Pizzerias: dine-in, takeaway and WhatsApp orders without chaos
Published
In a pizzeria, three streams of orders arrive at once: the tables, the counter and WhatsApp messages. They all end up in the same oven. The chaos does not come from the number of orders, but from the order in which they reach the pizza maker.
Start the free trialThree streams, one oven
The classic problem: a table has been waiting twenty minutes for its pizza while the pizza maker bakes a WhatsApp order that came in later, simply because the phone was right next to him. Or the reverse: a takeaway customer waits at the counter while a big table jumps ahead.
The answer is not working faster. It is having a single queue for the oven, visible to whoever loads it.
One queue, sorted by promised time
Every order, wherever it comes from, should land in the same place: a screen, a printer or at the very least a board. Orders are sorted by the time they need to be ready, not by where they came from.
During the rush, one person decides the baking order. Everyone else adds tickets; they do not reshuffle them. This one rule prevents arguments and forgotten orders.
Promise an honest waiting time
Know your oven's capacity: how many pizzas at once and how many minutes per batch. With those two numbers, a glance at the queue tells you how long the next order will wait.
At the counter and on WhatsApp, give the real waiting time, even if it is long. A customer told thirty minutes comes back happy. A customer told 'ten minutes' who waits twenty-five does not come back.
WhatsApp orders without chaos
Use one number for orders and a template reply: name, pizzas with sizes and extras, pickup time. Always confirm with the total in dirhams and the expected time, and only start preparing once the customer replies.
Avoid long voice notes and ask for written confirmation. And keep the phone away from the pizza maker: the person at the counter handles messages and adds the ticket to the queue.
Dine-in: clear tickets
Special requests are the first source of mistakes: half and half, no olives, thin crust, extra cheese. Agree on one way to write them, and make sure every ticket shows the table number.
Serve drinks as soon as the order is taken: a table with something to drink waits much more patiently while the pizzas bake.
The pickup counter and Ramadan evenings
Set up a pickup shelf, have boxes folded before the rush, and put a name label on every box. Before handing over an order, compare the ticket with what is in the box: thirty seconds that save an angry return.
During Ramadan, a lot of orders land just before ftour. Take them earlier in the afternoon with a fixed pickup time, prepare dough and toppings ahead, and cap orders per time slot if your oven cannot keep up.
Common mistakes
Promising everyone the same waiting time, letting the pizza maker answer messages, accepting a WhatsApp order without confirming the total, keeping dine-in and takeaway tickets in two separate piles, or not knowing at the end of the night which pizzas sold best.
With Tablilo
With Tablilo, guests at tables order through the QR code and their orders reach the kitchen screen, where a waiting ticket turns from green to orange to red. In counter mode, the customer orders on their phone, pays first at the till, and the phone rings when the order is ready.
You can also share a takeaway link on WhatsApp: customers order ahead and pay at the till on pickup. Reports show sales per day and per item. Try it free on a quiet weeknight before your first weekend.
Related features
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.