How to Manage Your Takeout and Delivery Schedule for Your Restaurant

[Rob]

Takeout and delivery are the bread and butter of our restaurant's sales, but with Toast's scheduling tips, we can offer customized options that optimize our setup for success!

Here are the key points to consider when managing your takeout and delivery schedule:

Schedule Overrides:

• Allows you to set blackout dates and customize hours on specific days
• Can be used to accommodate holidays, staff meetings, and private parties
• Times must be set in 15-minute increments
• You can set multiple intervals for one day
  

Order Quote Time:

• Estimated time it will take to prep orders
• Tells a guest how long their order will take and controls order firing to the kitchen
• Can be customized to meet your restaurant’s needs
  

Adjust Order Cut-Off Time:

• Customizable cut-off time for your guests to place an online order
• Two options available:
• Allow guests to place orders until your restaurant's closing time minus prep time*
• Allow guests to place orders until your restaurant’s closing time
• Only applies to ASAP orders and not scheduled orders

*What is Prep Time?:

• Prep time = Quote time + Lead time
• Quote time = the time that you can add on to takeout and delivery orders
• Lead time = the largest value between either the delay or lead time

Scheduling Future Orders:

• Option for guests to schedule orders ahead of time
• You can set limits for how far in advance guests can schedule and set specific limits for online ordering

Minimum Lead Time:

• Specifying how soon your restaurant will accept an online order for both takeout and delivery
• Useful for catering or other formats where all items on your menu require advance notice

Using these features can help you optimize your online ordering setup and boost your sales. It can also help you meet the needs of your customers and enhance their overall experience with your restaurant. Remember, managing your takeout and delivery schedule is a continuous process, so make sure to review and adjust your settings as needed. Let us know if you have any questions and/or what you want to see covered next! 

Additional Resources

• Getting Started with Online Ordering
• Online Ordering: Advanced Settings
• Online Ordering FAQ
• Managing Your Takeout and Delivery Schedule

[HearthpizzeriaB]

Something that I have found is helpful is using the guest communication tool. I have it say "Thanks for your order!
All quoted or requested delivery times are approximately when your food will arrive. Please give us a 20 minute window." When a customer places their order online they are forced to see this message. This has alleviated most calls about food arriving a little early or a little after their requested/quoted delivery time. I had a lot of customers that used to call 5 minutes after their quoted delivery time asking where their food is.

[Rob]

That's a great Idea! Thanks for providing this information; feel free to leave any other tips and/or tricks you've used successfully; we love hearing them!
 

[HearthpizzeriaB]

I posted this in a different thread, but in an ideal world, the POS would be able to limit how many deliveries can be scheduled for any given time. It can be very difficult when you have multiple people schedule a delivery for 6:30PM when you have 1 driver. The system knows I have 1 driver clocked in, and should automatically be able to limit how many deliveries get scheduled for any given time.