How to Add Curbside Service to a Restaurant

Excellent customer service is a vital component of running a successful restaurant. Restaurant owners can expand their services by offering curbside service to their patrons. The information below will help you learn how to add curbside service to a restaurant.

Instructions

1. Understand how curbside service works. It's similar to carry out in that customers travel to the restaurant to pick up their food. However, instead of having to get out of the car and go into the restaurant, the staff brings the food out to the customer's vehicle and collects payment at that point. Customers never have to leave their cars.

2. Think about which customers will most likely utilize curbside service and market it to them. Focus on busy parents who don't want to take children out of their car seats and people in a rush because they're on their way home from work.

3. Designate a number of parking stalls as your curbside pick-up area. Put up a couple of signs so patrons know they should park there when they're picking up their food. Choose stalls that are close to a staff entrance so that workers don't have to carry the food throughout the entire restaurant.

4. Assign curbside services duties to your staff. Ask hosts to take orders over the phone and take food out to vehicles when they arrive. When taking an order, staff can ask customers for a short description of their car so they know what to look for.

5. Be prepared to handle multiple payment methods. When they go out to deliver the food, staff should have plenty of change available in case the customer pays in cash. If a customer pays by credit card or debit card, the staff person will most likely need to go back into the store to run the transaction.

6. Purchase a variety of to-go containers that will adequately hold all of your menu options. Remember to include containers for soup, salads, side orders and condiments.