Thai food chain Camile Thai Kitchen has announced that it has partnered with Irish tech start-up Strike to launch a contact-free tipping solution.
Strike is a patent-pending innovation in cashless and contactless tipping for customers that was launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new digital feature developed by Strike gives Camile customers the option to tip their delivery drivers directly and contact-free once their Camile Thai order has been successfully delivered to their doors.
To use the contact-free tipping solution, customers tap their phone off of a Strike tag or scan the Strike QR code on their receipt and tip with Apple Pay or Google Pay, and the delivery driver receives the tip directly via Strike.
Camile Thai Kitchen Founder Statement
Camile Thai Kitchen founder Brody Sweeney stated, "Customers like to give recognition. Before the pandemic, a lot of orders were cash and our customers tipped our drivers directly in cash. Our Camile driver network appreciates being rewarded for good service, especially personally from our regular guests. Tipping is an expression of thanks, appreciation and recognition. However, COVID altered things dramatically, and both drivers and Camile guests are nervous and cautious about handling cash. The pandemic has definitely accelerated the move to a cashless society.
"Our dedicated network of drivers have been working hard to keep everyone safe over the past 12 months. We've been looking for a tipping solution for both our customers and our drivers. We are extremely proud to partner with an Irish startup like Strike who helped us to devise a frictionless digital tipping solution for our guests and our delivery team. The system has been tested successfully by our branches in Dublin and will be rolled out across all our Camile branches in Ireland over the next few weeks."
Sweeney added, "Despite an extremely difficult year for the hospitality sector, Camile saw a successful 2020. So far, we've achieved increased growth in the first quarter of 2021. Our suburban, delivery focussed model has proven to be pandemic proof in the last twelve months. This has enabled us to not only push forward with our aggressive expansion plans, but has also accelerated transition to a key goal - our tech pivot."
Strike Founder Statement
Meanwhile, Strike founder Oli Cavanagh commented, "We are extremely proud to partner with Camile to offer Strike's cashless tipping in direct response to the demise of cash since the COVID pandemic. Most people don't carry cash anymore, but people still want to reward good service. We brought back tips for the drivers, and they're seeing nearly double the volume of tips now. With our solution for Camile, we also noticed that customers often tip hours after the delivery, even on the following day. This was a nice surprise. Drivers often don't even realise they were tipped until they check their Strike account."
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