LONDON—Crave Interactive, a leading global hospitality technology company, announced ServeSafely, an innovative range of solutions that enable restaurants to protect staff and customers by using technology to maintain social distancing at all times and eliminate the need to handle menus, cash or payment terminals.
Crave expects the initiative will enable restaurants to re-open quickly for business while social distancing restrictions are enforced or encouraged, and for customers to return to eating out with confidence that it is safe to do so.
Crave’s ServeSafely solutions include ordering and payment via mobile phone at the table, and host greeting and seating at a safe distance using video and messaging communications.
Services are accessed instantly by pointing a phone camera at a QR code displayed at the table. There is no need to download an App.
Crave has created a ServeSafely guide to help restaurants through every step of the customer journey.
“COVID-19 and the need for social distancing means a re-think of how customers are served safely, and how staff are protected from the risk of infection,” explained Gareth Hughes, Founder and CEO of Crave Interactive. “We’ve looked at every part of the restaurant experience and have adapted our technology to solve the many potential risks in traditional service. This includes maintaining safe distance from staff and other customers at all times, and avoiding handling paper menus, cash and payment machines, all of which could be transmitters of COVID-19 from one customer to the next.”
Goal: Help Resurrect the Industry
“Eating out is one of life’s great pleasures, with the restaurant sector being large employers and drivers of our economy,” continued Hughes. “The hospitality industry has been hit very hard, and it’s important that we all find a way of adapting to the new world and get back to business. Innovation in technology and working practices can provide the solutions, and we hope to make a valuable contribution to the resurrection of our industry.”
Traditional service includes many instances of interaction between staff, guests and surfaces that all pose risk of COVID-19 transmission. These include: host interaction—the greeting of guests and guiding them to their table; paper menus; close proximity of other guests, waiter interaction—taking of order and other requests; staff interaction—delivery to table and other requests; and payment—handling of payment terminal/cash.
ServeSafely provides solutions to all of these areas of transmission risk and allows a complete socially distanced dining experience to be enjoyed. Crave Interactive are working on ServeSafely solutions for hotels, bars, cafes and retail outlets and will be making further announcements in the coming weeks.
