Zomato announces contactless dining with QR codes and digital payments in a post-lockdown world

• Food delivery platform Zomato today announced ‘contactless dining’ allowing customers to order and pay without a human contact.
  
• This will allow the customers to order from the menu just by scanning a QR code on the table. It will show the restaurant menu with dish and pairing recommendations.
  
• Once decided, the customers can order via app, eliminating the need for the waiting staff to place the order and pay bills.
  

Food delivery platform Zomato today announced ‘contactless dining’ allowing customers to order and pay without a human contact. This comes on the backdrop of personal hygiene and public health issues in view of the Coronavirus outbreak.

“We anticipate that the food service industry, specifically the dining out segment, will experience significant and permanent changes in the way it operates. Based on some recent consumer surveys, diners are ranking safety assurance and hygiene as their top factors when they choose a restaurant for dine in,” Zomato said.

The initiative will reduce customer contact with anything that has been touched by other people. Customers can order from the menu just by scanning a QR code on the table. It will show the restaurant menu with dish and pairing recommendations.

Once decided, the customers can order via the app, eliminating the need for waiting staff to place the order and pay bills.

However, the food from the kitchen will still be served by the waiting staff. “This eliminates the need for menu cards and bill books, two articles that are often touched by guests, and are typically unsanitized and could potentially be a source of concern. So far, the waiting staff will still need to bring you your food from the kitchen, but as long as the waiting staff is wearing a mask, and following the highest hand hygiene standards, we should all be okay,” Zomato added.

The startup says they are adding features to the application to allow multiple orders and pay for yourself or the entire table. This will also save customers’ time incurred in placing the order during rush hours while on the business front, it will help in bringing down manpower costs, as well as reducing the table turnover time.

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