Ordering Food Online

[SamA74]

@molona

You mean international… Just Eat exists in Spain too

I wasn’t sure if it were national or international, it’s just one that I have noticed, seeing signs in windows and adverts. They are probably everywhere. Never noticed any of their signs in Spain, but I have not been there for 3 years

[molona]

Well, now you know www.just-eat.es

[chrisofarabia]

They’re in quite a few countries apparently - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Eat

[SamA74]

They don’t appear to be in the USA yet. Though I’m sure there must be similar services there already. If not a definite opportunity, though I would be very surprised if no one was already doing it there.

[RyanReese]

I’m 90% sure I’ve heard commercials about food delivery services for anything you want. I’m on the East Coast.

[chrisofarabia]

@SamA74

though I would be very surprised if no one was already doing it there

There’s a list of links to similar ideas in the See Also section

Edit: That said, none of them have pointed to anything in the US.

[chrisofarabia]

The closest so far - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamless_(company)

[mikey_w]

@TechnoBear

@mikey_w

When is the last time you did that for your favorite ma&pa Chinese take-out place, though?

One thought to consider is, how will things work on the receiving end? It may be nice and convenient for folk to order online, but that only holds true if the order is received and fulfilled promptly. So does somebody need to monitor the incoming e-mail at all times? And then write or print out the order to pass to the chef? A small business probably doesn’t have enough staff to do that. There may be other ways, but it’s something you need to consider.

We visit a fairly small but very busy family-run restaurant any time we’re in Glasgow. They have a high number of staff on duty, because they are so busy, and any one of them can answer the phone to take bookings or orders, but I can’t envisage any way they could monitor incoming mail message in real time. (Even making a table booking via their site can take over 24 hours to receive a confirmation.)

iPad in the kitchen with a UI that shows incoming orders. Problem solved.

[mikey_w]

@SamA74

@RyanReese

When is the last time you did that for your favorite ma&pa Chinese take-out place, though?

Never. They don’t offer it. I would if they offered it though. No difference between ma/pa and papa johns, in terms of my need for their food.

In the UK there is a site called http://www.just-eat.co.uk/ It is a national organisation, but deals with small independent takeaway outlets on a local level. Is that the sort of thing you want to do? Rather than selling the idea to just one restaurant/takeaway, involve a number across the region, or maybe even the nation.

Yes, that was sort of the idea, although as we both mentioned, I was thinking of focusing on individual businesses first.

[mikey_w]

@chrisofarabia

@SamA74

though I would be very surprised if no one was already doing it there

There’s a list of links to similar ideas in the See Also section

Edit: That said, none of them have pointed to anything in the US.

But this isn’t what I asked about in my OP.

I don’t want to build a food delivery business. I asked if having the ability to order online from a small, local restaurant and then pickup your order would be a decent idea.

I would love to be able to order my favorite Chinese items from a smart phone and then show up and have it ready for me.

If I was a ma & pa looking to grow my customer-base, I would think such an idea would be appealing.

[TechnoBear]

@mikey_w

iPad in the kitchen with a UI that shows incoming orders. Problem solved.

Perhaps it is. I don’t know; I don’t work in that type of business. I’m just thinking about the restaurant I do know, where there are several chefs on duty at a time, and they pick up paper copies of orders as they come in and deal with them in order. Trying to keep track of orders on one iPad seems pretty tricky to me - steam, condensation and greasy fingers on a touch screen being additional hazards to easy viewing.

There clearly is a way, as the existence of Just-Eat shows - but if you intend to market such a solution, you need to think about both ends of the transaction at the start of the process.

[jeffreylees]

@TechnoBear

So does somebody need to monitor the incoming e-mail at all times?

@mikey_w

iPad in the kitchen with a UI that shows incoming orders. Problem solved.

In fact, why bother with email? That just introduces more points of failure, doesn’t it?

They could just sit logged into a notifications page that chimes incessantly or something when an order arrives, until processed.

Not that I have read all the posts, or particularly agree or disagree with doing this as an idea - just saying, if you were doing it, I’d just avoid email altogether, probably.

[mikey_w]

@TechnoBear

Perhaps it is. I don’t know; I don’t work in that type of business. I’m just thinking about the restaurant I do know, where there are several chefs on duty at a time, and they pick up paper copies of orders as they come in and deal with them in order. Trying to keep track of orders on one iPad seems pretty tricky to me - steam, condensation and greasy fingers on a touch screen being additional hazards to easy viewing.

There clearly is a way, as the existence of Just-Eat shows - but if you intend to market such a solution, you need to think about both ends of the transaction at the start of the process.

Fair enough.

[molona]

@TechnoBear

There clearly is a way, as the existence of Just-Eat shows - but if you intend to market such a solution, you need to think about both ends of the transaction at the start of the process.

for the small restaurant, it is a real change in the work flow but I can tell you that it works. I use it once or twice a month (since I rarely go out). Been doing so for a year. And yes, some restaurants do not sing up to Just Eat because they may not be able to adapt and, also, because there are some costs involved and it is not cheap for them. But it works. And the amount of new sales I think that compensate the costs for them.

I met a few restaurants owners that tried it and didn’t work. But most of the owners I know, they’re quite happy with Just-Eat because their sales when up quite a bit

[jeffreylees]

@mikey_w

Trying to keep track of orders on one iPad seems pretty tricky to me - steam, condensation and greasy fingers on a touch screen being additional hazards to easy viewing.

Yeah, I’d have a plastic covered monitor and an old keyboard in there, personally

Maybe have some way to easily hotkey order processing or something, to dismiss an order when taken down, or whatever.

[molona]

@jeffreylees

Yeah, I’d have a plastic covered monitor and an old keyboard in there, personally

The restaurants I know that use this system simply use paper. They read the e-mail they recieve and simply write the number of the dishes.

So if the restaurant have a list on Just-Eat like 1 - Chicken, 2- spaghetti and so on, they will pass a paper to the kitchen (like a regular order) simply with
“Nbr. 1 x 2 ,
nbr. 2 x 1 …”

The x2 would be for two persons

[jeffreylees]

The screen would be for receiving the orders - reading the emails and/or application orders page. As opposed to an iPad. Wasn’t concerned with configuring how they take down and prepare orders - I assumed that was out of the scope of what is happening here

[molona]

I’m just saying what they do most restaurants… today. They do read e-mails because all of them have a computer. After all, they all use some kind of software to issue the tickets. So reading the e-mails is a problem.

Very, very few have screens on their kitchens (Burguer King style, I guess). But I guess that’s where the future leads

[SamA74]

Most takeaway outlets do have a point of sale person, who takes the orders, either in person or over the phone, so it would be their job to watch the on-line orders too, writing or printing them and handing to the kitchen.
You should do some research in your area. Is there competition? Are any places already using on-line ordering? With whom? Is it working for them? If not using it, are they interested?
When you have those answers, you will have an idea whether it will be worth your while to proceed further.

[mikey_w]

@SamA74

Most takeaway outlets do have a point of sale person, who takes the orders, either in person or over the phone, so it would be their job to watch the on-line orders too, writing or printing them and handing to the kitchen.

Bingo.