I have recently visited a number of cafes and restaurants and seen a number where they either have a sign in sheet or a tablet to register your details.
The intent of these are to allow an establishment to notify its patrons if there was a person with COVID-19 either working or visiting. It is a precaution to try and IDENTIFY WHERE THE VIRUS MAY BE SPREADING.
But is it actually a good solution?
The irony is that it has now introduced a surface which every customer now touches.
Or putting it another way, IT HAS GREATLY INCREASED THE CHANCES OF COVID-19 SPREADING.
And it has increased the chances of being able to catch it from someone who was there before you.
We would be safer if they simply sat us at different locations.
Should we scrap the registry?
I am not saying to scrap the register, just don’t use paper or a tablet. Or if you do, just have the staff write it down.
There are many alternatives. The QR Code registration is about, but many people struggle with how to do it.
They could just have a mobile and have customers text their name to it. Then you have their name, valid mobile and date/time.
When it comes to safety, we need to think about the unintended consequences of every policy we introduce.
Here's a simple and FREE solution
Recently I visited Beanmeister Cafe in Castle Hill. They had a QR code going to a Google Form. I asked them about how much it was and the answer was…
FREE!
I then asked about how difficult it was to setup. It turns out that the answer is:
EASY!
Here’s the great part. At the end of all of this, who ever does this can have an email database of customers.
Note – you will want a checkbox option asking them if they want to receive offers in the future, and then always have an unsubscribe option.
Best of all, they sent us step by step instructions on how to do it yourself. You can now setup a QR Code and sign in form of your own by following these simple instructions:
