No matter what type of food you specialize in, it is important to have to go menus that customers can refer to if they want to order takeout. If you’re a purely dine-in establishment, you are not really taking advantage of your business’ full earning potential. A lot of people don’t have the time or patience for a sit-down dinner, so they enjoy the quickness and convenience of ordering takeout.
Combine a To Go Menu with these Things to Set Your Business Up for Success
The first thing that you need to do is look for a to go menu printing company. Make sure that they specialize in offset printing, and that they offer different folding options, sizes, and a thick paper stock. When you combine the to go menu with the following, you can set your food business up for success:
- An effective menu
When you print pizza menus, for example, how many options are there? Studies show that seven is the ideal number where customers don’t feel overwhelmed with too many choices, while not thinking that they have limited choices, either.
- An easy ordering process
How easy is it for a customer to order takeout in your food establishment? If you don’t have a dedicated takeout menu counter, make sure that there’s an assigned space in it inside your diner. It could be one side of the counter, or just a simple sign pointing to where your takeout menu is.
- Good customer service
How friendly is your wait staff? Do they encourage hesitant customers to actually come into the restaurant and order food? Since their goal is to order takeout, the transaction should be quick and effortless – so make sure that you do offer good customer service.
- Good food quality
Of course, you will not have any repeat customers if your food does not taste good. Although customers are paying for convenience, food is still your main product so it has to give them their money’s worth.
- Sturdy packaging
You don’t want customers worrying about how they will carry the takeout boxes from your restaurant to their homes – so make sure that your food packaging is sturdy and attractive.
- Getting orders right – the first time!
You have one chance to make a good first impression, so get the customer’s order right the first time. Train your staff to listen carefully to what the customer has to say, and to check the content of the box before packing it for takeout.
- Food safety
This is a given for everyone in the food business: your products must be safe for consumption. Pay attention to quality, hygiene during food preparation, and make sure that the ingredients are from trusted sources.
By taking these things into account, you can have a successful venture into the takeout food business.
