How to start taking pickup orders

Set your pickup hours

Pickup hours are not always your opening hours. Start when the first order can really be made, and stop early enough to make the last one.

• Leave out the hours when the counter cannot take on more.
• Give each day its own hours if your week is uneven.
• Decide how far ahead people can order: today only, or a few days for a bakery's preorders.

Set a prep time you can keep

The prep time is the gap between an order and the earliest pickup. Set it for a busy morning, not a quiet afternoon: an order ready early costs nothing, and a late one costs goodwill.

• Drinks and pastries need less time than hot food or a large order.
• Offer pickup times in steps people understand, like every 15 minutes.
• Raise it on your busiest days rather than running late.

Put every choice on the menu

Online, nobody can lean over the counter and ask. Every choice somebody would say out loud needs to be on the item.

• Sizes, each with its own price.
• Add-ons in groups, like milk or an extra shot, free or priced.
• Which groups are required, and how many they can pick.
• A note on the item when it needs words: how hot, or what the cake should say.
• Short names, and a photo of the things people order most.

Run orders from one screen

Orders should land in one place the whole team can see, by pickup time, not in an inbox somebody has to remember to check.

• A tablet at the counter, showing what to make next.
• Mark an order ready the moment it is, and let the customer know.
• Keep ready orders together, labeled with the name on the order.
• Mark it picked up, so the screen only shows what is still waiting.

Pause when it gets busy

When the line is out the door, stop new online orders for a while rather than letting every pickup time slip. Orders already placed still get made.

• Pause for a set time, like 15 minutes or an hour, so it comes back on by itself.
• Leave a short message, like back by noon.
• Or raise the prep time instead, if you would rather keep taking orders.

Put the menu on your website

Your website is where people check the menu and the hours first. Let them order from there, so the customer is yours.

• The menu as text, not a photo of the printed one, so phones and search can read it.
• What is vegan, gluten-free or contains nuts, marked on each item.
• Your pickup hours and address, and where to collect once inside.
• An order button on your home page and in your social profiles.

See CustoDesk for cafés and restaurants