Feature Request: Add Order Number to Order Ready Texts

[CColotti]

The title of this thread has been edited by a Square Moderator from the original: "Order Ready Texts are great but..."

They are missing the order number on the text...so when people come back after the text you can't easily figure out who has what order which slows things down..

https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/8069-text-customers-order-is-ready-with-square-for-restauran...

Just add the order number to the dang text message already 😕

[TheRealChipA]

Hey @CColotti.  Obviously a good idea, but there is an easy workaround for now, while you wait.  See screen shot.  If you or the customer clicks on the hotlink circled in red, I’m betting the order number shows up there, along with customer name, phone number, what they ordered, etc.  At least it should only require the customer to click one time on that (hopefully that’s not too burdensome) to give you that information.

Otherwise, that sounds like a feature request so head over to the Ideate Board and submit one.  I’m not sure that your last sentence is required or helpful, but I understand the frustration.  Who wants to have to click on their phone one time when they don’t have to. Ha.

[CColotti]

I saw that but that only works if they send themselves the receipt.  Many people don’t and it’s putting it on them when it’s a simple few characters to add to the order ready text of order numbers are auto generated.   

where congestive requests go so they don’t hit a black hole?

[TheRealChipA]

Ah!  Please forgive my assumption, here.  I assumed that since they gave you a phone number for the “order ready” texts, that receipts would automatically be sent.  Since you are telling me that they are not, that is definitely a problem.  So……

I’m going to tag a few Square moderators here in the Community.  Hopefully, one of them is around today to see this and can check with the engineers. @_Violet @MayaP @JJ_  @RobynR 

While you are waiting for them to weigh in, I have another question.  Do you use KDS and, if so, aren’t the phone numbers and/or customer names displayed on the KDS?  Or, if you use printed checks in the kitchen, are the phone numbers and/or customer names printed on those?  Honestly, I’m just grasping at straws here trying to find you a decent workaround to be able to put this behind you until the engineers have a chance to weigh in here.

My tags above might help you get it resolved sooner.  But that’s the best I can think of.

[CColotti]

None of that info is captured in most cases if the customer just taps “notify when ready” and you’ve got auto order numbers generated.  We don’t have time to enter names on every order at a food truck it’s generated numbers.  So all we have is the order number when they come back.  

we print the stub but many people lose it or walk away before they get it.  The easy solution is the text to say “your order #222 at the business is ready..”

it’s working great otherwise until people come back and don’t have the order number 

[TheRealChipA]

Well, hopefully a moderator can touch base with the engineers and see what’s up.  Sorry that I kept throwing spaghetti at the wall that you’d already thrown at the wall!  But I guess I learned a few things today.  Honestly, I’m considering using that feature but am had my reservations.   I guess you gave me another reason to hold off until it matures JUST A LITTLE bit more!

I hope, for your sake, it gets resolved soon.

[_Violet]

Hi @CColotti - Thank you for your detailed feedback. I've escalated this to the team that owns the Order Ready Texts feature. It sounds like this is likely a feature request, but I'll let you know what their team says. I appreciate your patience in the meantime.

Appreciate the visibility tag here, @TheRealChipA

[DeutschEssen]

I don't like that you notify customer by clearing off the expo screen. To hand out the order and know who's is who's must go back into completed tickets to see the order to hand out. I run a food truck and often have multiple orders ready at nearly the same time or very close together. Before there was order notification, we would call out the customer name while it was on the expo screen, verify all the items in the order and clear them from the screen as each item on the order is handed out the window. With the new system we have to mark the order complete to notify the customer and then we don't have anything to reference as items are handed out or to know what items are on each ticket. This is one step forward and two steps back.

[TheRealChipA]

@DeutschEssen Ah!  Now you are reminding me why I did not even participate in the beta test for this.  I identified that as an issue in my shop (ice cream) when I signed up.  In fact, in my case, I needed the ability to push a button to notify the customer we were STARTING their order and to come to the service window to pick it up.  But clearing it from the KDS was definitely a non-starter for me.  So, I guess that’s another reason that I won’t be switching to Square KDS with order ready texts any time soon, eh?

I’m glad you brought that up again!

[DeutschEssen]

I see that you have fresh KDS in your signature, Does their notifications work differently? I am considering switching to them as they are compatible with the Ipads. Previously Square only supported ipads for KDS and now they are discontinuing service for them.

[CColotti]

we do the same thing but....we also have a receipt printer on board the truck.  That prints every single receipt automatically and that is on a ticket rail so it gets taped to the order or bag to "check" the order then we clear it from the KDS to send the notification.  it's been working well for us (until today when even the stubs stopped working (different thread I started).  We had to configure another printer profile to basically print the receipts twice....one for them to get their number and the other for the rail as a verification of what is going out.  clearing the KDS becomes a formaility for us just to send the text which does work for us with the paper receipts...

all that being said the issue still exists if they don't take the stub/receipt with the order number, the text is missing that simple info when they come back to pickup....

[DeutschEssen]

In this era we shouldn't have to add printers along with KDS to have a solution. Ticket rails are obsolete, shouldn't have to have the redundancy of KDS and tickets. I am glad it is working for you, but I am looking for something better. Square needs to step up their game or be lost in the dust.

[CColotti]

Maybe for you but that's how we like to work we need multiple copies of the information to stay accurate, but that's us....you do you I guess.  Does not change my request here to add the order number to the text.  While you have valid and different points, it doesn't having bearing on my original issue of the missing order number on the simple SMS notification....

[kaijukitchenvt]

We have two ipads -- one for KDS for the kitchen and one for the front with the order screen up and we clear that screen as people pickup orders.  We are a small takeout restaurant not a food truck but this has worked and maybe you can consider having a second (or honestly third) tablet for this.  We actually have a third set up as a kiosk that is customer-facing because the first Square stand we bought is now too old for the kiosk app, so that's just for a register and the orders screen.

It may not work for your situation, but I completely agree about clearing the screen on the KDS.  We also have a system where the orders automatically print tickets so that's what the customers pick up, either by name or number.

[CColotti]

Yeah you’d need expo KDS vs stations for the clearing but unlimited KDS screens are included with a paid plan

still I’m getting frustrated with people coming to pickup because they got their order ready text and came back without their receipt and don’t know their number.  This is such a simple thing to add to the order ready text (which was the original Basis of this thread)

[DeutschEssen]

 Hopefully Square will continue to make improvements and add ticket numbers to solve your needs and continue to improve the overall experience for everyone.

[_Violet · Accepted solution]

Hi all @CColotti @TheRealChipA @DeutschEssen, thanks for your patience here. I've heard back from the team that owns the Order Ready Texts feature. They've let me know that this is a feature request that is currently in their backlog. There isn't an ETA at this time for when this will be released. To learn more about how feature requests work, please see this post from one of our Seller Community Moderators. However, you can keep an eye out for product updates here in the Seller Community.

I hope this information is helpful, but please do let me know if you have any additional questions.