Like most people, the team at Feebi HQ have been glued to the news in recent days following the outbreak of COVID-19 and all of its implications on businesses globally. We have particularly seen the effect on restaurants and how much impact this virus is having on the restaurant industry as a whole.

We have been thinking of ways to help our restaurant community to survive and thrive through this crisis and we want to share a few ideas here.

The obvious one: offering takeaway services. If you have the capacity to offer a no-contact takeaway or delivery service where customers can enjoy food from your restaurant risk-free, that is a great way to keep money coming in even when your venue is closed. You can advertise your menu on social media or your website and have people call to order.

Keep active on social media! It may not seem high on your priority list at this time, but the more awareness you can spread about your restaurant, the more customers will be willing to help in any way they can; see our recent blog post on what people can do to support businesses during COVID-19.

Promote your gift cards. If you give your customers the option to purchase a ‘meal in advance’ by buying a gift card for your restaurant online then not only are you keeping cash coming in, you are giving your customers something to look forward to post-lockdown!

UK based restaurants can go to Hospitality Action among other charities and groups to drum up support, find advice and get together with the rest of the restaurant community online and raise awareness.

Feebi, our restaurant chatbot, is also trying to do our bit with our 30-day free trial – if you are a restaurant offering delivery services and getting a high number of enquiries for menus, opening times and delivery areas, our Facebook Messenger and Website chatbots may be able to help you respond to your customers quickly and automatically so you can get back to preparing orders! Learn more on our Features page. You can get started now, free for 30 days.

We know this is a really hard time for restaurants everywhere, but hopefully, this pandemic will be over before you know it and we can get back to dining the way we love to; at our favourite restaurants!

Stay safe, stay at home, stay in touch.