it clear what you have available for sale and make it easy to buy.
Service with a smile, friendly greeting, and energy. They WILL remember the experience.
Till then, let's create smiles, one meal at a time.
Written by Wolf Scott
Founder, Newcare International
www.newcare.international