Too bored to venture out and eat? Just grab your smartphone, type in your order and the food will be delivered right at your doorstep.
Yes, throw away that growing pile of leaflets and fliers of assorted takeaways. For, various eateries too have now taken the ‘mobile’ route by launching their own user-friendly applications on smartphones, ushering in a new route to home deliveries. Time was when Bangaloreans checked out websites to order or locate the nearest restaurant. But now, some eateries prefer to cater directly to their customers through a personalised mobile app though the trend is yet to catch up across the sector.
Dominos, the pizza chain, launched its app about seven months ago, while Café Coffee Day plans to follow suit in the next few weeks.
Direct access
K. Ramakrishnan, president (marketing), Café Coffee Day, said the app is one step ahead as it helps customers directly access the menu instead of browsing online for details. “It also helps us to continuously interact with our loyal customers. Therefore the application becomes a platform to maintain customer relations.”
The popular Empire Hotel too recently launched its own appto help serve a wider range of customers. “Now customers don’t need to wait for their calls to be connected and ask for menu options. They can just place their order based on the menu provided on the application,” said Junaiz K., general manager of the group. Launched just about two months ago, Mr. Junaiz said at least 1,000 customers had used the app until now. “Though it is difficult to estimate number of customers we can serve through the application, we hope to cater to about three lakh customers by the end of the year.”
How to get started
The process of registering is almost the same for most apps: you download it and register yourself. A account gets created once you enter the mobile number and you can create your personalised account with username and password.
Once this is done, you can have access to the menu and place your order. You have the option to pay online through credit/debit cards. Mr. Junaiz said the app also displays the status of your order and how long it takes to be delivered at your doorstep.
The traditional route
Certainly there are those who believe in sticking to the traditional table orders. Chirag Yadav, owner of Chaipatty café, said he would still prefer to run service orders in a personalised way rather than launch an app. He said his service is customer-specific and any glitch with an app should not reflect on the efficiency his service.
According to him, mobile apps are more suited for eateries serving a limited number of items rather than a large menu.
“Personally, I feel it is a waste of so much battery power on large menu lists. It is easier to go the website [on your PC] and place the order,” he says.
