Nobody likes waiting today especially when they have access to the latest mobile applications and food ordering systems. Patrons hate standing in a queue or event at their favorite food joint, restaurant, or café. While you might have heard about preordering food, many aren’t sure what exactly it is. In this piece of informative blog, we shall help you clarify a simple yet bothering question – what is preordering food and what are the types of preordering food?
What is Preordering food?
As the term suggests, it is pre-ordering i.e., ordering food in advance. The purpose of preordering is clear – to avoid waiting of all kinds. When you order food in advance, the restaurant is made aware of the order, and the chef at the restaurant is informed much in advance about the order. An estimated time is conveyed to you and the dish is made ready within the said period.
Preordering food is possible in various ways –
- Preordering food mobile apps or desktop website (portal)
- Telephone (landline)
- Visiting and informing (traditional way)
Preordering Food Apps or Website Portal
This is the most advanced way to preorder any food or dish at any restaurant. online Pre ordering software is a mobile application where the option of ‘order in advance’ is kept for patrons who want to order their dishes in advance. Now, most restaurant apps or food delivery apps such as Zomato offer three types of preordering food:
- Dine in
- Takeaway food
- Packed food delivery at doorsteps
Dine-in
Food delivery apps have the option to dine in where users can simply choose a restaurant they want to dine in and preorder their dishes from the online menu available. Such facility is generally combined with table reservation. Many customers prefer booking a table in advance along with dishes they want to order. The restaurant is informed of a tentative time of guest arrival and dishes are prepared accordingly so that minimum waiting is expected. Such practices and preordering of food along with reserved tables are observed in events such as birthday parties and get-togethers.
Takeaway
Take-away food services are businesses that prepare and sell food and beverages that customers can consume elsewhere, such as at home or in their workplaces. Take-away food services include restaurants, cafes, fast-food outlets, food trucks, and delivery platforms. Some takeaway food services may also offer dine-in or catering options, but their main focus is on providing food for off-premises consumption. Consumers can preorder their food, and visit the venue; the restaurant then prepares food and packs it while customers wait; the visitors shall then take their food and consume it wherever they want.
Food Delivery at Doorsteps
Food delivery at doorsteps is a service that allows customers to order food from various restaurants and have it delivered to their homes or offices. This restaurant preordering food system is convenient for busy people who do not have time to cook or go out to eat. It also provides a variety of options for different tastes and dietary preferences. Food delivery at doorsteps can be done through online platforms, phone calls, or mobile apps that connect customers with nearby delivery drivers.
Telephone (landline)
Preordering food on traditional telephones is a convenient way to save time and avoid queues. To preorder food, you need to call the restaurant of your choice and tell them what you want to order, when you want to pick it up or have it delivered, and how you want to pay. The restaurant will confirm your order and give you a reference number. You can then go to the restaurant at the specified time. You will need to show your reference number and pay for your order. Preordering food on traditional telephones is a simple and efficient process that is still in practice where smartphones or mobile apps, such as in villages and smaller towns, are not in wide use.
This is the oldest way to preorder food dishes and get them in time. This practice is rare today and you find it only in areas extremely far away from urban settings where telephones and smartphones are rare. In this preordering system, patrons visit a restaurant or café and inform the restauranteur or chef about the dishes they want. Visitors also inform them about the tentative time they would return to pick up their food parcels. In most cases, visitors preorder food at known restaurants as they have other works to finish in a certain time. While the restaurant prepares the food ordered, patrons would visit other places to get their jobs done. They would then return to pay, and pick up the food parcel from the restaurant.
The trend of Pre Ordering Food shall last longer
Preordering food is getting popular because it offers many benefits for both customers and restaurants. Online food ordering system works strategically as customers can save time and money by ordering their meals in advance and avoiding long queues or delivery fees. Restaurants can optimize their inventory and staff by knowing how much food they need to prepare and serve. Preordering food is a convenient and efficient way to enjoy a variety of dishes without hassle. It is, for this reason, preorder food app development is quite a rage these days among entrepreneurs who see potential business in restaurants or the food delivery industry.
How Foodiv can help you?
Foodiv is a contemporary online food ordering system that helps you facilitate your esteemed patrons with preordering food by referring to an eye-catching and information-rich digital menu. Opt for Foodiv as you take very less time to transform your brick-and-mortar restaurant to the ocean of the online world expanding the customer base.
