With the widely recognized importance of social media, NetWaiter recently introduced another Facebook integration, called the NetWaiter Ordering App for Facebook.

With NetWaiter’s new Facebook App, customers are able to place orders directly from a restaurant’s Facebook page.  When customers visit a restaurant’s Facebook page, they can simply click “Order Online” and place their order.

According to a recent study by the National Restaurant Association, more than 95% of restaurant owners and managers acknowledge they will be on Facebook within two years.  "Social media is an increasingly popular way for restaurants to connect with customers,” said Jared Shimoff, a Sr. Director at NetWaiter.  “The new NetWaiter Ordering App for Facebook provides restaurants more exposure and allows customers another easy way to place orders,” added Shimoff.

This new Facebook App is not NetWaiter's first foray into social media.  In 2010, NetWaiter became the first online ordering provider to integrate Facebook into the ordering process.  When a customer orders online from a restaurant using NetWaiter, they can click a Facebook icon to quickly login and complete their order.  With the customer’s permission, a post is made to their wall/timeline that lets their friends know about their recent order.  The post includes the restaurant’s logo and a link for the customer’s friends to view their menu and also order.

The NetWaiter Ordering App is easy to install.  Restaurants can start the installation process from their NetWaiter Management Console and have it working on their Facebook page immediately.

There is a new feature available to all NetWaiter restaurants -- the NetWaiter Social Widget.  This dynamic tool allows restaurants to quickly communicate information with customers, and allows for instant customer interaction. 

Now, restaurant owners and managers can send out real-time updates to customers on all sorts of things. Announcements, new dishes, menu changes, or promotions can be posted on a restaurant’s Social Widget and instantly be available for customers to read.

NetWaiter was the first online ordering company to link Facebook to online ordering.  With NetWaiter’s new Social Widget, there is even more ability for restaurants and customers to interact.  It's all about keeping customers in the loop and engaged as much as possible.

If you want to run a two-hour special on appetizers on a Monday evening, the NetWaiter Social Widget is the perfect tool to get the word out.  Customers can also interact with a restaurant using the NetWaiter Social Widget, by giving a ‘thumbs-up’ to comments or making comments of their own.

Only customers who have placed orders, or those who are logged-in, can post comments and interact with a restaurant’s Social Widget.  Customers can also view comments of others, allowing them to share information and use the power of referral to influence each other’s ordering decisions.  Restaurants have full control of their Social Widget and the ability to delete any posts within their NetWaiter Management Console.

The NetWaiter Social Widget allows restaurants to step up communication with customers and encourage more interaction and engagement.  If a restaurant does not have the staff, or is unable to follow-up or monitor communications through the tool because of vacation or absence, they can disable the widget and then turn it back on at their convenience.

NetWaiter helped The Pho Bar, a Vietnamese restaurant in Berkeley, maintain their green operations by producing a tracking system, in unison with their online ordering, to monitor their containers, referred to as tiffins.  Tiffins are stainless steel containers that are often stackable and can lock together for easy transport.  

ThePhoBar2--PDF.pdf (390.27 kb)

NetWaiter, a premier provider of online ordering and marketing capabilities for restaurants, now offers the latest social media and search tool from Google, Google +1, as part of the package for all NetWaiter clients.  

GooglePlus1release1-PDF.pdf (305.69 kb)

An online nutritional calculator, developed by NetWaiter, is just one of the successful web-based features used by Greenz Salads, a Texas-based restaurant chain with three locations in the Dallas metropolitan area.

"It is a great tool," said Casie Caldwell, owner of Greenz Salads.  "The functionality is right on.  It gives us a competitive edge.  We've since seen this concept copied by several large chains."

Its success should not be a shock.  A recent QSRweb.com report of a forecast by the National Restaurant Association cites that in 2011, seven out of ten consumers stated they would try to eat healthier when dining out.  Self, a women’s magazine, also reports getting more than 1 million unique visitors each month to its online nutritional calculator.

Caldwell came to NetWaiter, a firm that provides branded online ordering and marketing solutions to restaurants, with this challenge for their “Build Your Own Salad” offering.  The popular menu item allows customers to create their own salad with numerous ingredients, including the choice of lettuce, toppings, and a variety of dressings.

"The 'Build Your Own' is a favorite of our customers," said Caldwell.  "While we were able to list the nutritional content of our other dishes, we didn't have a way to do it with that offering.  Every order is different."

NetWaiter worked with Greenz to integrate a nutritional calculator into their online menu for their “Build Your Own Salad” item.  As a customer builds their salad with their selections, item by item, the nutritional calculator instantly calculates and updates the nutritional information as each option is selected.

"One of the goals was to create a tool that consumers were already familiar with," said Jared Shimoff of NetWaiter.  "The calculator reads like a nutrition label found on items in a supermarket - listing not only calories, but also cholesterol, potassium, sodium, carbohydrates and protein.  Each one of these measurements is recalculated as options are added to a salad."

NetWaiter, a premier provider of online ordering and marketing capabilities for restaurants, offers another industry first--integrating QR codes into restaurant marketing. NetWaiter has configured a unique QR Code for every restaurant on the NetWaiter Network. When customers scan a restaurant’s QR code, they are immediately directed to the restaurant’s mobile NetWaiter site and menu.

QR Codes for Restaurants.pdf (137.08 kb)

Restaurants across the country offering online ordering through NetWaiter can now offer the same service to diners using their Internet-enabled Smartphones.  The service, launched in early November, automatically became available to restaurants using NetWaiter, and their customers.

Mobile Ordering.pdf (132.37 kb)

NetWaiter, creators of one of the most innovative online ordering systems for restaurants, has taken their product a step further with the addition of two Facebook interfaces, bringing online ordering into the realm of social media.  "To our knowledge, NetWaiter is the first online ordering provider to offer this capability," said Jared Shimoff, a senior director at NetWaiter.

Facebook for NetWaiter.pdf (129.39 kb)

Blue Moon Burgers in Seattle, WA, combines online ordering with social media--Twitter and Facebook.  The result is a 100% increase in business in the South Lake Union store in eight months.

Blue Moon using NetWaiter.pdf (160.19 kb)