StreetSmart: an open letter to restaurants in Wales

StreetSmart. What is it, and how does it work?

A registered charity which has run for a quarter of a century, StreetSmart raises funds to help the homeless by adding a voluntary £1 donation to restaurant diners’ bills during November and December.

Now in its twenty sixth year, over 600 restaurants have signed up across the UK, with last year’s campaign raising over one million pounds.

Every eligible business can play a part, from internationally-renowned fine dining to your local favourite.

This year, in Wales alone, that means everything from Cardiff pizza legends 591 to Ynyshir, James Sommerin’s Home to city centre favourite The Potted Pig, and all points in between.

Where does the money go? Streetsmart supports charities local to where the funds are raised. So all the funds raised in Wales will support projects in Wales.

Does StreetSmart take a cut for administration etc? No, Our partners LandAid cover all the campaign costs so 100% of the donations go towards helping homeless people.

Are there businesses which cannot take part? You must have table service. Table cards provided explain the campaign and the process for full transparency.

It’s crucial the customer is presented with a bill at their table, so they have time to understand why they are donating.

So a pub where you order over the bar, or a café where you pay at the till prior to eating, is out.

That sounds simple. Does it cost us, the restaurant, anything? No, except the precious commodity of time in setting up the till and training staff.

How do we set up the till system? You’ll need to assign a button to your till/EPOS system that adds on the £1 (exempt of VAT) and after a service charge. Then,crucially, you’ll need to brief your staff to remember to do so each time.

StreetSmart is an opt–out scheme and 99% of diners are happy to give. From experience, it works much better this way. If they don’t want to give, then that’s fine, and your server can remove fuss-free.

How will the diner know the £1 is added for charity? Each participating restaurant receives packs of elegant and discrete cards which can be displayed on the tables or tucked into bill folders.

Staff often inform the diner when presenting the bill but we know in a busy setting this isn’t always possible- hence, the importance of the cards.

Is it OK for someone not to pay? Of course! The cards make this clear and the server should remove with no fuss. That said, research shows less than 1% decline to pay.

Can someone give more? Yes, the server sometimes takes a separate payment or just adds the £1 on several times, say if a group wanted to give a larger donation.

Does it effect tips? No. The research showed tips actually went up during the period. Perhaps customers felt even more positive towards the staff as they were taking part in a worthwhile cause. (And it is Christmas, after all!)

How does the restaurant pay StreetSmart?
You’ll have a running total on your EPOS system and you just send the total over by the end of January.

An easy, no-cost way to help support Welsh initiatives in the run-up to Christmas, then. A way to support some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.

I hope you’ll join us. It’s quick and easy, and you can do it here.

Jonathan