Here are some more responses:
“The cleanliness of the employees and safety of the food. Lots of businesses are training employees on food and health safety measures like [washing hands properly and often, sanitizing surfaces, etc.] I make sure to heat items I take home to eat from restaurants. I go to restaurants I trust the most.”
This is a good concept to latch onto. Restaurants would be wise to further this relationship outside the four walls. That’s why it’s a good idea to be upfront about safety practices and to remain transparent, even as operating practices change.
“Restaurant staff coughing and sneezing on food, not washing their hands, and seeing the tightest tables. Eating utensils and condiments should be washed after the tables been turned over.”
Again, doing everything you can to show patrons all of these things are happening. If it’s take-out or delivery, consider not even including utensils. A suggestion from consultant Liz Moskow is to add a safety love note. Inside the packaged delivery (this could be with carryout, too), toss in a recap of the safety protocols and procedures restaurant staff went through to ensure customer safety. Thank the customer and wish them well. If this above diner felt all of those things were being done, to her liking, she’d hopefully feel safe enough to come back. Or tell others to.
“In America, sick pay is not available to most part-time minimum-wage employees; and most employers are very discouraging of taking days off. This means most minimum-wage workers will not get tested or take the day off if they get coronavirus.”
This concern is a hard one to argue. Many restaurants are acting fast to remedy some of these labor gaps, but they’re going to persist throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Layoffs will be an unfortunate and stable part of it, too.
“My concern would be the cooks, servers, and the rest of the staff. I would love to see a sign on a family restaurant that I am supposed to go to tomorrow. The sign should say something like, ‘We deep clean every day.’ Not sure if that will help give me more confidence or not.”
To the earlier point, there is no over sharing with sanitization practices right now. From website placement to employees on the phone answering questions to people handing off food. Preach everything you’re investing in and going above and beyond to instill. Offer all options you can think of, from contactless pick-up and drop-off to direct mail, social targeting, and constant, relevant email communications. Here’s a look at how to curate your social media message in today’s times.
“I’m worried about the workers possibly being infected or incoming customers being infected. The environment inside the restaurant could also be infected. There’s too many risks and we don’t know if the workers are always taking the necessary precautions to prevent infection.”
More along the same lines, but this game is changing as dining rooms are forced to close across the country. It bears asking whether or not restaurants can answer these questions via delivery or carryout, and to what extent it’s even needed. Just don’t assume people think delivery/carryout is inherently safer without being told so. Generally, consumers like to be reaffirmed they’re making the right decision even when they think they are.
What’s bothering people?
Basically, consumers are worried about touching everything inside a restaurant—countertops, napkin dispenses, chairs, cash, and countless other surfaces. “Restaurants should look to shift to a touch-free environment; eliminate as many contact points as possible, while also using gloves and other protective measures to minimize the potential for transmission,” Datassential said.
- Touching things others have touched: 38 percent
- Being near other people: 28 percent
- Staff preparing/handling food: 15 percent
- Being served from large containers: 9 percent
- Interacting with restaurant staff: 7 percent
Another challenge
We’ve all read reports of people buying enough bulk to last years. What that suggests, among other things, is that restaurants are staring down a lengthy absence from many guests.
Specifically in response to COVID-19, 47 percent of people said they have already stocked up on supplies for their household by March 14. The mindset is clear, Datassential said:
“We’re getting ready to survive at home.”
Who has already stocked up:
- Men: 54 percent
- Women: 40 percent
- Gen Z: 45 percent
- Millennial: 56 percent
- Gen X: 50 percent
- Boomer-plus: 37 percent
- Married: 56 percent
- Single: 41 percent
- Kids: 62 percent
- No kids: 38 percent
- Less than $25,000: 35 percent
- $25,000–$50,000: 37 percent
- $50,000–$100,000: 41 percent
- $100,000-plus: 68 percent
- Urban: 50 percent
- Suburban: 48 percent
- Rural: 43 percent
What they’re stocking up on
- Dry foods: 63 percent
- Paper goods: 62 percent
- Canned foods: 62 percent
- Cleaning supplies: 59 percent
- Frozen foods: 55 percent
- Shelf-stable beverages: 52 percent
- Fresh produce: 42 percent
- Fresh meat/seafood: 41 percent
- Alcoholic beverages: 26 percent
It’s not just a restaurant thing
Datassential’s report showed people perceive risk in all manners of acquiring food, including a range of methods that result in food being brought back home. Meal kits are generally thought to be the safest.
Regardless of how the food is offered, consumers want additional reassurances to mitigate the perceived risk.
“Whether it’s wiping down surfaces visibly and frequently or posting the specific safety measures in place, businesses will have to prove to customers that they offer a safe environment,” Datassential said.
Meal kit
- Not risky: 38 percent
- Somewhat risky: 44 percent
- Too risky: 19 percent
Takeout
- Not risky: 28 percent
- Somewhat risky: 55 percent
- Too risky: 17 percent
Drive thru
- Not risky: 27 percent
- Somewhat risky: 56 percent
- Too risky: 17 percent
Grocery meat & seafood counter
- Not risky: 26 percent
- Somewhat risky: 55 percent
- Too risky: 19 percent
Restaurant delivery
- Not risky: 26 percent
- Somewhat risky: 55 percent
- Too risky: 20 percent
Grocery bakery counter
- Not risky: 25 percent
- Somewhat risky: 56 percent
- Too risky: 19 percent
Grocery deli counter
- Not risky: 24 percent
- Somewhat risky: 56 percent
- Too risky: 20 percent
Cafeteria line
- Not risky: 17 percent
- Somewhat risky: 47 percent
- Too risky: 36 percent
Self-serve food bar at grocery store
- Not risky: 16 percent
- Somewhat risky: 43 percent
- Too risky: 41 percent
Self-serve salad bar at restaurant
- Not risky: 15 percent
- Somewhat risky: 41 percent
- Too risky: 43 percent
Two things jump out. One, the consumer-trust gap between takeout and delivery is relatively pronounced. Enough so, at least, to see why many chains are putting the emphasis on carryout during this crisis. Customers can put trust in the restaurant, not in third-party delivery. It suggests now might be a decent time to think about self or direct delivery. In urban markets, it could be a worthy investment to buy a fleet of bikes and ask employees to bring food to people that way instead of inside their restaurant. Might be a path to saving some jobs.
The next is the bottom two categories. Defines what a challenge awaits buffet and cafeteria chains, like Shoney’s, Golden Corral, and Luby’s, among others.
Bring the heat
Datassential found that 62 percent of consumers believe that cooking food kills coronavirus “agreeing that, ‘coronavirus can not be contracted through food that has been thoroughly cooked.’”
While this appears to be a misconception, when it comes to serving customers and making them feel safe it doesn’t really matter, does it?
Per Datassential from the Food safety Authority of Ireland: Can COVID-19 be passed on through food? Experience with SARS and MERS suggest that people are not infected with the virus through food. So, it is unlikely the virus is passed on through food and there is no evidence yet of this happening with COVID-19 to date. Coronaviruses need a host (animal or human) to grow in and cannot grow in food. Thorough cooking is expected to kill the virus because we know that a heat treatment of at least 30 minutes at 60 degrees Celsius is effective with SARS.
It doesn’t hurt to ease people’s minds wherever possible. This is just another way in a time unlike any other.
