Counter ordering: the guest's phone rings when the food is ready
Published
In a snack bar or fast food place, the hard part is not the ordering, it is the waiting. Guests have no idea where their tacos are, staff shout numbers over the noise, and orders get mixed up. Here is how to organise your counter so everyone collects the right order at the right time, calmly.
Start the free trialThe real problem: guests waiting in the dark
A guest standing at the counter blocks the queue, asks 'is it ready yet?' three times and sometimes walks off with someone else's order. The goal is simple: let them sit down, scroll their phone or watch the match, and tell them when the food is ready.
Pagers solve this, but you have to buy them, charge them, clean them and get them back. Some leave in pockets. Today there is another option: use the phone the guest is already holding.
A four-step flow
A good counter flow has four steps: the guest chooses, pays, the kitchen prepares, the guest is called. Each step has one owner. The person on the till takes payment and does not cook; the kitchen cooks and does not take payment.
Take payment before you cook. It is the rule in every fast food place, and it stops you preparing food for someone who has left, as well as arguments about what was ordered.
A clear number for every order
Every order needs a short number, printed on the guest's ticket and the kitchen's. Restart the numbering every day so numbers stay easy to read. During Ramadan, if you stay open until shour, your business day must end after closing time, not at midnight, or the numbers will restart in the middle of service.
A 'now serving' screen visible from the dining area helps a lot: guests see their number appear and come up on their own, with no shouting.
The kitchen works in order
Orders should reach the kitchen in the order they were paid. Paper tickets clipped up at random lead to forgotten orders. A ticket rail or a screen that keeps the arrival order is enough to stop order 12 going out before order 9.
For longer orders (pizza, mixed grill plate), tell guests the waiting time at the till. A guest who knows they will wait fifteen minutes sits down happily; one who does not know comes back to ask.
Hand-over: the moment to get right
When you hand over an order, read the number and the contents out loud, and check sauces, drinks and extras. Most complaints come from something missed at this step, not from a kitchen mistake.
Keep the pick-up spot separate from the till, so people ordering and people collecting do not trip over each other.
Takeaway orders
Many guests prefer to order before they arrive, especially at lunchtime or on match nights. If you take these orders by phone, write them down at once with a name and pick-up time, and only start cooking at the right moment.
Sharing an order link on WhatsApp, in your status or neighbourhood groups, lets guests order themselves, with no call and no note-taking mistakes.
With Tablilo, the phone is the pager
In Tablilo's counter mode, guests order on their phone, pay first at the till, and their phone rings when the order is ready, just like a pager, with no hardware to buy. The kitchen sees orders on screen in sequence, and a 'now serving' board can run in the dining area.
The takeaway link is shared on WhatsApp: guests order ahead and pay at the till when they arrive. Daily sales per item and per payment method are in the reports, and the Z report closes the day.
Related features
- QR code menu for restaurants and cafés in MoroccoA QR code menu on every table: guests scan, choose and order from their phone, no app needed. Digital menu in French, Arabic and English.
- Kitchen display screen (KDS) and bar screenA kitchen display screen on any tablet: drinks to the bar, dishes to the kitchen, tickets that change colour and a 'Prêt' button that alerts the waiter.
- Receipt printer and cash drawer for snack bars and cafés58 or 80 mm thermal printer, bar and kitchen tickets, bills, cash drawer and Z report: the till for your snack bar or café in Morocco, with Tablilo.
- Reports and anti-theft alerts for your tillRecorded cancellations, tables closed unpaid, cash difference, accountant export and a manager login: see what happens in your café, even when away.