“Flipdish has totally transformed our business”: average order value up 25% amid staff shortages at Manchester's Samsi restaurant

“As we emerged from lockdown and Brexit, there was a shortage of quality front of house staff. I was interested in a system that could assist us in delivering a good level of customer service with less people.”

Well known for providing great service, Samsi restaurant in Manchester found themselves in a pickle in 2021. Operations Director Lee Faragher explains, "As we emerged from lockdown and Brexit, there was a shortage of quality front of house staff. I was interested in a system that could assist us in delivering a good level of customer service with less people."

The business had a QR code function but it wasn't meeting their needs. "We had a QR code that linked to a menu on our website," says Lee. "It was very basic and not easy to update, especially out of stock items."

After introducing Flipdish QR Code Order & Pay, the busy restaurant has seen a number of benefits. “Flipdish removes time spent taking orders and processing transactions, meaning we can deliver a high level of customer service with less staff, while having meaningful interactions with our customers.” Now with Flipdish QR code ordering in place, the restaurant can comfortably have four staff covering 140 covers, at any one time.

"Flipdish has totally transformed our business. We were expecting that QR Code Order & Pay would help alleviate the pressures of staff shortages, but we didn't anticipate a whopping 25% increase in average order values too."

The technology has also resulted in a reduction in order errors and time spent processing payments.

Updating the menu with ease is another key benefit of QR code menu ordering technology. As Lee explains, "Again both Brexit and the pandemic have impacted on product availability and delivery times, so being able to update the menu that customers see on the fly is really good as it saves going back and offering substitutes or refunds for out of stock items."

Customer education and adoption

Reception from customers was mixed at first. "We've found that older generations prefer menus and manual ordering, while younger customers like to place orders online with less personal interaction," says Lee. "I would say usage has steadily increased since we began using Flipdish and can reach around 70% at weekends now."

Educating customers has been key. "We have spent quite a bit of time explaining the best way to use the app, in particular not ordering everything at once or waiting for the rest of the group before placing an order."

Would Samsi recommend Flipdish to another restaurant? “Definitely. Customer service has been exceptional.”