NEW YORK, N.Y. – October 7, 2020 – As one of the industries hit hardest by the pandemic, restaurants, and hospitality groups have looked for creative contactless dining solutions to ensure the comfort and safety of their guests. Flowcode, an advanced, customizable QR technology enables instant, contactless connections, and has emerged as a solution for the struggling restaurant industry.
Flowcode, together with its complementary offering, Flowpage, provides an entirely free platform for restaurants to activate direct connections with their customers. Tens of thousands of restaurants and hospitality groups across the country have begun to utilize Flowcode and Flowpage, ranging in size from a small Texas café to a chain of Las Vegas restaurants. Many have described the tech as one of the most valuable and empowering services they have deployed during the pandemic. With Flowcode and Flowpage there are no hidden fees, no hidden agenda, and it's the fastest, easiest, and safest way for restaurants across the country to do business during the pandemic.
In a matter of seconds, a restaurateur can visit Flowcode.com to create a custom-designed circular QR code, branded with their own restaurant logo and colors. This then redirects customers to their free Flowpage, which can house menus, GoFundMe pages, contact tracing, online ordering, social media, reviews, reservations, merchandise, and more – all in a mobile-first, easy-to-navigate landing page.
Flowcode’s contactless menu solutions mean no more costly and unsustainable printed menus that need to be changed daily, and Flowpage’s sleek, link aggregation technology allows for restaurants to connect with their customers in a way that can be easily sustained and nurtured for years to come. On top of that, restaurants get access to all of the Flowcode and Flowpage analytics to track engagement and audience metrics.
“We were forced to close for weeks,” says Randy Nason, the General Manager of Seven Stars Bakery, which operates four locations in Rhode Island. Like many restaurants, they struggled through their closure, working to pivot their business model and launch new online ordering systems for to-go offerings. “We started using Flowcode when we reopened our cafés. We had never done online ordering before, so we put our Flowcode everywhere. Customers used it to get right to our order page. We went from being a technology dinosaur to being a technology innovator overnight and our customers loved it.”
Another establishment, Hula Hut in Austin, TX, wasn’t as lucky with the ability to survive as a to-go establishment. “At first we attempted to operate as to-go only, but with the city in lockdown and the general fear of contracting the virus, our sales couldn't keep us open,” says General Manager, Elias Chocalas. “After reopening in May, Flowcode helped us cut costs. We were spending hundreds of dollars weekly to print menus that were being thrown away after one use. As for marketing - it has helped us put out new menu items almost instantly without having to worry about printing new menus, table tents, etc. We push it to the platform and it's there. It also helps direct people to our social media channels while they’re here, and it looks good to our guests that we are trying to limit their exposure.”
Restaurateurs have heralded Flowcode’s ease of use, capacity for customization, and free price tag during a pandemic that has created long-term industry suffering like it's never seen before. Jayson Storicks, General Manager of Mother’s Ruin in Nashville, TN, said “We began utilizing Flowcode upon reopening as a way to eliminate the need for single-use paper menus and allow a safe way for our guests to access our offerings. Additionally, it has allowed us to remain environmentally conscious by eliminating unnecessary paper waste. The response from our guests has been overwhelmingly positive and the Flowcode is a shining example of our commitment to keeping our doors open while maintaining as safe an environment as possible for our guests.”
“With the continuous uncertainty in today’s consumer behaviors, the hospitality world needs a safe way to connect, using intention and purpose, not algorithms,” says Andrew Duplessie, Flowcode’s head of direct to consumer. Businesses of all sizes in the hospitality space were hit particularly hard during COVID-19 and with the increasing demand for contactless options, establishments are forced to find creative, and affordable solutions at an accelerated rate. Due to this fact, Flowcode is committed to offering our services 100% free of charge for restaurants in the face of the global pandemic.”