Semi Self-Service Restaurant: What Is It, Advantages & Useful Tips

If you plan on opening a new food business or revamping an existing one, you should get acquainted with all types of restaurant services, focusing on their advantages and disadvantages.

In this article, we will focus on the semi self-service restaurant, a hybrid type of service that many people appreciate because it makes the ordering and paying process faster. We’ll tell you about its advantages and challenges and give you useful tips for running one yourself.

What Is a Semi Self-Service Restaurant?

A semi self-service restaurant is a type of food business where the customers order and pay for their food at the counter, but the dishes are delivered to the table whenever they are ready.

This type of service can be used for a variety of cuisines and concepts, such as:

• Cafes
• Brunch restaurants
• Casual restaurants
• Fast-foods
• Wine bars
• Craft breweries

The Advantages of a Semi Self-Service Restaurant

Before you open any type of restaurant, it is best to do some market research and find out if there is an audience for the type of service you are planning on opening. Here are the benefits you will enjoy while running a semi self-service restaurant:

• Faster table turnover: because customers don’t have to wait for a server to place their order and pay, you eliminate unnecessary waiting times and get more people in the restaurant;
• Lower labor costs: by only employing people to work behind the counter and to serve food, you can stick to a lower number of staff members, therefore decreasing labor costs and increasing profit;
• Eliminate order errors: when servers take an order using pen and paper, they may make mistakes that lead to unhappy customers. By placing the orders at a counter, the server places the order directly in the POS system, eliminating communication problems.

The Challenges of a Semi Self-Service Restaurant

Every food establishment comes with its challenges, so it comes as no surprise that a semi self-service can also have some issues. Here is what you should prepare for:

• Quick service: because clients order at the counter, they expect their food to be delivered fast. Therefore, you must choose menu items that can be prepared in a short amount of time to increase client satisfaction;
• Challenging rush hours: when you have a lot of people in the restaurant, you will have a huge line forming of people waiting to place an order. You may want to open more stations to take orders to make the waiting time lower. Don’t forget that any problem a client encounters can turn into a negative review that will impact your business.

7 Tips for Making the Most out of Your Semi Self-Service Food Business

Choosing a type of service for your restaurant is just the first step. Afterward, you must find ways to increase client satisfaction and outshine your competition. Follow these tips:

1. Make placing orders as convenient as possible

Traditionally, a semi self-service restaurant will only take orders at the counter. But what if you could allow people to place their food orders while sitting comfortably at their table, no interaction with a server needed?

You can easily do so if you use the online ordering system from GloriaFood. Follow these steps:

• Create an account on GloriaFood, fill in your restaurant’s information, create an enticing menu, and publish it on your website;

• Go to Setup -> Services & Opening hours -> On premise and click Yes to enable orders at the table;

• If you also want to enable people to pay online for their orders, go to Setup -> Payments -> Online Payment and accept online payment;

• Go to marketing tools -> QR Codes & Flyers and create a QR code for dine-in orders. You can create personalized codes for every table;

• Print the QR code flyers and stick them to every table. That’s it!

This type of ordering will help you increase client satisfaction during rush hours because clients no longer have to wait in a huge line, they can just scan the QR code on their table and place the order.

You can follow these steps to enable on-premise dining in minutes:

2. Think about the flow of traffic in the restaurant

In a table service restaurant, the flow of traffic is clear, clients enter, they are greeted at the door, seated and the servers take care of them. But, in a semi self-service restaurant, the flow of traffic is completely different, and you must optimize it to increase efficiency and prevent accidents.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Have a board with instructions at the door: short, simple, and with illustrations to guide the guest and make the experience more pleasant. For example, you can tell them to take a seat at a table if there is an available one or wait at the bar until one becomes available. Don’t forget to include details about ordering and paying (at the counter or using the QR code at the table);
• Create clear delimitations for the ordering and paying lines: with lines on the floor and signage to show people where they should form the line. This will help keep the space orderly and prevent people who are waiting to order from stepping into the personal space of the people who are already eating.

3. Take advantage of technology

If you want to further increase efficiency at your semi self-service restaurant, consider investing in a few key pieces of technology that will make your employees’ work easier, such as:

• POS system: so they can easily take orders and accept payment for them;
• Kitchen management system: to have the orders received by the front of the house automatically transmitted to the kitchen, with no extra steps involved;
• Inventory management system: that will alert you when you are low on stock and need to order more ingredients:
• Employee scheduling system: to more easily manage your team and ensure fairness for every person working for you.

Read more: 5 Ways to Make Your Restaurant Employee Scheduling Easier

4. Increase sales with takeout and online orders

No matter how big or small your location will be, you could always sell more if you start accepting takeout and online orders. The good news is you can do it easily with the same system you use to allow people to place orders from their tables, GloriaFood.

It would be ideal to create a separate space where people can pick up their takeout orders, so they don’t have to wait in line after other customers who are there to order in location.

When you enable the takeout feature from the online ordering system admin, consider utilizing the other amazing functions that will help promote your business, such as:

• Kickstarter module to attract new customers;
• Autopilot email marketing to get more loyal customers;
• Reports module to monitor your rise to success.

Read more: Restaurant Email Marketing Done Right: 12 Ideas to Woo Customers

5. Create combo menus

When people go to a semi self-service restaurant, they expect everything to be fast, from the ordering process to receiving their food. If you want people to decide on their order fast, create combo menus such as main + side + drink or main + drink + dessert.

Here are a few more tips:

• Encourage big orders: combo menus are perceived as good value for money as the items are usually a bit cheaper than those purchased separately. By ordering a combo meal, people usually spend more than they intended, but appreciate all the items in the mix;
• Attract big groups: if you create combo menus for more people, such as 4 or 6, you become the preferred place for families or large groups of friends.

Read more: How to use food combo offers in restaurants to encourage clients to order more

6. Offer promotions to increase average order value

Promotions are a great way for semi self-service restaurants to attract new customers and get them to spend more money. Here are a few offer ideas you can use:

• Free delivery: when you launch your online ordering service, you can tempt people to place their first order with this offer;
• % discount on certain categories: if you notice your sales drop during certain hours, you can activate this discount. For example, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., 10% off burgers;
• Free item on orders over a certain amount: get people to order more by offering free desserts over $60.

You can set up all the above restaurant promotions and more with the Promotions module from GloriaFood. It will only take you seconds:

7. Market your new type of service

You now have a great semi self-service restaurant with tasty and reasonably priced food. But how will people find out about you so they can become recurring clients? With marketing, of course!

Here are the main points your marketing strategy should include:

• A sales and SEO-optimized website: that will rank you high in Google searches where clients can find you when they search for your type of cuisine. It will also serve as a trusty place for clients to place online orders! Great news, you can use GloriaFood’s restaurant website builder to create a website in less than 10 minutes;
• Google Business Profile: claim your account and fill in all the relevant information, including a direct link to your menu so your hungry customers can order;
• An account on review sites in your area: to grow your reputation with positive reviews that speak highly about your food and service;
• Social media: show people photos and videos of your food, interior, and behind-the-scenes to persuade them to visit your business.

Read more: How to Attract More Customers to Your Restaurant Using Social Media

Final Words

A semi self-service restaurant can be a great option if you want to get into the food industry because it allows you to spend less on labor costs, while still providing clients with a great experience. Moreover, relying on technology will help you overcome most of the challenges of this type of service.