Ordering a meal by the customer is actually the first stage of a rather complex process, which includes several important steps.
Of course, the whole responsibility lies within the kitchen – it is up to the chefs to determine the condition of the meal ordered by the client.
However, for everything to proceed successfully, other tasks must also be performed properly
Customer expectations vs. restaurateur expectations
When placing an order for a given dish, the customer expects, above all, quick delivery.
No one seems to like waiting for a prepared meal for too long, especially when hunger is growing.
When ordering food via the Internet, a simple, short and uncomplicated form is appreciated, containing only the most required information to fill in.
Another thing that customers expect is easy access to the full offer of the gastronomic facility, that is the menu.
Clear information about all the dishes served not only increases the chance of ordering food, but also makes the customer willing to come back to try other meals.
The restaurants themselves also have high expectations of the process of placing orders by customers.
Above all, it’s all about seamless and fast order acceptance, which is ensured by e.g. Ordering Stack system.
By receiving the necessary information in the shortest possible time, the kitchen is able to prepare the dish efficiently, and the driver can deliver it without any haste.
Moreover, owners of gastronomic facilities expect as many orders as possible, which affects the restaurant’s income, but also the promotion of the establishment through recommendations.
These, in turn, are very much related to the quality with which the kitchen and waiters carry out orders.
Receiving an order, a key element of the process
In order for the kitchen to start working on the meal ordered by the customer, it is necessary to develop a method of communicating information quickly and efficiently.
Particularly in premises that serve a large number of dishes every day, it is extremely important to avoid mistakes, because overlooking one order can quickly result in another, and thus in serious financial losses.
Once all the information about what to prepare and how much to prepare has reached the kitchen, the head of this “department” distributes the tasks among the individual employees who start preparing the food.
Contrary to expectations, the reception of an order, both placed by guests in the restaurant and in a mobile form, causes a lot of problems for the premises.
Sometimes it happens that the information provided by the customer in the order is incomplete, e.g. the delivery address is not provided.
Therefore, nowadays it is so important to employ new technologies.
Their main task is to minimize the possibility of any mistakes or omissions in a given order.
The last stage of the process, i.e. serving a meal
Cooks prepare all the elements of the meal and report readiness to serve. Only then does the main part of the order start, i.e. serving the ready meal to the customer.
The situation is slightly different in the case of ordering the dish in the local, and when it comes to a remote form.
In the first case, the cooks usually inform the waiter that the dish can be served and hand over the plate, then it is brought to the table and handed over to the customer.
As far as the second situation is concerned, the prepared meal is packed securely and handed to the driver, who proceeds to the indicated address.
In both situations it can be very easy to make mistakes regarding the delivery address or the preparation of a meal inconsistent with the order.
This can be prevented by regularly checking the screen of the device, where the appropriate software is installed, or by writing down all required information on a piece of paper.
Only this way the restaurant will not make the customer nervous because of a long wait for a dish or receiving food that was not ordered.
This is why the last stage of the order process is so important – it determines the satisfaction of the ordering customer and, moreover, is the basis for a possible re-visit of the restaurant.