Advanced features include the ability to manage “quoted time”, with the system providing suggested defaults and the ability to manage specific customer requests. What happens if a customer calls at 5 and wants their order at 7? How about if they want to place an order for the next day? Also look for special tools to help you manage business accounts, hotels, tax exempt customers, charity affiliates, and house accounts.
> Learn more about phone orders with FireFly POS, Granbury's premiere delivery software
Many customers don’t want to pick up the phone these days - they prefer to order online or with a mobile app. Make sure that the solutions you choose are compatible, so online orders flow seamlessing into your point-of-sale system without any intervention on your part. Find out how payments are integrated - so if a customer pays online, can they modify their order or add a tip at the store?
>Learn more about Granbury's online ordering solutions
>Want more info on delivery point-of-sale features? Download our free guide, "Delivering Success" for detailed feature explanations and POS evaulation checklists.
Keeping orders moving out the door swiftly is essential to your success. The dispatch software should help this by prioritizing orders and grouping tickets that could be delivered together. It will alert you to orders that are running late and give you useful tools, such as maps and driving directions, traffic alerts, and reminders for key items or messages on the ticket (like “Don’t forget plates!”). The dispatch system manages drivers as well, enforcing your business rules and preventing “cherry picking” of the best deliveries. Look for useful tools such as automatic ticket reprints (so your customer gets a clean copy), driver run tickets (with a quick summary of each order on the run) and alerts for drivers who are overdue to return.
You’re putting a lot in the hands of your drivers, who are expected not only to deliver the food to the customer, but the payment back to you. Your delivery POS system will help you keep track of exactly what drivers owe for each order, calculating driver fees, recording tips, and requiring appropriate cash drops. Look for a driver close system that is easy to use and clearly provides the information you need at the end of the night. Mileage tracking is useful to satisfy IRS reporting requirements (if you don’t want to pay payroll tax on those driver fees) and coupon tracking helps prevent fraud. Systems can also help you track driver’s insurance and license expirations.
A good system will make even more of a difference if it provides great information. Look for delivery-focused reports which analyze driver performance (How fast do they deliver?) and cashier ticket averages (are they upselling the 2-liters?). Another essential report will detail late deliveries, so you can respond to customers when you may have missed the mark on their order.
One of the great pay offs of adding delivery is that now you know your customers personally. You’ve got their address and phone number and specific order history - and that is super valuable for marketing purposes. Look for delivery software that will also help you collect e-mail addresses (some systems include a rewards-type e-mail club to build customer loyalty; some offer to send an email confirmation of the order as an incentive to provide the info). Then put that data to use - with a system that helps you easily sort customers by order history, spending levels, or specific preferences.
>Learn more about Granbury's marketing & loyalty solutions.