The Wonders of Web-based Ordering

True story.

It was about 8:00PM on a Thursday when a couple QSR magazine staffers watching a football game on ESPN got hungry. They wanted to order pizza, but they couldn’t agree on toppings. Papa John’s sounded good that evening, so they surfed to the web site to check out the menu. And while they were there, they decided to try out the online ordering process they’d been hearing so much about.

Doing so was a simple matter of setting up an account and making a few clicks to customize their pizza, and they were both impressed with how the process flowed. Still, once they clicked the button to submit, there was the nagging question: Will we be sitting here three hours from now waiting on a pizza that was ordered through the ether?

Nope. Just about 30 minutes later, the pizza showed up, and since they had already paid online with plastic and included the tip, a quick signature was all that was needed. All in all, from the consumer standpoint, it was a good experience.

In a more general sense, online ordering (which isn’t limited to either pizza or delivery) can be a boon to consumers who don't have time to wait in line at, say, a fast-casual establishment. They can just order from their computer and swing by to pick up the food.

There are advantages to operators, as well. Online ordering can be used as a marketing tool in and of itself, since customers are usually required to provide a valid email address when they submit an order. For instance, Charles Howd, GM of a Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Florida, uses a system from QTS Software and says he can send emails to 300 customers about their specials with a push of the proverbial button.

Beyond that, online ordering provides consistent computer upselling and more freedom for customers to familiarize themselves with the menu --- welcome factors that our famished QSR staffers could certainly attest to. And, according to Hilton Keats, chief tech officer for OrderTalk, Inc., this can also raise the average check by 25 percent.

And don’t forget that online ordering can really set a restaurant or chain apart from its competitors. “We operate in a small town, so we try to do what others in town don’t,” says Craig Wallin, president and CEO of Pizza Planet, a 9-unit chain in Minnesota and Wisconsin. “Electronic ordering was one thing we decided to do because no one else in our area did it.”

The $64,000 question is why more restaurants don’t offer this option. Or call it the $5,000 question, since that’s about the average amount eOrders.com reports its partner restaurants collect in online orders per month. The answer depends on whom you ask.

Aaron Beverly, VP of development for MenuEngine’s eHungry.com ordering system, thinks it’s a matter of technophobia --- but, then again, he points out that people are willing to order pretty much anything online these days.

George Narr, president of QTS Software, thinks maybe online ordering just isn’t for everyone yet. “If you’re located in rural America, it’s not going to work very well,” he admits. “But if you’re on U.S. Highway 1, where there are lots of offices with computers on the desks, you’re going to see this thing take off.”

Just make sure the system you put in place works well for your customer.