Dundalk-based business Q-KANGAROO, at face value, seemed a business that would most likely falter in the face of Covid-19.
The Q-KANGAROO app was developed to allow you to skip the queue at your local cafe, restaurant or deli during office lunch hour. With the app, you could order your lunch from your desk and pop down to the shop to collect it, giving you more time to enjoy your lunch hour and less time standing and waiting.
With the pandemic forcing the majority of the workforce to work from home and lockdown restrictions plunging the hospitality sector into uncertainty, the office lunch hour suddenly became a thing of the past.
But Q-KANGAROO did not falter in these hard times. It flourished.
"When Covid hit we quickly had to change the model completely," says Jamie McGivern, Marketing Project Manager at Q-Kangaroo.
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"Now it’s evolved and expanded into a food ordering app. You now have the option, alongside pickup, of delivery and it’s more so now restaurants, cafes, take-aways and so much more."
"It has grown beyond Dundalk, we are now live in Drogheda, Navan, Newry, Banbridge, the list could go on and on. We have recently gone live in Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin and Ratoath. So, the app has developed and grown a lot over the past year," he says.
The Q-KANGAROO app also has a dine in option on the app for when the restrictions ease and we are all allowed back to dining in restaurants and cafes.
"Naturally, we can’t use that at the moment with the local restrictions but it’s something that will be available once restaurants open up again. People will be able to order ahead for a table and pay ahead for their food and when they arrive the food will be put in front of them. We are also looking to do table ordering as well," says McGivern.
Q-KANGAROO’s ethos is they are a local company, and they want to support local businesses at a local level hence the quick adaption of their tech to help small businesses keep relevant to their customers during the lockdowns.
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"We reached out to these local businesses and helped out wherever way we could during Covid," explains McGivern.
This is what McGivern believes is what gives them the edge over their nearest food ordering marketplace competitors. Q-KANGAROO is heavy on the customer service they provide to their clients.
One of the pieces of tech they did need to rethink during the pandemic was the products they provided in stores to receive the orders.
"We now have tablets and within the unit we can add SIM cards," he says. "Vodafone provide us with mobile data SIM cards, and they allow our stores to stay on a 4G connection all the time. So, even if the restaurant or cafés are having issues with their WIFI our tablet will stay connected thanks to the 4G connection."
"It’s been a huge change for us and a huge benefit going forward knowing that we will always stay connected to their service," he adds.
Q-KANGAROO are eyeing up further expansion with a goal of Ireland and the UK wide before taking on the global markets.
Reliable connectivity is key for many small businesses navigating through the pandemic. As Ireland's best mobile network and largest fibre footprint provider, Vodafone is 100% committed to keeping your business connected with your customers in these challenging times.
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