Restaurant Call Center: Solutions to All Your Staffing Problems

Following the devastation of the pandemic, everyone was excited to see restaurants begin to open back up and return to some semblance of normalcy. However, there’s one thing standing in the way: a staffing shortage.

According to the experts, several factors have contributed to this shortage, from low wages to incentive payments. Add to the issue that hiring and turnover were problems even before the pandemic. There’s one thing that we do know: there’s not a quick fix. We’re going to be stuck in this labor shortage for a while. Let’s take a look at why staffing is an issue in restaurants.

Why is Restaurant Staffing a Problem?

There are several reasons why restaurant staffing is (and has always been) a problem.

Employees moved to other industries

For some employees in the restaurant industry, the pandemic brought their existing frustrations with wages/working conditions to the surface. Then, when they were put on leave or let go from their restaurant jobs, they found employment in other industries.

Many of them decided to go back to school during their time off. For some, it triggered them to rethink their careers and overall life plan. For others, it revealed to them just how fragile hourly work was. For many others, it encouraged them to seek employment in a completely different industry.

Employee expectations have changed

The pandemic brought attention to the frustration of restaurant workers, and many have started to demand the industry improve working conditions. They want steady hours, a less stressful work environment, better pay, and better compensation packages. This is a long-term issue that must be dealt with, or staffing issues will continue to be a problem.

How to Resolve Staffing Shortage Issues

As you can see, several factors are causing the staff shortage. Most of them will not be solved with one single solution. Restaurant owners and managers must put some strategies into effect to help them retain their existing employees and attract new ones.

However, in the meantime, restaurants might want to consider using a restaurant call center to solve their need to answer the phone and take take-out and delivery orders- and answer any questions about the restaurant that customers may have.

What is a Restaurant Call Center?

Many customers are glad to see restaurants open. Still, due to staff shortages and uncertainty regarding the risk of being exposed to COVID, they call in their orders to either have them delivered or pick them up to go.

Unfortunately, due to the staffing shortage, staff members are often stretched thin- which means that when a customer calls, their call often goes unanswered. This means that there is limited communication between staff and customers- and the restaurants often miss out on these sales.

However, a restaurant call center- or live answering service- can help solve this issue by making these calls. They can answer questions that the customers have and take both delivery and to-go orders.

When the customer calls, their call is routed to a customer service agent at the restaurant call center; they will speak to a certified service agent trained on your branding. There is no concern about long wait times or phone calls not being answered.

Why Do Restaurants Love the Idea of a Call Center?

The primary reason why restaurants see benefits from becoming partners with these restaurant call centers is the upsell opportunities created by the call center agents. At Order Solutions, we take upselling seriously for our restaurant partners, ensuring that every agent up-sells on every call they take.

Many times, restaurants miss out on revenue because they're not trying to upsell or capitalize on what is known as "hyperactive buyers." This is because the employees are typically young and are not given any incentive to encourage the customer to perfect their order.

Our supervisors and call agents constantly test scripts to see which ones are most effective in increasing average order size. Customers appreciate that our order takers have the knowledge required to help them create their ideal meal.

Our call center teams at Order Solutions wear noise-canceling headsets, which block out background noise, resulting in a quiet and pleasant ordering experience. Additionally, the employees in the restaurant have been raving about working with us because we make their job so much easier. They don't have to worry about answering the phone, instead of focusing on the experience of guests inside the restaurant.

The orders are routed through your computer system so that your staff can get them cooked and packaged up for customer pickup or delivery, depending on the option chosen by the customer.

Benefits of Using OrderSolutions

There are many benefits of using OrderSolutions. Some of those benefits include:

Quick, easy ordering

Approximately 86% of consumers already use off-premises services at least once a month, and 14% will- OrderSolutions provides quick and easy take-out ordering for every one of your customers.

Well-Trained Call Center Agents

Some of your guests want nothing more than to call and order by talking to a human. The call center agents at OrderSolutions are well-trained on your brand, so they know how to help your customers create the perfect order every time.

Automated Reordering

Some of your guests know exactly what they want and want a quick and easy ordering experience. They don't want to be bothered by a call center agent trying to upsell them.

Advanced AI, ASR Tech

In addition to providing you with well-trained call center agents, OrderSolutions will be integrating their AI tech as well, making them ideal for your tech-savvy guest, providing the quickest, easiest ordering via chat, social media, text, voice, etc.

About Order Solutions

OrderSolutions is powered by TSD Global. TSD Global provides exceptional outsourced sales and customer support via call centers. OrderSolutions has a staff of more than 1,600 call center agents, training them to be experts in upselling and increasing the average check sizes.

The next step is to integrate their AI (artificial intelligence) voice platform across their suite of products. For more information or to get started, visit OrderSolutions or TSD Global today.

Conclusion

The pandemic rocked the restaurant industry- and they're still trying to recover. There has always been a staffing shortage issue in the industry due to various reasons- the pandemic just brought it to light.

When there's not enough staff in a restaurant, that leads to poor customer service, which leads to poor reviews on sites like Yelp and others. This is why it's essential to consider hiring a call center to take phone calls so that your internal employees can focus on guests within the restaurant.

We take the burden of taking those take-out and delivery orders off your staff. This means more revenue for you! We also strive to upsell, increasing the average check size.