Local gift delivery & shipping

[chocolatemann]

Are there any of you out there that have a gift giving business and struggle with the local delivery check out.

Here's my problem

Most of our deliveries are gifts that the buyer sends to a friend, client etc. via local delivery.

The problem is when the buyer clicks on the address button to enter the recipients address she is not prompted for a name!, only an address! We had to created a modifier reminding the buyer to give us the recipients name, because many forget.

Can we change that. It is very confusing in the check out but also with any  subsequent Notification emails etc . Right now the notification email lists the buyers name right above the recipients address! Super confusing

Square always assumes that buyers who ship locally ship to themselves which is not always the case.  This needs to be addressed as any business in the gift industry, flower shops, chocolate shops etc struggle with this setup.

[maxpete]

@chocolatemann thanks for this post! 

I can see that @RobynR was able to jump in and respond to a previous thread here

Thanks for also sharing this as a feature request! We'll definitely update you with any news around changes this too!

[chocolatemann]

Thanks Max, but RobynR wasn't really able to provide a solution.  

I don't understand why square collects shipping addresses differently then (local)delivery addresses. 

Your shipping address is collected in the check out before the payment option (great solution!, just like Amazon does it)

But your (local) delivery address is collected on the product page with a pop-up window, without asking for the name of the recipients (no other check-out does that)!?

And that's how the print-out of the order gets messed up because square thinks the local delivery order is being send to the buyer and lists the buyer as recipient (which is not always the case) !

See order print out below

[tranguyen]

Hopefully I can help clarify a bit here @chocolatemann!

At the moment, the way local delivery is configured is similar to how it works on food delivery services or apps. Before we can let the customer checkout, we want to make sure that they are living within the delivery radius to reduce any frustration if it turns out they are outside of where you deliver and they are unable to complete their purchase at the last moment. 

I can definitely understand how this is not the most optimal setup. Having a modifier where the customer can enter the name of the recipient is the best workaround as of now. We will make sure to flag your feature request with the appropriate product team and follow-up on that thread with updates when we have them!

[chocolatemann]

Thanks,

but the problem is that modifiers info stays with the product info not with the fulfilment info.

That's why its messed up, as you can see in the printed order form.

All I need is for the popup window, that asks for the address when ordering local delivery to also ask for a name and phone number! Problem solved 

Or do you have a different solution to my "local gift delivery problem" ?

[Breffni]

We don't have any other workaround in this instance @chocolatemann, apologies for the inconvenience. 

While the modifier information will stay in the product information, it won't be visible to your customer after the sale. You will need to manually check this section while fulfilling your orders. 

Thanks for your understanding. 

[chocolatemann]

Thanks,

I've pointed out this issue already two years ago. This issue affects everybody that is sending out local gifts.

Chocolate-shops, flower-shops etc. and I know of at least one business that switched their e-commerce because of the checkout issues.

I think Square is missing out by not providing a solution to the gift delivery.

And its disapointing considering how easy the fix would be!

[chocolatemann]

one other thing to point out is that Square already has a "Is this a gift" button in the check out. It prompts the  customer to leave a message.  So why not ask the customer, who the recipient is? 

[Twiggy]

Hi  we are a florist - add a modifier of recipients name and a second modifier as card message 

then follow what you have been doing 

www.twigflowes.online 

the gift facility on square is more about a gift receipt - not showing price. And options of gift wrap

have you tried retail ? 

For some reason Square insists that the delivery address name is the card holder too 

[chocolatemann]

Thanks Twiggy,

I checked out your site, looks fantastic and yes we do have modifiers for name and message just like you. But on on the confirmation and printout the modifier info stays  with the product info not the fulfillment info, so the buyer is always listed as the recipient!

https://www.stubbechocolates.com/ 

I feel like its time for square to fix this, every gift business that does local deliveries has to find work-arounds.

Why doesn't the pop-up window that asks for the local delivery address also ask for a name? 

check out my feature-request  https://www.sellercommunity.com/t5/Square-Online/GIFT-DELIVERY/idi-p/723958 

[Twiggy]

Thank you - it has taken hours to get the site the way it is - I do trial a lot of things out (sqaure online) to see how they work - some good - some awful -  I keep pressing for an easier way to schedule a delivery as a gift - I like your site too … I’m a bit of a veteran here -  with lets say a very classic website. I use photoshop and Square photo editor - i. Love a 3:4 ratio…   Flowers, chocolate and balloons (sorry if i left you out) are all very similar - we offer a service and product purchased by a client and delivered / set up to someone else - which can’t be refunded.  (Gift). Luckily we don’t have the “Tips” scenario in the UK - Do you have an outlet in the UK ? I’d love to stock your product 

[Twiggy]

Also the word “Shipping” is not a UK thing - National delivery - and Local delivery are more common terms as we can’t deliver to the parts of Scotland, The Isle of Man or the Channel Islands and Ireland for the same amount… If at all - and Square has the UK as one delivery area.. 

[doc_choc]

@Twiggy I would agree it would be nice to use the regional terminolgy if possible ie shipping v delivery

[doc_choc]

@chocolatemann not sure if you are using a differnet template, but we have it set up so you enter the name and address of the recipient only. See below

I would say it would be nice to have at checkout a gift wrap option (chargable options), gift recipt option (ie recipt with no prices, often asked for this. It would be nice to have the gift message added to the gift recipt, or options for n recipt and a bespoke message card choice, like births, christmas etc), place to put a gift message at checkout (note to seller can be a little conusing for those who want a gift message, I think it needs both somehow). Gift options at the item level do not work for all business models.

I think the gifting sector has been some what overlooked by Square and could do with a little love and help, it wouldn't take much and would bring it to the next level.

[chocolatemann]

Philip,

thanks for your input and being part of the conversation. And sorry about the terminology.

In Canada  we refer to shipping when we sent something via a major courier like CanadaPost. We use the term delivery mostly for local delivery/shipping, a term used a lot for ubereats, doordash etc.

My shop offers in-store pickup, local delivery and nation wide shipping.

Local delivery is our most popular option because we can ship fragile products that would get damaged being shipped in a box.

The issue I have only happens when the customer picks local delivery/shipping for a gift.

For local delivery/shipping Square takes the delivery address information on the product page via a popup window, not the check out page. And it assumes that the customer wants to have it delivered/shipped to themselves, so it doesn't ask for a name in the popup address window.

This would make sense if we'd sell pizza or fish and chips and all the customer wants is to send it to themselves, but it doesn't work for gift delivery!

BTW Great website, I like the chocolate Salamis!

[doc_choc]

Hey @chocolatemann love the username. I enjoyed looking over your website some really nice products and packaging, I know what it takes to make some of your products, real labour of love. I see you are doing sprayed bonbons, we had to really dial this back because of recent EU legislation on colour levels, which was a real shame as visually they really pop on shelf as yours do. 

Terminology can be a real sticking point but we manage to muddle through and I'm sure most customer here in the UK get the gist of the wording, but it would be nice to have terminology that works in specific countries.

I see what you mean re the address and how this would be an issue. We only sell in-store and ship nationally, no in-store collection or local delivery (except if its fragile). We actually do local delivery but we ship the same as national delivery, we just pop it in the post, but I know what you mean about fragility broken eggs, lost bunny ears decapitated Santa's, we have had them all.😂

Thank you for your kind words re: website (thank you Square), We have a lot of visitors from North America, they love the Peanut & Caramel Salami, highly recommend adding one to your product offering if you can!