Thanks for calling – How phone calls became an unexpected lifeline for restaurants during the pandemic
🕒 8.5 min read
The hospitality industry has had to navigate innumerable hurdles brought on by COVID-19. Technology (QR codes, AI-enhanced websites) has helped, but outmoded phone calls have become a surprising lifeline for restaurants throughout the pandemic.
After restaurants were ordered to close on March 17 unless offering takeout and delivery, phone convos became a preferred method of communication for a variety of reasons:
Network status
Despite the 20/30-something set’s preference for texting over talking, when technology goes down (pre-COVID it was a common occurrence), phones are a fairly reliable backup.
Relying solely on websites, social media, and third-party delivery apps has proven to be problematic for hospitality businesses over the years. Due to power outages and service disruptions, Toronto restaurateurs were already leaning into the old technology just two months into the coronavirus crisis. Since then, phone calls have become the industry’s unexpected, and welcome, salvation.
Open for business
Hours of operation for local food and drink businesses have changed more these last months than possibly in their entire existence. Despite Google’s COVID-19 tools and resources and constant updates via websites and social media, amidst the chaos of places having to temporarily shutter and reopen, rejig, readjust, then close down again, the best way to find out if and when a place is open these days, is simply to call.
Sign of the times
Not having a sign, phone, or reservations in place used to indicate a restaurant or bar was too cool for such archaic modes of communication. COVID changed all that. Now you’ll find phone numbers featured prominently in Instagram bios, including older establishments Mattachioni and Maker Pizza, and buzzy newcomers such as Restaurant Le Phénix and Maggie Chu’s Noodle Bar.
Reservations too, were back in full swing for patio seating this summer - and likely will be again once indoor dining returns. In fact, many establishments required them, with many still made via call or text.
App off
The contention between restaurant owners and third-party delivery apps has been going on for some time now. As businesses have had to rely solely on takeout and delivery for not one, but three lockdowns since March, the public has slowly become aware that despite offers of free delivery and a host of restaurants to choose from, it comes at a high cost for businesses: Many platforms in Ontario are charging fees of 25-35 per cent per order, at a time when restaurants can’t even afford rent.
Calling in your order directly to a restaurant to circumvent outrageously high fees and commissions has been gaining in popularity throughout the pandemic, and most recently with the media attention surrounding Councillor Michael Ford’s motion for the Province to cap these commissions.
IRL
There are many instances where phones reigns supreme. If a business doesn’t have an online ordering system on their website (the majority still don’t), the best way to place your order is still by phone.
And despite being in the digital age, hundreds of restaurants and shops don’t have a website or little to no online presence to speak of – mom and pop eateries and stores, diners, restaurants in low income neighbourhoods, for instance. Many of these places still operate via landline, so phone is the only way to reach them - and probably the only places you might still encounter a busy signal.
Call your local and talk to a real live person.
Shop pantry items, merch + bottles
Very few restaurants have a website listing all inventory available for purchase. In addition to dishes for takeout and delivery, a number of bars, restaurants, cafes and breweries have morphed into full-on bodegas, grocers, and bottle shops. So along with your dinner tonight, you can add in a variety of pantry items (because grocery store fatigue is real), t-shirt, toque or tote, six pack of local brews, and sommelier selected bottle of wine from a remote region of Spain or Italy. By phoning, you’ll likely discover an array of items that you can not only stock the freezer with, but likely help out with your holiday shopping this year.
Sound advice
Maybe you have questions before you head there in person. Or perhaps you don’t want to leave your cozy quarters at all. Pick up the phone. Chances are, owners and employees are excited to talk with you and create meaningful experiences for you and your family.
Take Honest Weight in The Junction, for instance. They shared the launch of a “super low-tech delivery system” on social media in October:
“It’s not online, you won’t be able to track your order, we won’t be able to give you an exact delivery time and there’s a good chance you are out of our delivery area. Instead, call us because we love talking to you. We will tell you what we have, make recommendations, help you pick super fresh seafood and really nice pantry items and offer you some delivery windows. This allows us to re-hire people who were laid-off back in March and it means that every dollar you spend goes to the people who prepare your food. We will try this for a while and see how it goes!”
This is just one of the many reasons to skip big box store shopping, and supplement your grocery purchases with ones from small neighbourhood businesses.
Budget bites
Pre-pandemic, if you ordered takeout from a variety of places, you may have received a small percentage off. Now, at a time when money is tight and job futures uncertain, these price cuts of usually ten to thirty per cent off can mean ordering takeout can cost roughly the same price as making a meal at home.
These deep discounts are a great incentive to still support your local businesses and indulge in your love of sushi, pizza, tacos or empanadas, without breaking the bank.
Bonus: Calling ahead saves you time and allows for businesses to space out orders and provide safe, contactless pickup.
Connecting you now
At a time when social distancing and health and safety protocols prohibit close contact, hugs, and other forms of intimacy, talking on the phone has become a great way to connect with others in an otherwise isolating time.
Catching up with your favourite server, sommelier, or owner on the phone could easily be the highlight of your week (definitely better than any Zoom meeting you’ve been roped into), and a way to stay connected until dining rooms open again.
Talk soon
Hopefully, placing a call to your local bar, bistro, butcher, café, restaurant, brewery, and food shop will be a habit that remains long after the pandemic is over.
Until the time when we can toss aside our masks and hug and gather at the bar and table like old times, call and place your order today. Supporting local neighbourhood businesses has never been more paramount.
Please support local businesses whenever possible.
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