The spring of 2020 ushered in a different kind of world that changed the landscape of foodservice forever. In some cases, sweeping mandates occurred overnight, and it became evident that an operation’s ability to roll with the punches often determined their financial survival. Like the majority of the population, many of your customers optimistically waited for a quick ending to the pandemic’s life-altering times. Social distancing requirements pushed indoor dining to the curb, and many restaurants, university dining halls and hospitals (to name a few) quickly rigged makeshift pickup and delivery setups with existing equipment. Sadly, months turned to years, and waiting to get back to the way it once was transformed into a new type of normal.
Today, most mandates have expired, and indoor seating has returned; however, pickup and delivery stuck. Diners got a taste of the convenience, and online ordering, pickup options and delivery service are no longer the newest trend — they’re an established expectation. With that said, operations muddling through a busy service with improvised pickup setups are experiencing unnecessary inefficiencies. Help your customers successfully optimize their to-go services by upgrading to the convenience of a food locker. Let’s take a look at what pickup lockers are and the top six benefits these helpful units bring.
What are food pickup lockers?
As a foodservice equipment salesperson, you’re most likely aware of pickup lockers — but just in case, we’ll give you a quick rundown. Pickup lockers come in many different configurations but often include individual, self-service cubbies that keep food at their optimal temperature for longer. These units are typically insulated, and depending on the model, can provide an ambient, heated or refrigerated holding environment. Hatco, for example, offers a variety of food lockers ranging from the insulated Pickup Pod™, featuring a touchless interface and spacious cubbies, to Flav-R 2-Go® Locker Systems that provide countertop, floor-mounted or built-in pass-through options.
What are the benefits of food lockers?
There are many helpful to-go solutions out there, such as heated shelves, merchandisers, cabinets and more. And while they each have their own unique benefits, heated lockers have a list of qualities that your customers will love. Let’s take a look.
1. Service Speed
No one likes waiting forever for their meal, and your clients know that a quickly served customer often walks away more satisfied. That’s one area where upgrading a makeshift or outdated to-go setup to an automated food locker can bring incredible value. Picture one of your customer’s establishments during peak service times. The line might curve around and out of the door. If delivery drivers and pickup customers are waiting in the same line as dine-in customers, it’s a waste of time and frustrating for everyone.
What’s more, long lines deter potential customers who, instead of waiting, move on to the next establishment (read, lost revenue). Instead, automated pickup lockers create a separate area for to-go customers so they can bypass staff interaction and quickly grab their food and go. No long lines, no register transactions and less bottlenecking. Instead, simple and quick automated service.
2. Fresh food
Remember what we just said about decreased wait times? If your client’s call-in customers and Grubhub or DoorDash drivers can access an order quickly, it’s a no-brainer that food gets to its destination that much sooner. And since quick service brings increased freshness to the table, automated lockers can only help your customers serve even more deliciously fresh breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks.
But food lockers don't just provide fresher food because of greater access and convenience. Some pickup lockers also offer temperature regulation. For example, each locker on Hatco’s Flav-R 2-Go Locker System is preset at 150 ºF (66 ºC) with a high-temperature range up to 180 ºF (82 ºC), and individual lockers can have the heat turned off to handle ambient holding as well. Additionally, there’s a timer to conveniently hold packaged foods for up to 45 minutes. As you know, maintaining optimal serving temperatures keeps food’s integrity tip-top, and a heated or insulated ambient locker is extremely helpful.
3. Food safety
If there’s one thing all of your customers think about daily, it’s the safety of food going out to their patrons. Both cold and cooked food should be subject to temperature checks, and anything that doesn’t make the cut should end up in the trash. Although a fresh meal usually tastes better, the right temperatures aren’t just about quality. Establishments must ensure foods maintain a consistent, safe holding temperature for their customers’ health. You’re well aware that potentially hazardous foods are a breeding ground for bacteria, and foods kept at the right temperature keep bacteria’s multiplication at bay.
Safety also involves maintaining security. Your customers want to protect their food from intentional or unintentional tampering. Thankfully, food lockers help limit exposure to anyone other than the intended customer. Some locker systems, like our Pickup Pod, work by providing customers or delivery people with access to their secure cubby by scanning a QR code or using an embedded link sent via SMS messaging. Alternatively, with Hatco’s Flav-R 2-Go food lockers, the purchasing customer or delivery service receives a unique code. After finding their name on the illuminated screen, the customer punches in that code, and the correct locker opens with safe, secure deliciousness served.
4. Labor savings
Labor shortages are real. In fact, they’re so real that the National Restaurant Association (NRA) recently reported that 75% of operations say that finding staff is their top concern today. That means a vast majority of the establishments you serve can't find enough employees to comfortably run their operations. That's another area where automated pickup lockers can help. Ready-to-go foods placed within locker compartments provide a worry-free solution. Staff simply fill the order, shut the locker door and move to the next most pressing task. There’s no need to further organize which customer gets which order. Additionally, there’s not another transaction or staff interaction that needs to occur. It’s the ultimate labor-saving win-win for your customers.
5. Contactless convenience
Less staff interaction not only aids in combating labor shortages and budget constraints, but contactless service is a benefit in itself. Health concerns during the pandemic made contactless pickup and delivery essential, but the convenience and peace of mind it continues to bring is priceless. The world has shifted, and this service type is now a mainstay. Guiding your clients toward solutions such as a food locker can help them do contactless better than the rest.
6. Frees precious space
Lastly, space is a valuable asset in almost every commercial kitchen, with many establishments evaluating and choosing equipment simply with footprint in mind. The thing about food lockers is that they not only provide the incredible benefits listed above, but some models actually increase precious back-of-the-house real estate. For example, Hatco’s built-in locker system has a pass-through feature that allows operators in the kitchen to fill orders straight to an insulated cubby that’s built into the wall.
Built-in pass-through options are incredible, but floor-mounted models also free up kitchen real estate by creating separate self-serve to-go areas — away from the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. It won’t come as much of a shocker that your customers’ employees will appreciate less to-go equipment getting in the way of an efficient kitchen workflow.
Continue to flourish.
It’s no question that the benefits of automated pickup lockers run deep. Help your customers create automated to-go areas that allow their entire to-go operation to flourish and grow. If this post roused your interest in learning more about automated locker systems, take a look at our blog, Automated Pickup Equipment: Everything You Need To Know But Didn’t Know To Ask.
