8 Hacks Restaurants are Deploying to beat Coronavirus
8 Hacks Restaurants are Deploying to beat Coronavirus

The corona virus outbreak has definitely brought the Restaurant business to a grinding halt. While the restaurateur still believe this is temporary and things will get back to normal pace, it will definitely have significant financial implications. Here are few measures that these players are adopting to combat corona fever:

Online is the trend: “Since February end, our dine-in sales have seen a decline and the delivery has seen an uptick as our patrons feel that by ordering in they are limiting their exposure while savouring the same great flavours they are used to from Tawak. As more and more companies are instituting a work from home policy and the government has ordered closure of schools, cinemas & malls; people who are staying indoors more are preferring online and app delivery,” added Deepankar Arora of Tawak who also has an online business in Noida.

Hygiene Practices: “We have taken precautionary measures by first training our entire staff on how the virus spreads & the right way to control/minimize the same. At Aerocity being the nearest to Airport, we get guests from all over the world to dine at our place & we are ensuring that we maintain utmost hygiene by doing the basics right. Simple things like servers washing their hands regularly, cleaning the tables with disinfectant, cleaning all areas touched by guests like door knobs, chairs, tables, etc. Our staff has also been trained on not to panic & disregard the myths around the disease. We must realise that out of 94000 infected patients till 4th March more than 60% have recovered,” said Vishal Anand, Owner, Farzi Café, Aerocity, Delhi.

Contact less delivery: Players like Domino’s and McDonald’s have adopted contact-less delivery to combat coronavirus. The aim of this new delivery model is to ensure safety of both customers and the delivery staff. It will allow its customers to receive their order without coming in contact with a delivery staff. The latest version of the “Zero contact delivery” will be available in the latest version of the Dominos app. For the customers to avail the service, they need to select the "Zero contact delivery" delivery option while placing an order and pay digitally from the latest version of the Domino's app.

Pratik Pota, Chief Executive Officer & Whole Time Director said, "Customers can place an online order through the Domino's app, ask for Zero Contact Delivery and pay digitally. We will then deliver the Domino's pizzas to customers without any physical contact with our guests. Customer and Employee safety is our number 1 priority and we are taking all measures towards that."

Awareness among Staff: "First and most important thing that we all have to take care is not to Panic. Being in the hospitality industry, we any way take extra precautions as serving food to anyone in a hygienic environment is a biggest responsibility. With the onset of this virus, our staff has been trained specially to wash their hands after every half an hour, cleaning of kitchen area several times in a day, regularly cleaning the restaurant with disinfectant. Also, we are arranging disposal masks and hand sanitizers for every table," shared Vikrant Batra, Director, Dhansoo Cafe.

Workshops and Training Sessions: “We are Conducting briefings and training sessions with all Team Members to increase awareness and stress on the importance of hygiene practices,” shared Sujith Herbert, General Manager, Hilton Garden Inn New Delhi/Saket who is taking precautionary measures since as hotels have people coming from all around the world. Starting from housekeeping to the kitchens to the washrooms, restaurants bars etc.

Employee cut: “The availability of great food online is also a great comfort to have when cooking loads and caretaking at home become significantly higher for those responsible. At Instapizza, we are taking extraordinary steps to ensure that our kitchens remain safe and clean work environments. We have enforced an every-15 minute handwash and sanitize policy, and an every 2 hour "all surfaces disinfected" policy,” shared Ashwin Jain, Founder, Instapizza which has also reduced the number of staff at each outlet at any given time to reduce clustering. “Since order volumes have only increased, that means our team members are having to work harder - but we all recognise that it is a team effort that will get us through,” he added.

Focus is on Health: With people avoiding social gatherings due to the corona virus spread, businesses have been affected across industries, restaurants being one of them, said Vaibhav Sachdev, Owner, Connaught Club House. He added, "However, we are positive that this is a temporary phase and things will get back to normalcy once the summers approaches and temperatures go up. Meanwhile, to ensure safety and hygiene, we are taking utmost care and precautions. From the entire staff wearing masks to usage of hand sanitizers and alcohol wipes, we are committed towards ensuring consumers health, which has always been our top priority."

Delivering Healthy Food: Safe and healthy food remains core of any disease and to ensure the same restaurants are doing their best to deliver health in the terms of food they serve.  "As a responsible brand, we are practising the best hygiene mantainance to ensure safety of our consumers and will continue to do so. Our staff too has been educated, made aware and trained to take precautionary measures and deliver sheer health in form of food,” added Akshay Luthria, Founder Street Storyss.

 
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