How To Prepare Your Hong Kong Restaurant for a Surge in Customer Traffic in 2023 - Tips from an Expert

With 60,000 visitors a day to Hong Kong, here are the strategies to make 2023 your most profitable year ever!

Can Your Restaurant Cope with 60,000 New Visitors a Day?

Are you a restaurant owner in Hong Kong expecting an influx of customers over the coming months? Do you worry about how your current restaurant POS technology will cope with such a sudden rise in demand?

 

If so, then this blog post is for you! According to the latest estimates from the Hong Kong government, the region will see an average of 60,000 visitors from Mainland China per day from January 8th, 2023. With such a rapid influx of hungry clients, the right technology can ensure that your restaurant is ready and able to thrive, rather than making you feel overwhelmed when you need the increase in business the most.

 

How to Help Your Hong Kong Restaurant Prepare for a Surge in Customer Traffic

As longtime industry veterans, Eats365 understand how daunting it can be to manage customer traffic that vastly outstrips usual levels. We’ve seen countless eateries get overwhelmed by crowds without proper tools or strategies to keep up—but it doesn’t have to be this way! By following our expert-level tips and tricks below, your Hong Kong restaurant can deftly handle the surge of new clients without sacrificing service quality. So read on for actionable advice on what restaurant tech you need to prepare your venue today!

 

 

5 Ways to Effectively Prepare for More Restaurant Customers

1. Invest in Scalable Point-of-Sale Technology: The right POS system can help you manage the influx of customers more efficiently, while ensuring that every order is accurate and processed quickly. Look for a POS system with scaling capabilities, so you can add terminals and modules as needed without having to replace the entire system.

 

2. Accept Multiple forms of Payment: Along with finding a POS that can keep up with customer demand, it’s important to upgrade your payment tech too. Look for systems that accept popular payment methods such as contactless payments from mobile devices. Since a large volume of new customers will be arriving from China, make sure you accept popular Chinese payment methods like AliPay, WeChat Pay, popular credit cards and more. Your payment tech should also be robust enough to not crash or slow down when your restaurant gets extra busy.

 

3. Build-up Your Delivery Options: If you’re expecting a surge in customers, then it’s time to start looking into setting up delivery services. Look for third-party delivery apps that can integrate directly with your POS system while providing your restaurant with the highest quality service — and make sure to review each one thoroughly before committing! This way, you can benefit from multiple revenue streams and serve customers even if your physical restaurant space is full!

 

4. Train Your Staff to Cope with Any Situation: It’s important to make sure your staff is well equipped to handle an influx of clients and customers. Set up regular training sessions to ensure they know how to best serve visitors without feeling overwhelmed by the extra demand, and find ways to motivate them through incentives or rewards programs. Remember, lackluster customer service leads to poor reviews, slow turnover and can tank your restaurant!

 

5. Streamline Your Menu: Finally, it’s important to make sure your menu isn’t too complicated. Streamline your offerings and focus on the dishes that you do best — without overcomplicating things for yourself or your staff. If you can keep things simple yet delicious, then your chefs can prep food quickly while also ensuring that customers will be more likely to give you repeat business!

 

Pro Tip: Your POS system is the key to streamlining all of the above 5 processes. Make sure you have the right point of sale system in place before you get overwhelmed!

 

 

10 Major Drawbacks of Inadequate POS Technology When Dealing with a Surge of Customers 

In our experience, we've found that restaurants that are not utilizing the correct POS technology can face the following issues when seeing a sudden increase in customers.

 

1. Slower customer service process due to manual entry of orders, payments and inventory management

2. Increased risk of human error during the ordering and payment processes

3. Limited ability to track customer preferences and loyalty points

4. Unable to accept mobile payments or contactless solutions 

5. Difficulty in quickly adjusting prices for discounts or promotions 

6. Limited data regarding sales trends, customer behavior, and promotional opportunities 

7. Difficulty in managing large volumes of orders efficiently 

8. Lack of integration with third-party applications such as delivery services and accounting software 

9. Increased risk of fraud due to inadequate security measures 

10. Difficulty in providing accurate tax calculations

 

 

10 Benefits of Having a Robust POS System to Better Manage Customer Traffic 

On the other hand, restaurants with a versatile and comprehensive POS system can benefit hugely with a sudden rise in customer traffic thanks to the following advantages.

 

1. Increased efficiency for employees by streamlining repetitive processes, thereby reducing manual errors.

2. Improved accuracy in order processing, ensuring accurate orders are sent to the kitchen. 

3. Reduced customer wait times due to faster payment process and reduced labor costs associated with manual transactions.

4. Real-time inventory tracking ensures that sold-out items are hidden and restaurant managers can quickly identify shortages or overages in their stock. 

5. Make changes to promotions and discounts across all POS systems without wasting time making manual changes.

6. Fast access to loyalty programs that reward repeat business.

7. Ability to offer online ordering and payment options, providing customers with convenient ordering options from anywhere at any time of day or night. 

8. Real-time reporting capabilities that let managers to quickly assess sales data so they can make important business decisions on the fly. 

9. Access individual staff account data to identify bottlenecks in the service process so restaurants can improve their operations accordingly

10. Integrated queue management that ensures long lines don't deter more customers from visiting your restaurant

 

Learn more about queue management: 5 Awesome Benefits of Restaurant Queue Management

 

 

The Right POS System and Strategies Are Simple to Implement but Will Drive Huge Benefits

Having the right technology and strategies in place is essential for Hong Kong restaurants to rebound with the imminent influx of customers as travel opens up and the city returns to normal. A robust POS system helps streamline order processing, payment processing, inventory management, queuing and much more. Additionally, it enables real-time reporting capabilities that allow managers to make important business decisions on the fly as needed. Equally-importantly, by letting your POS automate low-skill repetitive tasks, you free up your staff so they can manage more customers to boost turnover and handle any unexpected situations, leading to a great and efficient customer experience.