10 May 2019 | Blog
Convenience is the name of the hospitality game in this day and age. Because of the prevalence of handheld and portable devices, customers almost demand the option to use their device if it’s going to make their life easier. The food industry is no exception and so it’s no surprise that developers and enterprising creatives are emerging from all corners of the country with loyalty apps, mobile ordering platforms, food delivery platforms and payment solutions to make dining experiences better for customers.
Unfortunately, with this surge of apps that have entered the market, just about every one of them charges the venue a fee to participate. It might be a subscription fee, a commission fee on successful transactions or merchant fees to have access to a payment facility. The problem with this model is that it is so heavily weighted in favour of the patron, that restaurants lose out. Many of them can’t participate on the platform from the get-go and in the case of food delivery platforms, some restaurants have participated and have not been able to make a profit. This in turn, means our favourite places to eat are suddenly closing their doors and patrons are usually unaware of the reasons why.
TableTime is an app-based platform that was conceptualised and developed with both venue and customer convenience in mind. What separates TableTime from other food delivery and ordering apps like it, is that it absorbs merchant fees for the venue and allows them to participate on the platform at no cost.
How does this work, exactly? Well, there are a few key things that set TableTime apart as a platform that has customers (both patron and venue) at the heart of their service.
Customers are willing to pay for convenience
There is no question about it. Customers demand convenience and when it comes to hospitality, this has never been more evident. Food delivery in Australia has boomed over the past 5 years and what this has proved is that customers are willing to pay to have someone else cook. Many will pay over $5 on top of their order to have it delivered to their door. But when you really understand what is at the heart of their motivation – it is not necessarily that they want their food delivered right to the door… it is that they don’t want to cook. TableTime offers venues the ability to offer their customers a convenient solution, without being the ones to pay for it. After all, shouldn’t the customer pay for convenience? We’ll just leave that one with you to consider…
Reduce Costs
Most of the convenience tech on offer in the space, comes with a cost to the venue. Be that a bespoke app branded for the venue itself or a delivery platform the venue participates on. But one thing we know for sure is that restaurants already have a lot of costs to cover to be operational such as inventory, facilities management, utilities, venue rent staff salary, and so on. These are just day-to-day costs that don’t even factor in incidental charges or marketing.
The goal of TableTime isn’t just to bring the Australian food scene closer to everyday consumers but to also help restaurants deliver a convenient solution to their customers without having to wear the cost. That is why TableTime allows restaurant partners to participate for free.
Eliminate merchant fees
Probably the most compelling of all things that TableTime has to offer is the fact that it eliminates merchant fees for restaurants. Many businesses will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchant fees per year just to be able to provide a digital payment facility to customers. The beauty of TableTime is that our service provides a compelling convenience solution to customers that they are willing to pay for. So with every transaction made through TableTime, the customer wins and the venue wins as well because those merchant fees go straight back to the bottom line.
Getting involved in the app race doesn’t have to cost an arm and leg for service partners – in fact, with the right partner, it can strategically benefit the profitability of the business. Consider partnering with TableTime mobile ordering platform to provide your customers with a convenient solution at no cost to you. To find out more visit our website.
