Firm designs new app to allow pubs to reopen safely
An IT and communications firm has developed an app to help pubs in the region open up after the lockdown.
The app, created by Shropshire ICT, will allow pubs to take customers details and order without the need to going to the bar.
The firm is offering the app free of charge to the pubs.
Vince Dovey, managing director of the firm, said: "After the Government announced about how pubs will be able to reopen I thought about my local and how they would be able to cope with the restrictions.
"They haven't got a huge IT budget so we decided to design an app for them.
"The app allows pubs to take customer's contact details, rather than write it down on paper where security issues come in play.
"The details are held in a cloud if the Government need them for 'track and trace' and they will then be deleted after 21 days.
"It has an added feature which allows customers to sit at tables and a message will be sent to the bar with their order.
"I took it to my local and they loved the idea. So far we have taken 20 plus orders, including one from as far as Reading.
"Pubs can register their interest with us. We will then send an information pack and can set up dedicated page for their pubs free of charge with no commitment.
"It will work for some pubs and not others, but the idea is that it will help pubs them get up on their feet."
Mr Dovey said versions of the app are also available for cafes and churches.
"We have also had a number of requests from cafes so we are branching out.
"We have also been asked by a church in Shrewsbury to offer assistance with taking a register for attendees at their services," he said.
The business was launched about 10 years ago and employees four people.
Like a lot of businesses, Mr Dovey admits the lockdown has been challenging for the business.
"As a business we have done ok and there have been ups and downs.
"We haven't furloughed staff, we have continued to pay them fully.
"From a support point of you we have been busy as people have been moving their IT systems to their homes which has meant calls for us.
"People have mothballed a lot of projects and it will be interesting to see if they have an appetite to resurrect projects. They don't even know at the moment.
"We have our fingers crossed for the next couple of months," Mr Dovey added.
