it in line. Drive-thru and talk to a speaker box. Phone ahead? Not in too many places. Fax it in and hope someone sees the fax so the food is ready when you arrive. Not too many good options. Expensive? It might seem to be, but it’s similOne of the competitive advantages quick-serves have long enjoyed is customer convenience due to the shorter cook times and the ability for the customer to pick up their food in a drive-thru or drive-in. That’s no longer the case. I recently passed a full-service restaurant that had a drive-thru for call-ahead and pickup orders. While it might sound crazy, it’s not that far-fetched. With so many full-service restaurants offering to-go and curbside pickup, drive-thrus are not far behind for them. Either way, the advantage you once had is shrinking.

Additionally, at many restaurants you can order online or talk to a call center that handles the to-go calls. Having run a large call center/web booking service for a family entertainment chain, I’ve seen the benefits of professional sales staff not only improve sales, but also the quality of the phone experience for the customer.

How can your customers order from you today? Dine-in and wait in line. Drive-thru and talk to a speaker box. Phone ahead? Not in too many places. Fax it in and hope someone sees the fax so the food is ready when you arrive. Not too many good options. Expensive? It might seem to be, but it’s simila

y passed a full-service restaurant that had a drive-thru for call-ahead and pickup orders. While it might sound crazy, it’s not that far-fetched. With so many full-service restaurants offering to-go and curbside pickup, drive-thrus are not far behind for them. Either way, the advantage you once had is shrinking.

Additionally, at many restaurants you can order online or talk to a call center that handles the to-go calls. Having run a large call center/web booking service for a family entertainment chain, I’ve seen the benefits of professional sales staff not only improve sales, but also the quality of the phone experience for the customer.

How can your customers order from you today? Dine-in and wait in line. Drive-thru and talk to a speaker box. Phone ahead? Not in too many places. Fax it in and hope someone sees the fax so the food is ready when you arrive. Not too many good options. Expensive? It might seem to be, but it’s simil

far behind for them. Either way, the advantage you once had is shrinking.

Additionally, at many restaurants you can order online or talk to a call center that handles the to-go calls. Having run a large call center/web booking service for a family entertainment chain, I’ve seen the benefits of professional sales staff not only improve sales, but also the quality of the phone experience for the customer.

How can your customers order from you today? Dine-in and wait in line. Drive-thru and talk to a speaker box. Phone ahead? Not in too many places. Fax it in and hope someone sees the fax so the food is ready when you arrive. Not too many good options. Expensive? It might seem to be, but it’s simil

ce for a family entertainment chain, I’ve seen the benefits of professional sales staff not only improve sales, but also the quality of the phone experience for the customer.

How can your customers order from you today? Dine-in and wait in line. Drive-thru and talk to a speaker box. Phone ahead? Not in too many places. Fax it in and hope someone sees the fax so the food is ready when you arrive. Not too many good options. Expensive? It might seem to be, but it’s simil

it in line. Drive-thru and talk to a speaker box. Phone ahead? Not in too many places. Fax it in and hope someone sees the fax so the food is ready when you arrive. Not too many good options. Expensive? It might seem to be, but it’s similar to credit card acceptance --- if it brings in incremental business, the investment is worth it.

By making it easier for the customer to order and pick up their food, what happens?

Dine-in. Phone stops ringing but the cash register doesn’t. Put in an express line or entrance with a dedicated POS terminal (or a wireless payment device) to get these folks through quickly.

Drive-thru. Think about wireless payment acceptance in the drive-thru line. Not only does it help these customers, but you can help bust the line during peak times by taking orders and accepting credit/debit payments to speed up at-the-window times.

Order sizes get larger. Allowing the customer to pre-order (and pre-pay) will increase the size of your average order. All of a sudden one customer can now come in and pick up the order for the entire office, without the need to pay for each one individually and slow the time down.

Customer base expands