Food ordering is rapidly evolving; customers are no longer coming in to dine as regularly as they used to (you can thank the pandemic for that) because online ordering is now rapidly becoming the norm for most people because it’s more comfortable and safer to eat at home rather than going out.
However, as ordering online becomes the norm, it becomes crucial for restaurants to ensure their online ordering process is as fast and seamless as possible. This is because customer expectations have now skyrocketed when it comes to online ordering.
The average customer expects a speedy and seamless experience, where their order will come to their doorstep in the time it takes to press the “order” button on their app and head to the front door to collect the order.
Naturally, this places a lot of pressure on restaurant delivery services. But with the right investments and the right decisions, you can turn your restaurant delivery services into a critical component of your customer service and the reason why they keep coming back.
Improving ordering takes several steps, depending on where you are currently in the ordering process. Here are some that you can take with hospitality solutions like an EPOS ordering system.
Prioritise orders done over the phone
Some restaurants work on a “first-come, first-served” basis, which may have worked for a while; however, if you’re offering delivery, pick-up, and dine-in services (which, if you’re reading this blog is quite possible), you may want to consider who makes their way to the top of the waiting queue.
It is best to give delivery orders first priority because you have to factor in transit time on top of meal prep time. Hence, if you prioritise dine-in orders instead, you may end up delaying orders by an hour, which is an absolute no-no for customer service.
To avoid this, you would want to prioritise delivery orders but consider other factors, such as how long the order will take and the distance to the delivery location. An EPOS ordering system can help you prioritise orders accordingly so you can ensure customers get their orders on time.
Optimise workflows to speed up the ordering process
Catering to both people coming in and customers ordering creates a busy, chaotic kitchen. Hence, the best solution is to break down the process from taking orders to delivering to customers in precise steps where specific roles are assigned to individuals.
Breaking down the process can add structure and minimise errors, improving efficiency. It is also best to streamline the process wherever possible, no matter how small the step might be.
For example, if you are relying on a manual process to relay orders to the kitchen, consider using an EPOS ordering system to relay orders directly to the kitchen to save time and improve efficiency.
Track and analyse delivery to improve efficiency
Implementing all these management processes to improve delivery is futile if you don’t have any metrics to determine if these changes are effective. Hence, you need to collect data on different metrics that include average time, time taken to prepare each menu item, frequency of meeting time estimates, and frequency of errors.
EPOS systems for restaurants can collect data about orders, log how long it takes to complete orders, and generate reports to present a solid picture of how efficient your delivery process is.
You can leverage these metrics to determine the state of the current delivery process and ascertain the improvements that need to be made.
Improve efficiency in restaurants with an EPOS ordering system
With intense competition in the hospitality industry, the option to get an order promptly delivered can make the difference between a loyal customer who keeps coming back and a customer who buys once and never comes back.
Hence, taking the necessary steps to improve your delivery services can have a tremendous payoff in the long run in the form of customers who keep coming back because they love your food and your prompt customer service.
While there are many tools that can help you, you will be hard-pressed to find a better option than an EPOS ordering system because it can help streamline several restaurant management processes that can help you turn ordering into a fast, efficient process.