With the first stage of the ‘grand reopening of Britain’ just passing and students completing their long awaited or (short lived depending on the mind set of the student) returns to school, the adults in the country are eagerly anticipating the next stages of the roadmap outlined by Boris Johnson on the 22^nd February.

As you are all very aware the roadmap consists of four stages which happen to feel like The Pyramid at Glastonbury rather than the stage of a school play. The stages are subject to various conditions and requirements for the stages to go ahead on their scheduled dates. The requirements being a continued success of the vaccine rollout and sufficient evidence that the rollout is having a positive impact on the hospitalisation rates and infection rates. If this all goes according the plan, by June we shall all smell the fruits of total freedom of movement. FINALLY.

Next set of key dates for Hospitality industries:

April 12th 2021: Hospitality businesses are able to resume strictly outdoor service only. They obviously didn’t get the memo that in England April is still freezing and wet.

Things to note:

• Rule of Six – two households – BOO.
• No substantial meal required in pubs – WOO.

May 17^th 2021: The return to the warmth, when summer is arriving! Indoor hospitality reopens. Indoor entertainment and overnight stays in hotels. As well as a rule of 30 outdoors, you are some kind of magician if you can get 30 people out at once. Weddings and christenings can have 30 guests too.

Things to Note:

• Table service indoors – WOO for lazy folks. BOO for tired staff.

How to prepare for the reopening with some help from MyEPOS:

Social distancing– for now measures will still be in full effect, those who love to put an arm round a friend when chatting will have to hold fire for a few months yet.

Here’s a small checklist for social distancing measures, have you:

• Used MyEPOS to create a floor plan in your establishment.
• Displayed clear signage for the measures in place.
• Placed a number of sanitation stations for guests and staff.
• Provided staff with protective equipment (not ear plugs for the loud guests).
• Installed contactless payment

Online Booking and Takeaway –

• Make sure you’re integrated with an app for takeaway and online orders. Putting a menu in your customer’s pocket and allowing orders to go straight from the table to the kitchen. The 21^st century really is wild. Punters don’t even need the ability to walk anymore.
• The MyEPOS system also offers a full customer database which coincides perfectly with the track and trace system. (Plus you can keep on eye on the tricky customers).

Marketing, Marketing, MARKETING:

• Reopening is a huge deal, you need to shout it from the rooftops.
• Use your MyEPOS system to send a message to those on the customer database who have signed up with an email or a phone number. If dominos pizza can send a text every 5 minutes, so can you!
• Social media may be a plague on the world, but it’s a useful tool. Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are perfect for announcing the long awaited return. Make sure you have your kindest, wittiest soul on hold to answer replies and comments.

Get your staff level right:

• When hospitality reopens table service (firstly outside then moving inside) will mean an obvious drop in customers you’re able to accommodate resulting in a balance to staffing levels.
• As Thanos said (if you’re into comics and such) its all about BALANCE. Have enough staff to keep things running whilst remaining profitable.
• Make sure all the staff are trained in social distancing and hygiene measures.
• Have a skeleton crew (not literally) available for cover if there are any covers needed.

Managing stock:

• Use MyEPOS to manage your stock control down to the smallest ingredient. Ensure you have everything you need to open smoothly without a hiccup.
• Dig out the old sales history using your system to see what your bestsellers are, make sure you’re stocked up. With the potential of reducing the menu for the early days.

Voila, you’re ready to open.