By Zack Devin
What do you do if coronavirus forces your restaurant to shut down the dining room? Rather than fire everyone and shutter the business, a lot of restaurants are getting into delivery for the first time ever. They are taking food right to their customer’s doors, some for a small fee and others for free.
Needless to say that food delivery has skyrocketed in the months since coronavirus made it to our shores. But there is another interesting twist to the story: homeowners and delivery drivers alike are making use of a brand-new technology that’s only been on the market for a couple of years. That technology is, of course, the video doorbell.
Food delivery and the video doorbell seem to have been made for one another. This post will explain the intimate details presently. But first, let us look at some of the restaurants embracing delivery. You might be surprised.
Serving It to Go
Restaurant Business magazine reported on March 18 that a number of well-known restaurants were turning to delivery to keep revenues coming in. One of the first mentioned was KFC, the Louisville-based chicken restaurant. Customers can now order directly through the KFC website and have their meals delivered via Grubhub or Seamless. The restaurant is even using tamper-proof packaging.
Chipotle Mexican Grill has gotten on board by teaming up with Uber Eats for home delivery. Patrons whose orders are at least $10 get free delivery. Better yet, Chipotle now has an opportunity to expand its reach by moving beyond the limits of DoorDash – their only delivery service provider to this point.
Many other chains are jumping on the bandwagon. Restaurant Business magazine mentioned Tijuana Flats, Taco Cabana, Cowboy Chicken, and even Denny’s. Most of your major chains are likely to have delivery available. Local restaurants may not, though there are isolated cases of some joints stepping up.
Limiting Contact
So, what does any of this have to do with the video doorbell? Vivint Smart Home says it is all about limiting contact. Prior to the pandemic, delivery drivers dropping off pizza and Chinese would ring the doorbell and hand deliver food to customers. That’s a no-no in these days of social distancing and limited contact.
Ordering food online means paying for it online as well. The only thing the delivery driver has to do is get to the door. Homes equipped with video doorbells are all set to go. All homeowners have to do is monitor their video feeds and wait for the delivery driver to arrive.
The driver can ring the bell to let the homeowner know he’s there. Thanks to two-way audio communication, driver and homeowner can say what needs to be said to complete the transaction. Then the driver simply leaves the food on the step and goes back to his car. The homeowner steps out and grabs the food once he/she knows the driver is at a comfortable distance.
Without a Video Doorbell
Of course, you don’t need a video doorbell to accept contact-free delivery of food. You can arrange for drivers to send you a text when the food has arrived. Alternatively, you can just have the driver ring the doorbell and wait a few minutes for him to leave. It is just that a video doorbell makes things more convenient.
While we are all on stay-at-home orders, food delivery is skyrocketing. That is good for restaurants and food delivery drivers. It’s good for homeowners who don’t have to go out to get food. Those with video doorbells have the advantage of being able to watch their food being delivered.
