(CURBSIDE 101)

Experts from various sectors of the restaurant industry share their top lessons for offering seamless curbside service in the COVID-19 era.

BY TRACY MORIN

Though curbside service existed at some restaurants pre-pandemic, this category has been one of the new norms to explode over the past year—and for good reasons. Ashley Williams, director of training for Your Pie, based in Athens, Georgia, with more than 75 locations nationwide, notes that customers enjoy the convenience of ordering online or by phone and receiving quick, contactless service, without leaving the car. “Curbside has provided our guests with an option they never had before,” Williams says. “We’ve seen a great response, especially in our locations that have invested in designated spots or marked curbside areas.”

Curbside indeed ramps up convenience for customers, but what should owners keep in mind on the operations side to ensure a smooth process? We sought experts from various corners of the industry to weigh in.

LESSON #1: THE INDEPENDENT

As the pandemic eliminated the option of indoor dining, curbside business at Brian’s Pizza in Hinckley, Illinois, has skyrocketed over the last year. Daniella Gama-Diaz, client development specialist at Brian’s Pizza, shares her top ways to capitalize on this opportunity:

• Perfect the prep work. With more orders coming in— and quickly—having the sauce, cheese and condiments premade and ready to go makes assembly quicker.

• Reward and incentivize. Find ways to give your customers the best experience, even without being inside the restaurant—i.e, loyalty programs, deals and offers that make them want to come back soon.

• Learn to time the service. When a lot of customers are coming in to pick up orders, especially during lunch and dinner rushes, lines can get long. But customers don’t like to be kept waiting. By timing the process perfectly, employees can get pizzas cooked and customers serviced quickly, which keeps the line moving.

• Focus on the small details. When dining in, customers expect condiments like Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and napkins to be readily available at the table. For curbside orders, make sure to include takeout packets of condiments and napkins, so they feel like they got the closest thing to the real experience.

• Keep it low-contact. Remember that the reason for the rise in curbside is safety. Allow customers to stay in their vehicles while the staff runs out orders. Make sure everyone is masked up and try to handle as much of the payment as possible over the phone or online.

LESSON #2: THE CHAIN

Pre-pandemic, the fast-casual pizza chain Your Pie made 80% to 85% of its business from in-store sales; now, 55% of sales come from off-premise customers. To meet these demands, several Your Pie locations created their own drive-thrus in their parking lots, while others installed walk-up windows to order takeout.

The change to curbside and drive-thru required some operational changes: implementing systems and checkpoints for employees to ensure accuracy and safety for each order; installing heating shelves to keep food warm; and finding ways to facilitate the flow of orders from the kitchen to pickup or drive-thru areas. “At first, guests were unaware of how to let team members know they had arrived, and it ended up leading to long wait times,” Williams says. “We also worked on improving the accuracy of orders.”

Here are Williams’ top tips for operators:

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• Have a rollout plan. This includes knowing how to make guests aware of the changes, investing in parking spots or curbside signs, and training team members and potential lookouts. You’ll probably need a phone system that has multiple phone lines or an answering system.

• Invest in training and teaching. Team members need to be taught how to handle any additional steps, including checking for accuracy of every order, greeting guests at their car, and delivering an order to the vehicle in a safe way. Also focus on the little things and ways to make this experience better than your competitors’, such as premaking essentials bags that include things most guests request, like silverware, additional toppings, etc.

• Plan for ways to keep the product warm. Most guests expect the food to be ready when they arrive, and they also expect hot food to be hot and cold food to be cold. Have ways to distinguish curbside from takeout or delivery orders, so team members can quickly find them.

LESSON #3: THE PAYMENT PROCESSOR

Katie Swett, product lead of San Francisco-based Square Online, believes that curbside pickup is likely to remain popular even after COVID-19-related restrictions ease up. She offers these helpful suggestions for pizzerias:

• Develop a separate curbside menu. A curbside pickup menu will help with cost savings and order flow. Include your most popular items, especially those that will also travel well.

• Offer specialized items like family packs and meal kits. Include these deals on your curbside pickup menu. They will intrigue customers while helping feed them in a variety of ways, from readyto-go meals to pizzas that customers can make themselves for a fun at-home activity.

• Communicate with customers that you offer curbside pickup. This can include updating your website so customers can place curbside orders online; sending out email and SMS marketing messages to alert customers about curbside pickup; and adding coupons to incentivize customers to try curbside pickup for the first time.

• Ensure fast and convenient payments. Make it easy for customers to prepay online, especially on a mobile device, or have a flexible POS system that allows customers to use contactless payments. You also might consider using a portable payment system so you can take payments anywhere.

• Don’t forget your signage. Add clear signage to your physical location to streamline the pickup process. Some locations use QR codes posted outside the restaurant, giving customers more ways to order and pay digitally.

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LESSON #4: THE FOOD SAFETY EXPERT

Chris Boyles, VP of food safety for Steritech in Charlotte, North Carolina, notes the following musts for safety-first curbside services:

• Continue to make food safety a priority. This includes proper temperature control, cooling of cooked foods, prevention of cross-contamination, and labeling of ready-to-eat foods. With the healthcare system stretched, we need to keep foodborne illnesses out of the mix.

• Pay attention to packaging. Packaging for takeout orders should be sturdy enough for the rigors of carryout and delivery. Use tamperevident seals. Pre-portion items such as dipping sauces, silverware and napkins, and wrap or bag them to help lessen the amount of handling and streamline the process for packaging orders.

• Get every order right. Create a formal process to verify accuracy when packing the order. One of the most common complaints with delivery, drive-thru and curbside is orders having incorrect or missing items.

• Implement refresher training on gloves. If team members move between customer interaction and food prep, they must remove gloves, wash their hands and don new gloves. Gloves are notorious for giving food handlers a false sense of security. Stress that food handlers must change gloves anytime they would normally wash their hands.

• Choose the ideal pickup location. This should be a place that limits customer contact and can be disinfected frequently. Configure the parking area and have a system for team members to deliver food to customers in their vehicles. Team members taking orders to cars should wear high-visibility safety vests and gloves. As much as possible, team members should touch containers only along the side. Customers can then grab the untouched top/handles or bottom, or team members can place the food directly in the back seat or trunk.

• Disinfect frequently. Frequently disinfect any indoor surfaces touched by customers who pick up food. Prevent customer traffic into restaurants when possible. Disinfect surfaces frequently touched by team members. As much as possible, assign team members to specific zones in the kitchen—this will maximize social distancing and minimize common touch points. If the dining room is closed, consider closing restrooms to the public as well. Ensure delivery drivers regularly clean and disinfect their delivery containers and vehicle surfaces, and wash/sanitize their hands often.

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