Independent Operators
How to: Setting up a delivery service for a food truck operation
Food trucks, like restaurants, are aiming to provide customers with every order and pickup option possible given the ongoing pandemic and that includes delivery services. Here's a plan on how to make it work.
February 1, 2021 by Richard Traylor — Writer, WebstaurantStore
Food delivery and take-out are two of the fastest growing segments of the food service industry and responsible for close to $200 billion in sales each year.
We live in an era that relies on convenience and timeliness. Food delivery and carry-out speaks to both of those needs.
If you are a food truck operator and interested in employing a delivery service, one of the first decisions you'll need to make is whether you should build your own team or use a third party company.
Tips for food delivery
If you're ready to add delivery services to your food truck operation, follow these steps to get started:
1. Designate a space for delivery
By designating a space for your delivery drivers to pick up their orders, you are helping them bypass a line of waiting customers and increase their efficiency. You can also double this space as your carry-out area for customers picking up their food as well. If you would like to be even more efficient, create a space to package only delivery and take-out orders, as well as a designated take-out checkout station for customers who did not pay over the phone or online.
2. Make updates to technology
Consider getting an updated POS system, a new website for online ordering, or an app for mobile orders to help decrease the amount of overall customers waiting.
3. Train food delivery services staff
If you choose to hire your own delivery drivers, they will need to be trained on the best way to place the food in their cars so no spills occur and how to speak to each customer when they deliver the food. If hiring a third-party delivery company, those drivers need to know that they're responsible for representing your brand and should act accordingly. Remember that reviews can make or break your business, so it's important the company you've partnered with, and the service they provide, is polished, professional, and virtually error free. Delivery packers will also need to be trained on what to-go containers each menu item should fit in, what extras should be added to each take-out or delivery bag, and where to place the orders once they are fulfilled.
4. Create a delivery menu
Making a separate delivery menu can help simplify cooking and packaging. Start by choosing from some of your most popular menu items and thinking about foods that don't get too hot, too cold, too soggy, or that might melt to be added to your delivery menu. You might even want to ask customers which meals and sides they think would be good additions for your delivery menu.
5. Stock delivery supplies
Be sure to stock up on take-out containers, utensils, napkins, lids, cups, pizza boxes, condiments, and insulated food delivery bags so that your staff never runs out of the items needed to complete an order.
6. Build a relationship with food couriers
To reinforce your delivery service, make an effort to get to know delivery drivers by name. They may not be part of your in-house staff, but they deserve the same effort from you as your other employees do. It is also important that you designate a person they can contact to help drivers find orders quickly when there's an increase in orders.
Why should your food truck offer delivery services?
If you're looking to boost your sales, adding delivery service to your food truck will help you distinguish yourself from the competition — or at least keep up with them. Keep in mind that delivery will only grow your brand if you already have market presence and a loyal customer base.
Potential customers can't order from you if they've never heard your name. Once you're on the delivery circuit, though, you'll be available to customers who may not have tried your food before, which can lead to increased profits.
Use delivery to attract millennial consumers
Using in-house or third-party delivery services is an excellent way to attract more millennial (or Generation Y) customers. According to the 2015 census, there are over 75 million millennials in the U.S,. (people aged between 18 and 34), making them an extremely important demographic. Members of Generation Y value convenience and instant accessibility over cost.
One important thing to remember about Generation Y customers is that they're probably not loyal to any one third-party delivery service. So, you may want to look into using more than one delivery service. Accordingly, you shouldn't sign any contracts that have exclusivity clauses. If possible, try to partner with delivery platforms that provide customers with the ability to earn rewards and points, as this is also something millennials are actively seeking as they make their ordering decisions.
Utilize delivery and take-out during a national pandemics
When a pandemic like COVID-19, or coronavirus, hits and individuals living in states and countries are recommended to stay home, delivery is one of the few options that people have to get food.
With a lock down comes less foot traffic but your business can still make money during lock down periods as long as it is equipped with the right supplies and gets staff up to speed on delivery protocol. Notify customers through social media and your website that you will still be operating and providing delivery, drive through, and take-out instead of servicing dine-in customers to adhere to government standards.
What are the benefits?
Wondering how to start a delivery service? If you have the time and money to train and build an in-house delivery team, you should consider this option before going straight to a third-party service. One of the main benefits of creating a delivery service is that it eliminates the chance that consumers may think of the delivery service before your foodtruck. You'll also increase brand loyalty and visibility and ensure you won't be overshadowed by the big third-party services that competitors may be employing.
According to recent studies, 76% of consumers prefer to order directly from the eatery of their choice, rather than through third-party services. On average, maintaining your own delivery team is also 46% to 50% cheaper than employing the services of third parties. This will also boost your revenue, since you're collecting 100% of the profits from each meal served.
Finally, making the choice to build your own delivery team provides your business with complete control over the consumer's dining experience, from ordering and meal preparation to delivery and payment. You and your staff will also be the ones interfacing with customers, rather than the unknown staff of third-party companies.
What are potential disadvantages of building an in-house delivery team?
While there are a number of benefits to creating and maintaining your own delivery team, doing so isn't practical or feasible for every food truck. Some operators won't want to spend the extra money on in-house delivery staff. Yet if you shop around for services, you're likely to find a third-party company with a low commission that will help your small company's bottom line and raise your profit margins.
What Is third-party food delivery?
Simply put, third-party food delivery companies partner with food sellers to provide food to hungry customers. This contrasts with in-house delivery services where businesses hire their own delivery drivers or train existing employees to deliver food.
Third-party delivery companies
Part of what makes these options so appealing is their food delivery apps. While there a wide selection of third-party services available, a handful of the most popular options are below:
• Caviar, which allows users to browse photos of menus and track their order in transit via real-time GPS.
• DoorDash, which offers delivery tracking, easy reordering, the ability to schedule deliveries in advance, convenient online payment, and no order minimums.
• Grubhub, which allows users to read menus, order, and pay via online platforms like Apple Pay and PayPal.
• Postmates, a delivery service where the customer's order is called in to by Postmates employees and then picked up and delivered. Postmates calls itself "The Uber for Stuff" and provides real-time tracking and deliveries from virtually every restaurant to almost any setting.
• UberEATS, an online ordering and delivery platform where users can view menus, have their location detected by GPS, order food, and pay online.
• Yelp Eat24, a service that faxes each customer's order to the eatery of your choice within seconds. The app verifies that the establishment has receives the order and then picks up and delivers the food to you.
Chains using third-party delivery services
Third-party delivery services are particularly popular with single-location businesses, but chains are also starting to use delivery programs in some regions of the country:
• 7-Eleven via DoorDash.
• Auntie Anne's / Carvel / Cinnabon via Postmates.
• Chipotle via Postmates.
• Dunkin' Donuts via DoorDash.
• McDonald's via Postmates.
• Moe's Southwest Grill via Postmates.
• Starbucks via Postmates.
• Taco Bell via DoorDash.
The benefits of partnering with third-party delivery companies
There are a number of benefits associated with partnering with a third-party delivery service. In addition to increasing your brand's visibility and boosting sales, these companies allow you to minimize losing customers due to busy signals on your phones or long wait times. Hiring a third-party service is also a smart choice for food trucks that don't want the responsibility of hiring and training an in-house delivery team.
Your customers will also appreciate that third-party services allow them to place repeat orders and may even have apps that save their credit card information for effortless ordering in the future. Many of these companies are also in competition with each other in order to attract more businesses, which can also drive down service charges and commissions.
Potential disadvantages of partnering with third-party delivery companies?
While hiring a third-party delivery service is intended to increase your truck's profits, there are important liability issues to consider. In addition to third-party drivers becoming involved in automobile accidents, there's also a chance that customers could develop foodbourne illnesses from meals that have sat in a car for too long. Because your restaurant isn't directly responsible for these issues, you need to be prepared to protect your business.
To minimize risk, you'll want to draw up written partnership agreements with the delivery services you work with. Include the following provisions in these documents:
• Require that delivery companies comply with industry standards for safe food handling (including temperature maintenance). Similarly, choose services that use GPS tracking to fully establish responsibility in case of food borne illnesses.
• Require delivery drivers to provide proof of insurance and clear vehicle ownership.
• Include specific language that shifts full responsibility for any issues in transit onto the third-party service.
• Require the delivery company to have insurance coverage that names the specific businesses they're partnered with.
• Include specific disclaimer language in delivery menus, paper ads, and on your website to anticipate potential customer concerns and complaints.
How are delivery services impacting the foodservice Industry?
Wondering why online delivery service has become so popular among consumers? To start, these services are incredibly convenient because they allow consumers to order from home or work without having to travel. These services encourage people to browse menus of restaurants they hadn't heard of previously and can also lead to them trying new businesses and cuisines.
According to several studies, as third party delivery continues to grow, it will have a positive impact on the sales and profits of businesses that adopt it. On the other hand, many experts believe refusing to incorporate delivery will negatively affect foodservice businesses. Dining is a $863 billion-plus industry in the United States, so delivery is sure to have a profound and lasting impact upon thousands of establishments.
Lastly, you should make sure your food truck isn't inadvertently engaging with unauthorized third-party delivery services without your knowledge. Because companies like Postmates call in or place orders online for customers and then pick them up (cutting the consumer entirely out of the ordering process), you may not even know your food truck is interfacing with a delivery service. This doesn't mean you shouldn't use Postmates, but rather reinforces that you must have contracts and partnership agreements drawn up before utilizing any third-party service.
More and more establishments are turning to delivery. If you decide to incorporate a food delivery service into your food truck operation, the most important decision you'll have to make is whether to use a third-party service or build your own team in house. No matter what you choose, skillfully utilizing delivery can help build your brand visibility while simultaneously boosting your revenue.
About Richard Traylor
Richard Traylor graduated from Temple University in the winter of 2014 with a degree in Strategic Communications. After graduating, he taught English in South Korea for two years, during which he was fortunate enough to travel and see the world. In October 2016, he returned home and started to work in SEO Content at Webstaurant Store. This blog previously ran on Webstaurant Store.
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