Retaining Customers

Restaurants in China come up with innovative measures to mitigate epidemic related revenue losses as they resume operations.

- Xia Yuanyuan

After months of being cooped up at home and cooking for themselves due to the COVID-19 epidemic lockdown regulations, foodies couldn’t wait to head out to their favorite restaurants and indulge their culinary desires as the catering industry resumed normal operations in late March.

During the five-day May Day Holiday, Malubianbian, a well-known restaurant in Beijing, was bustling with diners with face masks.

“We restored dine-in service in late March and ever since have been seeing an increase in customers,” said Zhang Huaiyu, a waiter of the restaurant.

With the COVID-19 outbreak coming under control in China, 95.8 percent of shopping malls and 80 percent of catering businesses have resumed work as of March 27, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Restaurants reopened to the public have seen sales recover, though with some changes.

Safety first

Before going into Beiping Shengshi, a roast duck restaurant in Beijing, customers are requested to show their “health-status code,” a QR code with three colors green, yellow or red - which grades their health status, based on their health and travel history. People with a green health code are free to roam in public places, such as restaurants.

Also, customers need to undergo temperature checks and fill in their contact information in case the health authorities need to conduct epidemiological investigations.

“These measures do not bother me, but are reassuring actions to ensure everyone’s safety,” Zhang Qifan, a customer, told ChinAfrica.