You know them by name, and the app still takes its cut
The same names come up every week. The couple on the estate who order a Friday curry, the office on the high street that does a Thursday lunch, the lad who orders the same kebab after football. They live a few streets away. They know your number. And they order through Uber Eats, because it is on their phone and your own option is a phone call or a slow website that someone set up years ago and which half works.
Every one of those orders carries app commission, and the customer's details stay with the app. You cannot thank them, tell them about a new dish or offer them anything for ordering direct, because you do not officially know who they are.
Why direct ordering never takes off
The problem is rarely that customers are unwilling. It is that ordering direct is harder than ordering through the app. The app remembers their address, their card and their usual order. Your website asks for everything from scratch, is slow on a phone, and sometimes takes a payment that never reaches the kitchen because it just sends an email to an inbox nobody checks during service.
Some takeaways try a generic online ordering platform, which helps, but it often has its own menu to maintain, its own tablet on the counter and its own fees. You end up with a fourth channel that is harder to run than the three apps.
And nobody tells the regulars. A card in the bag with a web address does little if the site behind it is not better than the app.
What app-only ordering costs you
| Issue | Effect over time |
|---|---|
| Commission on regular orders | Margin paid on customers you already had |
| No customer details | No way to contact or reward your best customers |
| Clunky own site | Direct orders fail or get abandoned at payment |
| Another tablet | A direct channel that adds to the counter chaos |
| Emailed orders | Direct orders missed during a rush |
None of this means leaving the apps. They bring new customers you would never reach otherwise. The aim is to give the people who already know you an easy way to order direct.
A direct ordering site built into your kitchen flow
- The site reads from the same master menu as your apps, so items, prices and availability are always current, including anything switched off mid-service. You can set direct prices lower than app prices if you choose.
- It is built for phones first: find the dish, add it, pay. Returning customers can log in with an email link or phone number and see their last orders to repeat with one tap.
- Payment is taken through Stripe, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, so there is no card handling on your side.
- Paid orders go straight to your combined order screen and kitchen tickets, marked as direct, with the delivery or collection time the customer chose.
- Customers get an order confirmation and a ready or out-for-delivery message by text or email, sent through a service such as Twilio.
- With the customer's consent, you get a simple list of direct customers and can send occasional messages about new dishes or a direct-order offer, within the marketing rules your adviser tells you apply.
If an established ordering platform fits your menu and budget better than a build, we say so. We are not trying to sell you a website you do not need.
When a regular orders now
Your Friday curry couple open the site from the link on their last receipt, see their usual order at the top, tap it, pay with their phone and get a text when it is on its way. The order prints in the kitchen exactly like an app order. You know who they are, and next month you can let them know about the new biryani.
- Direct orders arriving in the same kitchen flow as the apps
- Regulars reordering in seconds
- Customer details you actually hold
- No extra tablet and no emailed orders
Signs you should own your ordering
- Many app orders come from customers who live nearby and order weekly.
- Your current website ordering is slow or unreliable on a phone.
- Direct orders arrive by email or on a separate device.
- You have no list of your regular customers.
- You would offer a direct-order price if you had a way to take it.