It’s that Restaurant Gift Card Time of Year

Well it’s that time of year! The time for restaurants to improve their cash flow and get the shot in the arm that it needs.

How do we as restaurant operators do that? Sell Gift Cards! And a lot of them during the holiday season.

If you don’t have a gift card or gift certificate system in place now, start one today. Put out as much point of sale materials you can on your tables, front doors, bathrooms, etc. Tell your guests that you sell gift cards. Train your severs to suggestive sell them at every table.

Offer your guests a $5.00 gift card for every $25.00 gift card purchased. Want to be really aggressive, offer them the ability to purchase a gift card for .75 cents to every dollars purchase (a $100 gift card for $75).

There is a statistic out there, which I can’t remember the exact number, but something like 10 or 15% of all gift cards purchased won’t ever be redeemed. And for those that are the guest usually spends more than what the gift card of certificate is valued.

So fill your bank account with money and drive more customers in your doors, simply by offering them the abitlity to purchase a gift!

Here are a few articles that you may find helpful:

www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2004-11-28-restaurant-giftcard_x.htm

https://www.restaurant.org/show/news/story.cfm?ID=392

www.800giftcertificate.com/corpsite/skin.cfm?page=../articles5

What are you waiting for…get out there and start selling them, before the holiday rush is over.

Remember to keep smiling.