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Restaurant industry providing economic relief in face of coronovirus
While the restaurant industry does its best to serve customers while also protecting them as well as their employees, several companies are going a step further when it comes to helping their customers by launching relief and training programs.
March 13, 2020 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com
While the restaurant industry does its best to serve customers while also protecting them as well as their employees, several companies are going a step further when it comes to helping their customers by launching relief and training programs. Both Grubhub and POS provider Revel, for example, have launched $1 million relief programs, and Champion, a public relations firm, has formed a task force to help clients navigate through the escalating COVID-19 crisis.
"Independent restaurants are the lifeblood of our cities and feed our communities," Matt Maloney, Grubhub Founder and CEO said about his decision to temporarily suspend collection of up to $100 million in commission payments from impacted independent restaurants nationwide. "They have been amazing long-term partners for us, and we wanted to help them in their time of need. Our business is their business, so this was an easy decision for us to make."
He said in a company press release that the initiative — in collaboration with the mayors of large cities across the United States who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 response efforts — will provide immediate cash flow relief to qualified independent restaurants, which make up the majority of Grubhub's 350,000-plus restaurant community and drive more than 80% of the company's orders.
Grubhub has also created a fund that will enable proceeds from its Donate the Change program to go toward charitable organizations that support restaurants and drivers impacted by the COVID-19 health crisis. The program will allow diners to round up the change from every order and donate it to the Grubhub Community Relief Fund — with donations from Grubhub+ (and Seamless+) members matched by the company. Grubhub has been raising more than $1 million dollars per month through Donate the Change.
"The City of Chicago is deeply concerned about the risk COVID-19 is placing on the health of our residents and communities, as well as the impact it's having on our working families and neighborhood economies and restaurants," Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot said in the release. "That is why we applaud corporate leaders like Grubhub who are stepping up with practical measures to support small businesses and their employees. Now more than ever, we must work together to ensure hardworking Chicagoans receive the support they need to thrive while also staying safe, secure, and healthy."
As dine-in traffic is expected to slow up to 75% over the next few weeks, according to Grubhub, restaurants will rely on pickup and delivery orders to stay in business.
"We have seen revenue decrease in the past week as a direct result of our customers staying home," Darnell Johnson, owner of Chicago's Home of Chicken & Waffles, said in the release. "Grubhub has helped us generate more delivery and takeout orders as our customers' dining habits have changed. This has helped us continue serving our loyal customers and our employees can continue living a sustainable lifestyle."
Revel revs up
Revel Systems is also offering up to $1 million in an effort to help customers experiencing excessive hardship due to the coronavirus
"Revel is proud to be known as the 'People POS' company, which means we are true partners with our customers in everything we do," Greg Dukat, CEO, Revel Systems, said in a company press release. "COVID-19 has created a very challenging situation for many of our customers and Revel is stepping in to help.”
Revel customers may request a reduction in their technology fees via the program, designed to help them get through what hopefully will be a short-term rough patch. Details and an application for the Revel Relief Program will be available Tuesday at www.revelsystems.com.
"We believe that the global economy is fundamentally strong and that this is a short-term problem," Dukat said. "However, we believe in the importance of helping our customers get through difficult times, which is why we quickly acted to provide this program for our customers."
There are Champions among us
Champion is hoping to lend a hand by setting up a task force to provide clients with best practices and customized messaging to proactively communicate with guests and employees.
"We have been working with and counseling our clients on the COVID-19 outbreak for the last several weeks," Champion Founder and Principal Ladd Biro said in a company press release. "Given the escalating nature of the situation, we felt that our clients would be best served by formalizing the process and consolidating our efforts into this Task Force."
The task force will offer:
- Recommended social media messaging to address COVID-19 issues.
- Best practices guidance for interacting with the media and responding to inquiries.
- Best practices on public relations outreach and digital messaging to address strategic business initiatives, such as emphasizing delivery and takeout.
- Sharing of current best practices concerning in-store and off-premise health and sanitization procedures.
- Rapid response team to help address breaking news, new outbreaks, etc., with both internal and external constituencies
- Regular updates on news impacting the restaurant and retail industries.
"The landscape is shifting by the hour, and we are committed to sharing best practices and other information that will help keep the public calm and provide proper reassurance that our clients are doing everything possible to maintain the health and safety of their guests and team members," Biro said.
About Cherryh Cansler
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