Call In for To Go Orders?
Up front I must say that I am against this concept, especially for coffee orders. I have yet to work anywhere this actually works. The person ordering has never come picked it up on time, people come in to order coffee wonder why they have to wait to order when there is not a sole in the place. And telling them it's for a to go order does nothing to put them at ease. Along with these call ahead orders is usually the request to make them extra hot because "I've got to drive 15-20 minutes". Ugh!
Through my obsession of sorts with podiobooks and learning all the new and different avanues of social media they are using to promote themselves and their work. I've even had the good fortune to have a lengthy discussion with a prominent podcast author about what methods they have used might transfer to the retail coffee world. (I resisted a total Fan Geek moment but it was really cool to have this author call me out of the blue) In all of this on-line reading I have come across some great blogs on busines/marketing and other information I have never considered as relevant to coffee before.
One of them is Chris Brogan and one of today's posts http://www.chrisbrogan.com/dunkin-run-coffee-lovers-are-served/ , got me thinking about how something like this could be used successfully. It sort of goes along with a discussion from several years ago with someone who wanted to open a coffee shop in a technology office building where, using Bluetooth, customers would be able to beam their order to the register as well as payment.
What say you all?
Through my obsession of sorts with podiobooks and learning all the new and different avanues of social media they are using to promote themselves and their work. I've even had the good fortune to have a lengthy discussion with a prominent podcast author about what methods they have used might transfer to the retail coffee world. (I resisted a total Fan Geek moment but it was really cool to have this author call me out of the blue) In all of this on-line reading I have come across some great blogs on busines/marketing and other information I have never considered as relevant to coffee before.
One of them is Chris Brogan and one of today's posts http://www.chrisbrogan.com/dunkin-run-coffee-lovers-are-served/ , got me thinking about how something like this could be used successfully. It sort of goes along with a discussion from several years ago with someone who wanted to open a coffee shop in a technology office building where, using Bluetooth, customers would be able to beam their order to the register as well as payment.
What say you all?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Mike Spence on
-
I know people are probably tired of hearing me talk about this but we have been developing a system where stores (mostly cafes) can have an online ordering system for the POS. I've demoed it on an ipod touch at various shows. I think all of this type of technology can be useful - it just depends on the customer base you have.
For instance, right now i have customers that have carts in hospitals. They use the phone number identification to pull up the last order and then charge it to the gift card they have on file. In some cases the stores run the drink up to the floor for everyone.
I think all of this has a place - IF you have the customers and IF your area and store can accomodate it! It is all very cool however!
Mike@SelbySoft
800-454-4434
-
Permalink Reply by Anthony Epp on
-
That's what I forgot as one solution we started offering at one shop as a way to make sure we got paid as there were a couple of times on customer never came and got their drink. I say tried, because he was never willing to put money on account and the owner was not ready to force the issue.
-
-
Yep - I think one of keys is to have a prepaid system that can work with this. Otherwise how are you sure you get paid? By the way I just had to forward that link to my developers :)
Anthony Epp said:That's what I forgot as one solution we started offering at one shop as a way to make sure we got paid as there were a couple of times on customer never came and got their drink. I say tried, because he was never willing to put money on account and the owner was not ready to force the issue.
-
Permalink Reply by Chuck or Karen on
-
You might check out the Splick-it website http://splickity.com/about.php that explains how you can have prepaid orders that the customer texts or emails in and you don't get the order until 5 minutes before the pick up time they requested so that the drink is fresh when they pick it up.
-
Permalink Reply by Thomas Ervin-Ward on
-
Get customers to SMS preorders to a dedicated number 5-10 mins before pickup. Encourage them to include their name. Make sure staff keep an ear out for the message bing! Slot the order into the cue as it comes in. Dont take voice calls. Talk it up to a customer who may be standing there waiting. The orderer is paying a premium to get the service, so make sure you deliver it on time. If your customers are waiting more than 10mins for a coffee you arent doing you job well enough. You should be adding more staff or a bigger machine. SMS Pre orders can help streamline your ordering and delivery process. Customer who dont have to wait are very happy customers.In 10 months of offering the service we have only had 1 person who never showed. Requiring prepayment or registration reduces the appeal and simplicity for customers to try it out. We do have prepaid bar tabs for customers but this is independant from the SMS preorder service.
Barista Exchange Partners
Barista Exchange Friends
Keep Barista Exchange Free
Are you enjoying Barista Exchange? Is it helping you promote your business and helping you network in this great industry? Donate today to keep it free to all members. Supporters can join the "Supporters Group" with a donation. Thanks!
© 2024 Created by Matt Milletto.
Powered by
