In this article we will explore how to use the IsItBusy Mobile Counter can be used to inform potential customers of your occupancy in a table service scenario.
Our business: A coffee shop called Coffee at Johns. It is just an ordinary coffee shop, with a total of 10 tables.
Our objective: Allow customers of Coffee at Johns to check ahead whether it's not too busy and safe to attend.
Background
The IsItBusy mobile counter is a mobile app that enables you to submit occupancy numbers to our platform. The occupancy numbers you've submitted will be displayed on your dedicated business page - a page that you can share with potential customers. Allowing your customers to check occupancy before turning up at your place of business will avoid disappointment, frustration, and helps ensure that social distancing guidelines can be adhered to.
Signing up
In order to start using the IsItBusy service you first have to create your user account. We are currently offering 30-day free trials to eligible businesses - all you have to do is sign up here: https://isitbusy.at/free-trial
After signing up, you will automatically be logged into the Management Suite. When you first log in, you will have to enter some more information about your business.
Describing your business
In order to create your public business page we need some additional information, such as the name of your business and the address.
After filling out the form, press Continue to proceed to the next step.
Creating your first zone
The key component of the IsItBusy platform is a zone. A zone describes an area in your business where you are measuring occupancy.
In the example provided below, the main area where we will be measuring occupancy is called the "Seating Area".
You should also take note of the two fields at the bottom, which allow you to control the numbers at which the traffic light on your business page change.
In this example, we're setting the traffic light to amber when the space hits 6 occupants. When the occupancy equals or exceeds 10, the traffic light will be set to red.
After filling out the details, press Continue to proceed to the last step of onboarding.
Downloading the app
The last step of the onboarding process is the downloading of the mobile app. You should be presented with a download button for the Play Store and App Store, so pick whichever one matches your device.
Once you've downloaded the app, press the "I have downloaded and opened the app" button and scan the QR code displayed in the onboarding wizard.
Using the app with table service
If you are doing table service in your place of business, there are some small adjustments needed to how you use the mobile counter app.
First of all, most of the IsItBusy platform is designed for counting occupants, and not neccessarily for counting tables.
You have to make sure that the "amber" and "red" thresholds you've entered reflect the number of tables available in your venue, and not your maximum visitor thresholds.
Even though you might have a total capacity for 500 visitors, if you have only 10 tables make sure you use that as the red limit and set the amber limit slightly lower.
After setting this up, use the mobile app's +/- buttons and potentially the text field to update the number of tables that are occupied in your business.
These values will automatically be reflected on your public business page.
