Anyone who has ever been in a busy restaurant on a Friday or Saturday night could attest to the hectic nature of the restaurant industry. With the hustle and bustle of customers coming through the door, waiting for orders to be taken, food to be served, tables to be cleared, and on top of all of that, online orders coming through the device on the counter, it’s a masterclass in multitasking.

Amongst the rush, it can be easy to miss special requests from customers, whether  they be those that come through via waitstaff or comments on online orders.

Missing these small details can be incredibly important and can result in very serious consequences for restaurant partners. Customer comments or requests on orders can range from delivery instructions to crucial allergens to exclude when preparing the meal.

Oversight of these kind of comments may result in the customer’s order being late with delivery instructions missed, a customer not enjoying their meal as an ingredient has or has not been included as requested or a customer experiences an allergic reaction to a meal prepared by your restaurant. These kind of negative customer experiences can have a serious impact on your business, be these poor ratings or reviews to, at worse, you being legally liable for an allergic reaction.

Delivery instructions

• Customers will commonly provide additional delivery instructions on their orders to ensure the driver finds their home as quickly as possible
• This not only benefits the customer, but also ensures efficiency for your business and helps drivers do more deliveries per hour
• Customers have often ordered home delivery to save the hassle of cooking or going out to get food, so it’s important we deliver the experience the customer expects, by delivering the food door-to-door
• Following delivery instructions will also ensure your drivers don’t need to make unnecessary contact with customers and that the process of ordering and delivery is as seamless as possible
• If a driver cannot find an address, this can negatively impact the customer journey, particularly if instructions have been provided
• In these instances, it can be common for customers to rate their delivery experience poorly, or leave a negative comment as a review. This can be avoided by paying close attention to the comments on orders

Special requests and dietary requirements

• Everyone has different tastes, which obviously contributes to how they enjoy food and drink
• If a customer has requested a change to a menu item, such as leaving an ingredient out or packaging items separately,  it’s highly recommended that the customer’s requests are met to ensure the best experience possible
• While some requests may be a little more obscure than others, be sure to review them carefully to try and meet customer needs
• A great example of this is from Menulog’s parent company ‘Just Eat’ in the UK – a customer, who was also a well-known blogger, requested that the driver do a “Shimmy Shimmy Dance’ while he delivered her Thai meal – while this may have seemed silly to some, the driver fulfilled the request and the story went viral on social and global media – check it out here 

Dietary requirements – General

• Some of the special requests noted in comments from customers will pertain to dietary requirements. It is particularly important to be mindful of these as including items in conflict with these requirements can have a detrimental impact for customers
• More commonly, customers with special dietary requirements know to select menu items that suit their needs, such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten free or dairy free options
• However, in some instances, it may be necessary to remove items from a dish to meet requirements – for example, removing a meat product from a dish
• If a customer request cannot be met, it’s important that restaurants get in touch with the customer to let them know the dish cannot be provided to their specifications

Dietary requirements – Allergies

• If dietary requirements pertain to allergies, it is essential that instructions are met to avoid serious harm to customers
• If there is a dietary request that cannot be met – such as removing nuts from a dish – it is essential that you contact the customer to let them know
• If ingredients or processes are used in the kitchen where meals prepared for customers may come into contact with allergens noted, it is essential that measures are taken to exclude allergens, or again, contact the customer to arrange an alternative
• If there is an instance where you are not sure whether an ingredient or dish is allergen free, you must inform the customer
• When it comes to allergies, you can never be too careful!

What to look for

Customer comments are always included on the order receipt printed from your device in the ‘Notes’ section on the top of the docket. If you have a Menulog Orderpad, comments will appear in the ‘NOTES’ section, under customer details.

A few seconds is all it takes to carefully review all customer comments. Doing this, and sparing a few minutes to make a call if necessary, will save you hours of trouble later on and give you peace of mind.

The information provided on this site is general in nature only and is not legal or business advice. For full site disclaimer please click here.