Is there a way to text a customer that their order is ready for pick up?

[JandDRockinWW]

We expanded our small business (food trailer) this year which included using the square register with kitchen tickets. Since our business, at this moment, is strictly set up for events (fairs, festivals, etc.) I was thinking it would be neat to take the order and give the customer a number but instead of them waiting (unless they want to), text them a notice their food is ready to pick up. That way they won't have to keep checking back, they can enjoy their selves where they are at. Is that something I can do with square or is there another app that works with square?

Thanks!

Donna

[Alex_]

Hi @NewBohemianCafe,

I recommend reaching out to our Restaurants Team directly or checking out our App Marketplace for different options and partnerships. 

[humblewoodfire1]

I have tried a number of the half baked options available via the square "marketplace" but they all suck or are too pricey for what I am trying to accomplish.  Until there is viable built in option for notifying in person customers we have setup an ipad next to our Square Register and are using the stand alone app "waitlist me" to collect customers names/numbers when it's busy and then we can alert them with two clicks when their food is ready. 

It's annoying to have to manually collect and plug in information that is already being pulled from the customer's credit card during the checkout process however we've gotten into a good workflow where we can get their number plugged in while they are signing/tipping so it doesn't add too much additional time to the order taking process.

[joshlsullivan]

Hi there, my app is based on usage and no monthly fees. Just $0.05/message. Pulls in orders from your Square account as long as customer information is tied to the order. https://notifycustomers.net 

[joshlsullivan]

I have a solution for this that is going to be available in the marketplace soon. It's called Notify Customers - https://notifycustomers.net.

You can complete the contact form on the home page, and I'm happy to reach out to all of you individually if you have additional questions.

[humblewoodfire1]

Hey Josh, plugging your app that does not currently work with square is not helping anyone in this thread.  You have been posting for a few weeks.  Why not let us all know when it's actually live and usable?

The "waitlist me" app is free to use for up to 100 text messages per month.  I pay the base subscription fee of $60 for unlimited messages and am able to provide a custom text to our customers when they are added to the queue as well as when we alert them their food is ready.  For the record, $60/month translates to 1200 SMS messages if we were paying 5 cents per text.  Our business is pretty small and on busy weekends we text around 150 people per day, and about 500/week overall.  This would translate to about $100 month at your rates.

You can also use the waitlist me app in multiple locations and sync across devices.  We use it on our food truck and at our brick and mortar with great success.  To be clear I have no affiliation with this app, just many years of trial and error streamlining our customer experience with various apps and plug ins. 

[PreOrder_Apps]

Hi. I'm just curious about something you mentioned. What do you mean by "You can also use the waitlist me app in multiple locations and sync across devices."? 

Use it? Do you mean it'll send out texts for multiple locations? 

And what do you mean by "sync across devices"? Your Square devices or the Customers' Devices? 

Thanks in advance for the insight!

[humblewoodfire1]

It’s an iPad/iPhone app. Unrelated  and not connected to square. 

You add a name, number, hit add to queue and they get a text saying we got your order lookout for another text when It’s ready. When food is ready hit another button on app and they get automated text alert. Hit button again and they get a robo phone call saying their order is ready. 

Syncs Across devices = I add to our iPad and my staff can see on other devices with the app. For example person taking orders adds customers via an iPad, another staff member uses an iPhone to text customers when their order is ready. 

App is available for free take a look I’m sure most of your questions will be addressed 

[joshlsullivan]

I'm signing a contract with Square to have it listed in the Marketplace. And being usage based, you don't have to worry about fees during the light time in your business.

By the way, I just found this thread last week. 

Thanks.

[restaurantUser]

Any update on this @joshlsullivan ?

[humblewoodfire1]

Waitlist Me app for iphone/android is the best solution I've found.

[joshlsullivan]

It’s operational and square users using it. https://notifycustomers.net.Feel free to email me. josh@misllc.com

[South_of_North]

We also need this feature. It would be super helpful for us during these COVID times and beyond. It was awesome when we were doing online ordering only. Hopefully it is not too difficult to implement & soon as we are researching solutions to implement at our business ASAP.

Thanks!

[ashc]

Hey @South_of_North,

This is actually an old thread so sorry for the confusion here.

Our new online store does offer texts when orders are ready for pick-up.

Like when I place an order with my local coffee shop that uses Square- it asks for my phone number and I can opt in there for text confirmations and it'll send me one confirming and when the order is ready to be picked up.

[South_of_North]

Hi Ashley,

That's what I was saying. We were able to do it when we were doing online ordering only but now that we are allowed to be open again it would be super helpful to be able to do it for in person orders.

-Savannah

[humblewoodfire1]

Agree 100% !!  Need to be able to text customers that place orders in person, since most of them are waiting outside to pickup.  The functionality is there for online orders so it can't be that hard to make this possible please help!

[buchmandor]

any update on this? This is sorely needed for restaurants. Our staff wastes so much time running outside with orders, trying to match the order with the customer. 

[ColonelMustard]

This is such an old thread, and SQUARE is so useful and powerful. It is a mystery why this feature has not been implemented, especially with COVID-19.  We are now processing lots of in-person orders that need to be delivered to a car SOMEWHERE in the parking lot (or sometimes they leave and come back)...

It would be SO MUCH EASIER to just send a text and have them come back in and/or text us where they are. 

[humblewoodfire1]

---

@ColonelMustard wrote:

This is such an old thread, and SQUARE is so useful and powerful. It is a mystery why this feature has not been implemented, especially with COVID-19.  We are now processing lots of in-person orders that need to be delivered to a car SOMEWHERE in the parking lot (or sometimes they leave and come back)...

It would be SO MUCH EASIER to just send a text and have them come back in and/or text us where they are. 

---

[tablesready]

I know people aren't excited about the idea of paying for another service to help with this, but I did just want to highlight a way a lot of people are using TablesReady now to help with social distancing.

When you process a new transaction (or receive an order in Weebly/Square Online Store), the customer information then flows to TablesReady, then we can trigger an additional confirmation text that says something like:

"We're prepping your order! Please reply back to this with the make, model, and color of your car so we can bring your food out when it's ready."

When your customer replies, the response shows up right on the waitlist/order queue page. You can then bring their food right out to them when it's ready.

Being able to see customer replies is not very easy in other POSes (maybe Square will do it right whenever it happens), but if this is important to you, you may want to check us out.

You can also bypass that message and just send them a text to come pick up their order once it's ready.

These messages are all fully customizable in TablesReady to fit with how your pickup process needs to work.

You can read our support doc on setting this all up, if you're interested.

[humblewoodfire1]

The frustration here is that the functionality we are asking for already exists within Square.  When we get online orders, there is a button to note the order as being in progress, and then you press the button again and it auto sends a message to the customer alerting them that their order is ready for pickup.

All we are asking for is this existing functionality be applied to in person orders.  All the info is pulled from the customer's card at the time of order. 

The suggestion to use something like TablesReady does not address the issue for the tens of thousands of us who aren't using an ipad/tablet but are using Square's own POS hardware that does not allow the installation of any third party apps. 

[FatAlbert1]

Thats a tough one, because that sort of functionality would be kinda niche. The person is already in front of you, and probably conpleting the transaction already. You can gather whatever information is needed while they’re there.