Checking-in at venues is one of the most important steps to helping us stay safe and open. We’ve got some tips to help combat complacency and ensure your venue’s record keeping is the best it can be.
As much as the hospitality industry (and everyone else) would like to forget about Covid-19, it’ll still be with us for a while. Steps we’ve taken to keep each other safe have become the norm – mask wearing, physical distancing and checking-in at locations. But check-in compliance starts to dwindle when case numbers are low and complacency appears for both customers and venues. Here are some tips to help ensure your patrons are doing the right thing when they arrive at your venue.
It’s obviously important to display check-in QR codes around your venue, but thinking about where you place them will go a long way towards ensuring patrons are checking in. Place a check-in code at the entrance on some sort of physical barrier, such as a table or chair that customers won’t be able to ignore on the way in. A blackboard with a friendly message about checking in will help too. It’s also a good idea to have a QR code on every table and at the point of sale or bar if you have one, so staff can prompt customers to check-in before they order.
All Victorian businesses must now use the Victorian Government QR code service for record keeping (unless an exemption applies). Any workplace outbreak can be dealt with far more swiftly and easily if your employees and guests are checking in using the app. It’s free, easy to use and makes contact tracing simple for health authorities. It’s the starting point for all workplace Covidsafe plans and almost all your punters will already have it installed on their phones. This makes it less hassle for customers as they’ll avoid downloading other-party apps or manually filling in details.
The way your staff behave can go a long way towards ensuring you’ve got great check-in compliance at your venue. If you can, it’s worth rostering a staff member on the door solely to greet customers, ask them to check-in and to see proof. They can also bring punters up to speed on any specials and act as a friendly face to help make the experience at your venue a pleasant one. You can also instruct your bar and wait staff to politely ask for proof of check-in when serving customers.
People who follow your business on social media are already big fans of your brand, so it’s easy to win them over. Encourage patrons to check-in on your socials by posting about it regularly and including reminders in other posts. Focus on messaging around staying safe, supporting local business and making the experience easier for both employees and customers. Your biggest fans will be happy and willing to help, and if you’re able to share messages with some nice graphics, social media acts as an excellent free marketing tool through shares and word-of-mouth.
Daily or weekly specials are a great way to attract customers, but you can also utilise them when you’re trying to increase check-in compliance. You can prompt customers to ask about specials at the bar or point of sale, then ask to see some proof of check-in before you proceed with orders or deals. This is an easy way to engage personally with your customers and ensure they’ve checked in.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with the Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions.
Photography: Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions
