Pre-paid orders are one of the best benefits for restaurants using online ordering.  The question is: how many of your customers take advantage of this option? Recent internet reports cite less than 19% of customers choose to pre-pay online.

Our figures are substantially different. With NetWaiter, we see 68% of customers choosing to pre-pay for their online order, if given the chance.  For delivery orders, that number jumps to 77%.

Pre-paying for an online order is just one of the ways NetWaiter streamlines the takeout business.  A customer who pre-pays can quickly pick up their order.  There is no fumbling with money or credit cards at the cash register.  It’s a time saver, especially during those peak hours, for both restaurant and customer.

Some NetWaiter restaurants report frequent instances of twenty or thirty online customers during their lunch rush.  Imagine the logjam that would be caused if they didn’t pre-pay online for their order.

Another major advantage NetWaiter provides restaurants is immediate access to their funds.  Some online services charge customers and do not transfer the payments to the restaurant for as long as a month.  NetWaiter allows restaurants to charge their customers directly and the money is immediately deposited into their merchant account.

“Allowing a third-party to take control of your receivables and then hold your money for up to 30 days is never a good business move,” said Jared Shimoff, Senior Director at NetWaiter. “Then again, if less than 19% of customers chose to pre-pay with that service, you’re probably not missing much!” 

Why does NetWaiter have higher rates for pre-payment?  A significant reason is that we are constantly evolving the NetWaiter system, making changes to increase convenience and improve the customer experience.  Cleary, the results show – producing 3 to 4 times the number of pre-paid customers.

REDLANDS, CA - NetWaiter, the premier online ordering service for restaurants, now offers Group Ordering, allowing offices and other groups to order more easily.

When someone visits the website of a restaurant using NetWaiter’s online ordering system, they will have the option to organize a Group Order.  To start a Group Order, the organizer invites friends or co-workers to join their group.  NetWaiter provides the ability to email invitees, along with a message.  Each person receiving the email can accept or decline the invitation.  If they join the group, they are immediately guided to the restaurant’s menu to select their items.  When done, their items are submitted back to the organizer.  After the invitees have selected their items, the organizer submits the Group Order, along with payment, and their desired pickup/delivery time.

The organizer can view their Group Order and the progress of each invitee on the Group Order status page.  This page shows the organizer who has accepted or declined the invitation, who is browsing the menu, and the order information from the people that have completed their order.

The group ordering function includes several convenient features for organizers, including the ability to save invitees.  The next time an organizer places a Group Order, they can automatically select people to include that they previously invited.  The organizer can also delete names as needed.  In addition, if someone was left out of a Group Order that should have been included, the organizer can invite them, even if the order is in progress.

Online group ordering is a major benefit for both customers and restaurants.  If an office is having a staff meeting during lunch, it’s easy for employees to initiate a Group Order at a local restaurant.  This saves the hassle of everyone ordering individually.  From the restaurant’s perspective, the orders are larger and more organized for easy preparation.

"Online group ordering is a major convenience to restaurant customers," said Kevin Lewis, NetWaiter’s CTO, "and we all know that convenience leads to more business."

NetWaiter is a nationwide system providing restaurants with the ability to accept online and mobile orders.  In addition to Group Ordering, the NetWaiter system includes a restaurant Management Console, email marketing, Facebook integrations, a promotional system, QR codes, and a branded mobile site for each restaurant client.

For more information, contact NetWaiter at 866-638-9248 or visit their website: www.netwaiter.com 

Jose Davila, manager of The Sub and Pizza of Amherst, located not far from the University of Massachusetts, setup a new marketing tool in 2012 - NetWaiter.

"I looked at online ordering systems for a year," said Jose. "I have a big file of all the companies I reviewed.  NetWaiter made me feel very comfortable.  Their system is very easy to use, very easy to make changes, and they walked me through all the steps.”

Jose reports that his average takeout ticket size prior to NetWaiter was about $11.  Now his average takeout ticket ranges between $17 and $19.  "The cashier, who takes orders over the phone, does two or three jobs at once," says Jose. "They don't always think to suggest an appetizer, another dish, or another topping. But NetWaiter allows me to do this."

NetWaiter has also opened up an entirely new client base for The Sub and Pizza of Amherst.  Whereas they rarely received orders from delivery services catering to the college crowd, NetWaiter allowed them to expand access to that customer base.  “NetWaiter has opened that market for us,” he said.  “Younger people really like online ordering."

Delivery Areas

Coming soon, your restaurant will have the ability to customize more specific delivery zones.

Within the NetWaiter Management Console, restaurants will be able to 'draw' and configure custom delivery areas on a map.  Each delivery zone can be configured with a simple click-and-drag function to encompass the exact area in which delivery is available.  As allowed now, restaurants can configure more than one delivery zone, each with its own associated settings, such as a delivery fee and an estimated delivery time.  The new delivery area configurations provide restaurants in densely populated locations the ability to configure their zones more precisely.

The current delivery zone options, based on a radius, will remain available to restaurants offering delivery based strictly on distance.  

Holiday Hours

You can now configure your holiday hours for the entire year.

Just in time for Easter - a new feature is now available in the Location Information section of the NetWaiter Management Console that allows restaurateurs to customize hours for annual holidays.  The Holiday Hours feature allows restaurants to indicate special holiday hours or if they are closed for a particular holiday.  It also allows for the creation of custom holidays throughout the year that a typical calendar might not recognize.

This new feature alleviates the need for restaurants to re-adjust their normal open/close hours each holiday.  If the Holiday Hours are configured, it will automatically account for them.  It’s an ideal tool to accommodate Thanksgiving or Easter, both of which have different dates each year.  Do you close early on New Year’s Eve?  No problem, you can configure that as well.

Ask Sunny Bravin, treasurer of Baggin's Gourmet Sandwiches, about their biggest surprise since launching NetWaiter online ordering.  The answer is one that would bring a smile to the face of any restaurant owner.

"New customers," she says.  "We've really seen an increase.  We don't know where they are coming from, especially since we are just starting to market online ordering.  We suspect word of mouth might have something to do with it."

Baggin's initially saw online ordering as an efficiency tool to serve their current customers more quickly.  “We wanted to decrease customers being placed on hold," she said.  "If they have to wait, they will go someplace else."

Baggin's, which started in 1984, has eight stores in the Tucson, Arizona market.  Seven now offer NetWaiter, and by February, all eight stores will be online.

"We've had great customer feedback," said Sunny.  "Lots of people are commenting about how much they like the options online, but I think for most people it’s the convenience.  They can get in and out of the store quickly.  That's what they want."

Sunny says that Baggin's is planning a big marketing push for online ordering.  She's looking at T-shirts, messages on their store bags, a social media push through Facebook and Twitter, and maybe even radio.  "We will also be doing a big push through our employees," she said.  "Already, our standard phone answer includes a message about online ordering.”

Sunny also added that she is eager to use the NetWaiter management console to market.  “I knew that we were we were going to have some options for emailing customers,” said Sunny, “but I am really astonished at the level to which I can customize and track our offerings.  It’s a powerful tool."