L&M Seafood

L&M Seafood is a popular fast-food Halal seafood restaurant with four outlets — Bukit Batok, Keat Hong, Sengkang and Bedok. The business combines dine-in, take-away and delivery, using the delivery platforms Grab and Food Panda alongside its own counters. The kitchen is Halal certified, serving seafood and Thai-Chinese style dishes.

Why they were looking for a loyalty program

In the Director’s own words:

Previously, we used a physical stamp card system. We stopped using it because it was very troublesome. We couldn’t see results. Customers had many disputes about their stamps and lost cards. Outlet managers wanted to get rid of the physical stamp card system. They all wanted some sort of loyalty program, but wasn’t aware of a digital loyalty program.

Three separate problems in one paragraph: no visibility, constant disputes, and staff who wanted the paper gone but didn’t know there was an alternative.

Why they chose Flex Rewards

Flex Rewards looked very easy to use and hassle free. We weren’t asked to pay for any hardware like an ipad or scanning machine. We could just set up the whole system very quickly with a paper QR Codes displayed on tables.

That is the point worth drawing out. A loyalty program that requires a terminal or a scanner has a cost and an install before it has a single member. Here the program ran on what the restaurant already had, and customers scanned with the phone cameras they already carried — no app install required of anyone.

The team also used their take-away and delivery flyers to capture members:

We actually captured most of our customers using the takeaway and delivery flyers which is great because now we know who have been ordering our food from Grap and Food Panda.

For a restaurant doing significant volume through third-party delivery platforms, that is unusually valuable — those platforms sit between the restaurant and the customer, and the loyalty program is how the restaurant gets a direct relationship back.

The card

Ten stamps, and a substantial reward at the end:

• 10 stamps = free Chilli Crab
• A stamp is earned on any single bill of $20 or more

A minimum-spend rule like that is worth noting, because it only works when the person issuing the stamp can decide at the till. The Code Generator is built for exactly this: staff choose how many stamps a purchase earns at the moment they generate the code, and each code is single-use — once it is scanned it is spent.

The results they reported

We signed up about 500 members in the first couple of months. It was very quick. We can see customers coming back and asking for their stamps. Many reward redemptions have been done within a few months since launch.

And on how it landed with staff:

Our outlet managers have given positive feedback about this program. They say it’s very easy and straightforward to use. They liked how customers can just scan the QR code and get a stamp so there are no delays at the cashier. The best thing is that there are no more complaints or disputes about stamps or prizes anymore.

The disputes disappearing is the quiet win. A paper card is an argument waiting to happen — it can be lost, forged, or remembered differently by customer and cashier. A digital balance is simply a fact both sides can see.

The outlets

• L&M Seafood Bukit Batok — 134 Bukit Batok West Ave 6, Block 134, Singapore 650134 (#01-463)
• L&M Seafood Keat Hong — 803 Keat Hong Cl, Singapore 680817
• L&M Seafood Bedok — 209 New Upper Changi Rd, Singapore 460209 (#01-633)
• L&M Seafood Sengkang — 455 Sengkang West Ave, Singapore (Blk 455 #01-01)

More restaurant programs on the loyalty programs for restaurants page.