Speaking of things going back to normal in my last post, it's a bit more complicated than that. A good example is fast food. For the most part, those establishments operated with drive-throughs and delivery services. During pandemic mode, none of the fast food places I used to visit allowed customers to enter their lobby.
Of course, that did not stop the coupons from coming in through the mail. Knowing me, I'm the kind of guy who would take advantage of all the "deals" offered. Let's be clear, fast food is not good for you, but it tastes so good!
So, how does a different modus operandi affect the utility of those promotions? Well, for one, unless they have a specific code, QR or otherwise, it was not possible to use them with delivery. You think your DoorDash guy can take discounts for you? Think again. At least, not in my area.
As for the drive-throughs, it was sometimes difficult to place your orders. I often had to tell them ahead of time that I had coupons. If not, it could make the transactions a bit more complicated after finalization. Some fast food joints are more proactive. The local KFC would tell customers to tell them ahead of time about any coupon they plan on using.
I did a quick peruse of different fast food places today as the county's mask mandate is no longer in effect. There was only one place that started allowing people into the lobby. In fact, people could eat there as well. This was the local Wendy's. The allocation of parking spaces to delivery services remain the same. In more extreme cases, the parking lot might as well be part of the drive-through. That's how the local Chick-fil-a operates. I don't expect dine-in to be an option any time soon.
It might be a while before businesses start to feel like the way before the pandemic fiasco. Or, they may never feel the same again. If anything, I do hope they have a better system in place for people to use coupons, etc. It shouldn't be too hard. If they use more promo codes and/or QR, I'm sure they will see increased traffic.
It amuses me that in an era where many of us are about getting rid of the "middleman", we opted to expand the deliveryman. It's not that I don't appreciate them or that they are actual middlemen. It seems ridiculous that we are adding an extra step to getting our food. On the bright side, I guess owners don't have to rent a lot with many parking spaces and a lobby.
Well, I guess we shall see.