This new ‘dosh before nosh’ prepayment system for diners at restaurants creates certainty and removes risk at a perilous time for the catering industry. The new service helps restaurants avoid losses associated with ‘no shows’.
The Bankuet prepayment system, from Stampapp.me, enables participating restaurants to make their menus, pricing, booking and payment systems available on any smartphone.
Tom Messett, founder of Stampapp.me, said: “People often stump up hundreds of pounds in advance for theatre or gig tickets, so why shouldn’t restaurateurs expect the same commitment from their customers? It has been a challenging time for restaurants throughout the U.K. and many have had to be experimental and resourceful to keep running.
“As we get back to something closer to normality, we want to give restaurants and their customers a way of supporting each other. To give certainty to their customers and remove further financial risk for restaurants, Bankuet enables payment and ordering for meals at the time of booking.”
Some restaurants have reported that many groups, in some cases up to 27, have made bookings and not turned up at their allotted time, adding further financial pressure to these small businesses at an already challenging time.
Tom Messett added: “This is a big change in etiquette and we know that for some, asking for the bill at the end of a meal is part of the theatre. One of the benefits of ‘turning the tables’ is that the host can now treat his or her guests without having to debate who pays at the table.”
Restaurants are charged a one-off monthly fee for the service rather than a percentage of sales. The cost, at £24.99, is around the charge of one average cover per month. Ten percent of Bankuet’s profits will go to Hospitality Action, a charity that provides vital assistance to hospitality workers.
For more information about Bankuet, visit stampapp.me/bankuet.
