To grow its fledgling business, Charlie’s 1922 in Newport, South Wales, has introduced deliveries using SwiftOrder
For 30 years, Jamie Higgs walked past CJ’s Fish Bar with fond memories. It was where every Friday night without fail he would enjoy fish and chips with his grandad, Charlie.
Making him the promise that one day he would own the chippy, Jamie delivered on that in September this year when he took over the business, reopening it as Charlie’s 1922 in honour of his navy veteran grandad.
Although Jamie knew nothing about fish and chips, being in logistics and property previously, he could see a number of easy opportunities to boost trade. New staff uniforms and signage along with improved customer service and food offerings saw Charlie’s rack up its 10,000th order after just seven weeks of opening.
To grow the business further Jamie has introduced deliveries using online ordering platform SwiftOrder.
“Delivery was an avenue that I knew we had to go down for growth, but I didn’t want to turn the tap on full pelt because we’re still growing; turnover has gone up 40% without deliveries. I also didn’t want to increase the prices for customers.”
While working on his own app, Jamie came across Swiftorder and liked how simple the platform was to operate and how cost-effective it was to run.
“It’s working perfectly,” says Jamie, “and the reasons being the settings and the fact we can control how many orders we take.”
Charlie’s 1922 started offering one delivery every 15 minutes between 5pm and 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays, but when the slots quickly filled up this was extended to Monday to Thursday. It has been extended again to one delivery every 10 minutes.
To encourage uptake of the new service, Jamie issued flyers with a QR code and a 10% discount on customers’ first orders.
“We’ve gone from four deliveries an hour to six an hour so the system allows me to grow at a sustainable pace,” says Jamie, who has had to find room for an extra prep station and employ three new counter staff to cover the additional orders.
“SwiftOrder is just a simple system to use and means we can maintain the service levels but grow as a business. It costs us £12.50 a week and I haven’t had to increase any of the prices.
“It’s been a really good addition to the business, especially because we are new owners. It’s perfect for what we need at the moment.”
SwiftOrder 01173 259310 www.swiftorder.co.uk
