We have recently created a new collection of help articles and solutions for the unprecedented issues that have arisen out of new social distancing guidelines and changes. These appear to be the most common queries that our users have been asking for assistance with.
We also have another useful collection of 30+ common problems that restaurateurs face daily, which simpleERB is able to provide solutions to help. Click here to view these.
I want… to create set sitting times with a cover capacity to assist with social distancing guidelines
New problems restaurants are facing for social distancing guidelines include the limited capacity to seat a number of people at one time, or the changes to the number of people or households per booking according to local authorities. Some places are resorting to set sitting times at busy service periods to closely monitor this.
In simpleERB you can easily change your timeslots to sittings with partial open days and then set a max cover for that time slot along with applying a table turn time in advance settings. Find our full article here on how to do this step by step.
I want… to add a ‘cleaning buffer time” to bookings
You may have set up a cleaning regimen for COVID guidelines and each table after booking is now cleaned and sanitized before the next booking. In simpleERB, by making a couple of tweaks to your settings, you can add on an extra X mins to the tables turn time to allow for this and ensure the customer is still aware they only have your standard stay time, example 90mins allocated. This will ensure you are not rushing about trying to clean the table while the next booking is waiting for their table.
I want… to change booking times to sittings and change the cover capacity per time slot.
COVID authority restrictions can have different capacity rules and you might want to change your booking slots to be sitting times for example all bookings in at 12:00 and leave at 13:45 leaving time for cleaning prior to next bookings at 14:00. This could help to control and monitor capacity capping with a hardcover limit per time slot.
simpleERB is able to assist with changing your current diary set up easily and the ability to custom override your current booking time slots.
I want... to know where customers would like to be seated (inside or outside)
If you have outdoor seating available, some customers now might prefer to be seated here instead of indoors. While simpleERB can’t currently allow customers to auto select and assign a booking to a table to that area, you can have customers highlight to you where they wish to be seated using booking offers. You can then easily monitor the bookings coming in to ensure their booking is on a table in the requested area.
I want.....to ensure my customers are informed about our social distancing policy
It is encouraged to make your customers aware when booking of, your social distancing policy so they feel reassured and safe when visiting your establishment and in return, to also help protect your staff. In simpleERB we have a few different options available where you can apply your policy such as in T&C, booking confirmations and then again highlight and remind customers of the most important requirements and cancellation policies through email and SMS reminders (chargeable).
simpleERB is working on incorporating Guest Contact Tracing into our current set up so it will be all in the one place for you and your customers. Click here to find out more - launching soon.
In the meantime, you can still obtain a list of customer details from your Diary view. Find out how here.