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 

The studies and research all agree.  The biggest attraction for ordering online is customer convenience and control.  Whenever we make changes and upgrades to the NetWaiter system, we always put them through our ‘convenience filter’.  Above and beyond our recent Group Ordering release, other upgrades have been made to improve convenience for customers.  Here’s a recap:

Group Ordering

As discussed in our last newsletter, group ordering allows any customer, but particularly people like administrative assistants, pharmaceutical reps, or anyone organizing a group lunch/dinner, to conveniently place orders for everyone involved.

To start, an organizer invites friends or co-workers via email.  Your NetWaiter site allows the organizer to select invitees and include an optional message.  Each person accepts or declines the invitation.  If they join the group, they are directed to your menu to select their items.  When completed, their selections are sent to the organizer, who submits the Group Order, with the desired pickup/delivery time.  Each item of a Group Order is identified with the person’s name that ordered it.  If possible, your restaurant should write the name of the corresponding person on each item before packaging up the entire order.

Other Front-End Changes

Editing Orders – Customers will discover they now have a faster and easier way to edit and delete order information, if needed.

Site Appearance – We’ve tweaked a couple of visual elements (fonts, etc.) to improve consistency throughout the ordering process.

Site Layout – We’ve increased customer usability of the NetWaiter website.  Additions include a ‘breadcrumb’ to help with navigation, easier access to Log In/Off, and a link to view the status of a pending Group Order.

Management Console Changes 

Email Marketing and Social Widget Upgrades – You now have more options for editing content of email messages and those on your social widget.

Promotions Upgrade – When offering promotions that include specific items, NetWaiter will automatically add those items to an order when the customer enters the Promo code.

Launching later this month, NetWaiter's new Group Ordering feature will allow offices and other groups to order more easily.

When someone visits your NetWaiter online ordering site, they will have the opportunity to organize a Group Order.  To start a Group Order, the organizer simply invites friends or co-workers to join their group.  NetWaiter provides the ability to easily enter the email addresses of invitees, along with the option to include 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.  Once all orders have been collected, the host can submit 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.  The Group Order status shows the organizer who has accepted/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 host 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.  For instance, 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.

Group Orders mean more convenience, and for restaurants, more convenience means more business.