Thanks to this brilliant online booking platform.
Let us set the scene for you... You are strolling down a fun, bustling city street whilst deciding where you would like to dine. You pass by a few places, stop and take a look at the menus and you think that they seem quite nice and may have potential, but you also notice that there are not many other customers dining there and it makes you wonder why!
Just two metres down the street you can hear the buzz of people chatting, glasses chinking and music playing, you continue to walk towards the atmosphere until you reach a busy restaurant. You don't bother to stop and check the menu at this place, you base your purchase decision on the fact that so many people are enjoying this venue therefore it must be good!
So how can you be THAT restaurant and compete in the market?
Well we promised you digestible digital solutions and we certainly aim to deliver, so please allow us to introduce you to First Table, a company that we believe are entirely changing the way we think about the restaurant industry.
First Table are an online restaurant booking platform connecting diners to restaurants for their first table of the night. They are helping food lovers sample the best of their city’s cuisine by offering an incentive to dine early while ensuring their partner restaurants fill otherwise empty tables at the beginning of service. It really is a win-win experience for foodies and restaurants alike.
As restaurant owners we know how hard it is to fill those early time slots for dinner, we also understand the customers perception that if we are not busy then perhaps we are not delivering quality food and service, a harsh but true reality.
Thanks to First Table, restaurants can showcase information about their business, upload menus, enticing imagery and reservation times on their booking platform. Customers who would like to book those tables receive 50% off their meals for up to four people dining. (Exclusive of drinks)
50% off I hear you cry!
But please don't be discouraged, here is our list of why this formula can work for you;
You can fill tables from as early as 5pm through to any time that suits your venue, these are tables that perhaps would have remained empty and made no revenue at all during this time. Remember, you are still paying staff, rent, electricity plus many other bills during those trading hours.
Be strategic with the tables you hold for First Table customers, if you have outdoor seating at the front of your venue then save the tables in that particular area. For indoor reservations use the tables by the window with street presence.
Potential new customers passing by can already see a busy restaurant, therefore they are more likely to enter resulting in generating more business for you - hooray!
50% may sound like a large discount, but if you have a knowledgeable team or fabulous sommelier then get them to work their magic by increasing the average bill spend by up-selling the cocktail and wine lists.
First Table host a huge database and are very prominent on social media, they are able to support your restaurant with marketing and have the ability to advertise to the masses.
Finally, the overall customer experience is elevated thanks to a bustling atmosphere. A happy customer will always recommend you and potentially return.
So what is in it for First Table?
First Table charge diners $10 to hold the reservation in order to receive the discount at your venue. Customers can search the area they would like to dine and find a list of restaurants with the offer. In some locations they have also included lunchtime as another meal period to choose from. First Table have no lock-in contracts, (from when we last checked) this allows your venue to trial the product in order to see what impact it has on the business.
Our thoughts.
We believe it is a fantastically clever business model that is working for both the customer and restaurant industry. In actual fact First Table have had so much success that the company is now global and have expanded to the UK and Indonesia this year. Even if you are not a restaurant owner we encourage you to sign up and start using the platform in order to experience some incredible restaurants. The only disappointing part to this story is that we didn't think of creating something like this first!!!!
If you would like to know more about First Table, how your restaurant can potentially qualify to feature and the countries and regions they operate in, then visit www.firsttable.com.au