You've served a delicious meal and your service has been impeccable. Now it's time for your guests to pay for the amazing food and dining experience they've enjoyed at your restaurant. Why not use this moment, not just for payment, but also to engage with the guest and generate loyalty for future visits? After all, it's easier and less expensive to keep a loyal customer than to find a new one, and it's even better if your loyal customer can be an advocate for bringing in new guests.

A best-in-class, pay-at-the-table solution can also be your customer loyalty solution. It should not interfere with the dining experience to that point but should enhance it. A payment solution that is designed to be left at the table empowers your guests to pay when and how they want. It should be quick, simple, and elegant leaving them with a positive end to the whole dining experience.

Ideally, a payment device builds trust with secure payments and is presented in an elegant and familiar folio rather than looking like a device they've seen in the grocery store. It is entirely guest-controlled rather than having the server hovering while the guest completes the tip and payment. In that respect, it is a simple and private transaction. The guest is relaxed and chooses when and how to pay. They can provide feedback easily and receive an electronic receipt which affords the restaurant another channel of guest engagement.

When your guests experience a safe, simple and convenient payments experience, they will finish the complete ultimate dining experience and be more likely to become loyal regularly-returning customers who will refer the restaurant to friends.

Here are the five main ways your restaurant payments strategy can be your best loyalty strategy:

1) Freedom to choose - adopting the right pay at the table solutions will allow your guests to be in control of the payment experience, ensuring they leave your restaurant on a positive note. The solution should have options to pay with a chip card, swipe card, cash or a cell phone.

2) More secure - a best-in-class payments solution should offer security and encryption to engender guests' confidence and trust.

3) Safer - if your guest feels safer and more secure then they will feel prioritized and will be more likely to revisit the restaurant. Consumers today prefer touchless or low touch payments.

4) Feedback mechanism - guests are empowered to provide feedback immediately. Manager alerts permit staff to address any concerns before the guest leaves the restaurant. Business intelligence allows management to gauge server performance and find new ways to improve the guest experience.

5) Email capture - Customer contact information opens the door to follow-up marketing to boost repeat visits and expand guest loyalty.

There is no better time to invest in building your customer base and expanding guest loyalty with a state-of-the-art pay-at-the-table solution such as the TableSafe payments and business intelligence platform.

Learn more about improving the customer experience, enhancing operational efficiencies, and building trust and security with the TableSafe Advantage today!