The last six months have been a time of great upheaval for the hospitality industry yet as customers return more uncertainty lies ahead, which has seen many restaurants continue to offer takeaways.
Whether it is a reluctance to go out, enjoying the comforts of home or not being able to go out due to self-isolating, takeaways continue to be in demand.
While the Eat Out to Help Out scheme has done a good job in getting customers to return to restaurants, takeaway services have continued to be popular.
Some family businesses have found the financial implications of limiting diners too restrictive, while others have chosen to keep their doors closed due to health concerns. These businesses, among others offering a dual eat in/ takeaway service have continued to enjoy the flexibility and convenience of offering a takeaway service.
Getting your takeaway service up to speed
One thing that is important when it comes to takeaways though is speed. Hungry customers will often leave it until the last minute to call around looking for a takeaway delivery or collection – and meeting that need quickly will help retain loyal customers.
While some businesses have operated a slot booking system to control demand, the traditional takeaway model of calling up and ordering for a short-term delivery remains the norm.
If you have struggled to keep up with demand but have found that your commercial kitchen has enjoyed a consistent level of takeaway orders it could be time to make adaptions to help support a faster takeaway service.
Does your commercial kitchen equipment support takeaway demands?
Process, planning and convenience are key to a fast service – and so often a takeaway service is expected to be speedy.
While the financial implications are obviously extremely important in the current climate, if you are struggling to meet the demand for takeaway meals it could be worth taking a step back to look at your processes and see what could change or improve.
Are staff deployed in the most effective way? Is one person struggling to take orders and prepare food – is there any way you add a part-time member of staff, or reassign another?
Is there a lag between the order being placed and it being picked up in the kitchen? If you offer deliveries are orders being left waiting? Are you struggling to prioritise in-restaurant diners and home deliveries?
Are you missing out on additional business from passers-by because people need to enter the business to order?
Making changes to the layout of your restaurant or café could help to make the process smoother – and to bring in new business. This extends to making changes to the kitchen if necessary.
Improving commercial kitchen equipment
It could mean adding a new order point by the door, or outside, to allow your restaurant kitchen to pick up extra business.
The popularity of certain dishes on your takeaway menu might have meant a greater dependence on certain parts of the kitchen. Realigning the workspace to accommodate this could speed up the process.
In addition, make sure that your kitchen storage equipment allows you easy access to the most used products to save more time.
If you need to make any additions to your restaurant kitchen, including adding new equipment, Caterline can help. Offering new and refurbished commercial kitchen equipment we can cater for all budgets.
Make the changes to your commercial kitchen equipment that you need to improve the speed of your takeaway orders – get in touch with Caterline to find out how we can help.
For more advice speak to:
Caterline Commercial Kitchens Ltd, Unit 16, Primrose Trading Estate, Cradley Rd, Netherton, Dudley DY2 9SA. Phone 01384459111.