Restaurant delivery pain points

Springtime is almost upon us, which means we can expect high endorphins and sunnier days. This refreshing time of year leads people to get outside, make more plans, and lean into the on-the-go mindset. Your customers will surely be looking to delivery to match this new energy—ready to splurge a bit more on their favorite restaurants.

Here at Otter, we understand the challenges of delivery. But we also understand how critical efficient delivery is to a restaurant’s survival and ability to thrive in today’s landscape. Our team is fully equipped to help you embrace the digital landscape and adapt to the changing needs of your customers. We’ve mapped out some of the biggest pain points to remind you that you’re not alone but also to remind you that there is an easier way to succeed in delivery.

Take a look and learn more about our user-friendly tablet solution today!

1. Too many tablets? Let’s fix that.

In today’s delivery-obsessed world, it’s a best practice for your restaurant to be listed on more than one app, and signing up for more than one third-party app is an easy way to increase your restaurant’s reach and sales. Nonetheless, many restauranteurs have coined the term “tablet hell” to describe the chaos of managing separate apps, logins, & tablets.

Time is money in the hospitality industry, and you want your staff to focus on customers—not screens. All the more, delivery is predicted to grow 300% faster than dine-in, so your restaurant must invest in simplifying its delivery business to stay competitive.
So, how can you eliminate delivery headaches, save time, and never use the phrase “tablet hell” again? Try Otter! Otter integrates all online orders into a single tablet that can link right to your POS—no more manual entry errors, no more mess. With Otter, you can set and adjust prep times & store hours, auto-accept orders, 86 items, change prices, and update menus across locations.

Still not convinced? Hear it from our restaurant partners:

“If you’re looking for a platform that will make your front of house team members happy, more organized, and better able to serve your guests, I highly recommend partnering with Otter” - Chick-Fil-A

“I honestly don’t know how restaurants do it without you guys” -Anabelle Martinez, Owner, Juice Vibe Bar

2. Exhausted from pickup counter-chaos? Heres a solution.

You know that stressful feeling where your front-of-house is overcrowded, and couriers are swarming the pickup counter? Pickup chaos is not only a significant pain point for restaurant owners, but it can also lead to order issues and negative reviews.

Cue Handoffs by Otter: a solution that helps restaurants notify customers and couriers when their order is ready, sends a confirmation when orders are on the way, and prevents overcrowding at the pickup counter.

Using Handoffs by Otter simplifies the pickup process so you can spend more time facilitating a magical experience for your dine-in customers while getting orders out the door in record time.

3. Losing money off order issues or missed orders? We can help.

The chaos of a busy kitchen, hungry clients, and an understaffed restaurant can lead to order errors. It happens—there’s so much to keep track of that it is almost inevitable to have order issues with manual mistakes, especially if your orders are being processed in various systems and platforms.

However, reducing order errors and missed orders is critical to customer satisfaction. If your customer's first experience ordering from your restaurant is a success, you will build a great community of loyal customers. With Otter’s automated features, you can forget about any order errors by auto-accepting and printing all your orders.

After signing up with Otter, Pollo Feliz, a Mexican chain with over 1500 locations, saw outstanding results. Their ratings on the delivery apps were very low, and only 20% to 30% of the orders were correct. After using Otter, this figure increased to between 95% and 100% in all its branches.

In addition to solving order chaos and errors, Otter also made everyday life easier for their staff.

"The employees came directly to us with positive comments; for them, it was a magical tool,"  Alejandro Pérez, Pollo Feliz.

4. Never have time to update menus across locations?

When it comes to ordering food, we all have our favorite platform, just like our favorite streaming service. There are over ten online food delivery platforms in North America, which means various audiences are loyal to a few or even one of these companies. The average consumer is registered in two delivery platforms.

The market is so competitive that offering your services on various delivery platforms is crucial to a thriving delivery business. It’s simple—the more platforms your restaurant is on, the more opportunities your business has to attract a larger audience and gain new customers. Right?

Even though this sounds like the answer to increasing sales, managing various platforms from different tablets can quickly become less of a blessing and more of a curse. With Otter menu management, you can avoid the stress and manage your menus in one place. Our solutions will help integrate all your delivery apps, allowing you to make many updates, change prices, and more while using one tablet.  

5. Managing third-party app commission fees

Third-party services like GrubHub, DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Postmates make up a large portion of the delivery market, but operators’ stronghold on the sector can come at a high cost.

Restaurants listed on these platforms know that their fees (which can amount to 30% of a customer check) really bite into margins. Managing high commissions on tight margins can feel overwhelming. But as customer behavior shifts towards ordering more food, more often through delivery, it’s an essential channel for restaurants like yours to take advantage of.

Increasing your sales volume while keeping your expenses in check is a great way to improve your delivery profit margins. If your restaurant is currently listed on delivery platforms, you only appear once on each of them. But what if you could appear 2 or 3 times?

Virtual brands are digital storefronts on delivery apps like Uber Eats, Postmates, Caviar, and Grubhub. They are called “virtual” because the customer can only see and order from them online. A single restaurant can have multiple virtual brands, making many restaurants more profitable.

For example, if your restaurant is well known for its tacos and burgers, you can start a separate burger virtual brand. The idea is to use the resources you already have (space, staff, ingredients) to increase your investment return significantly. And yes, we can help with that!

If you're interested in learning more about Otter, fill out the form below to get started!

If you made it this far, youre probably looking into finding a long-term solution to your delivery pain points. Were proud of you!

With heart and grit, restaurant owners like you have had to adapt to the wild wild west of a burgeoning delivery landscapeall while managing dine-in restrictions due to the pandemic, a labor shortage, and more. You have enough of your plate (literally) running a restaurant, so we hope these solutions help simplify and elevate your delivery business so you can get some of your valuable time back.