Ggm: Discounts for vaccinated to attract customers but home delivery a safety net

Gurugram: Starting from special discounts for those who have had their Covid vaccines (either one or both doses) to incentives for frontline and healthcare workers, restaurants and pubs in Gurugram are trying their best to attract physical customers to their establishments - two weeks into the unlock phase.

But after the experiences of the previous lockdowns, these restaurants are not leaving anything to hope and are trying their best to bolster their home delivery mechanisms, noting that despite the inlock process and heavy incentives, a majority of their orders are for delivery.

In Sector-29 where some of the prominent pubs and restaurants are located, a 25 percent discount is being given to walk-in customers that have received their first dose. For customers who have received their second dose are getting a 50 percent discount. The customers are expected to show their vaccination certificate to avail the discounts.

But restaurant owners told Millennium Post that while loyal customers do show up, most of their orders are for home delivery.

In the initial phase of unlocking the restaurants and eateries are depending upon its loyal customers and home deliveries for achieving its operating profits.

Even as restaurants have taken COVID precautions in their premises, many restaurant owners now feel that it will take a long time for large numbers of people to come to food and beverage outlets.

While the restaurants and eateries have been allowed to function by public agencies, most of them continue to grapple with a lot of challenges. Long durations of lockdown earlier in the first phase and then in the second had resulted in a lot of financial losses being incurred by the restaurant owners who had to pay huge rent and salaries of their staff.

"Many people not being able to eat at restaurants physically has been a major let-down. One thing positive however is that there are still many orders coming for home deliveries," said a restaurant owner who requested anonymity.