Zuppler Introduces Customer Connect on the Menu Anywhere Platform, Connecting Restaurants to Guests During the Entire Food Journey

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Zuppler, a global software and services company focused on empowering solutions for the food services industry, announced today the availability of Customer Connect on the Menu Anywhere Platform. With this release, customers have full transparency into the stages of the "food journey" from initial order to final delivery or curbside pickup. Customer Connect creates a persistent dynamic connection between a guest and the merchant, including restaurants, hotels, stadiums, hospitals, universities, etc., providing full transparency of a food order through each step of the food ordering journey.

All too often, when guests order food online, as seconds turn to minutes and stomach groans turn into growls, an important question usually arises … "Where's my food?" Hungry guests want to know where their food is and how long until it arrives. If the guest orders pickup, they want to ensure the food will be ready upon arrival, and also easily notify the merchant when they have arrived so the food can be delivered to their vehicle for curbside pickup. Customer Connect solves these problems.

"Our clients firmly believe that a delightful food ordering experience requires much greater visibility and communication between the guest and the merchant," said Zuppler co-founder and CEO Shiva Srinivasan. "Customer Connect is a direct response to the needs of our clients and the desire to place control of the food ordering journey into the hands of the guest and improve visibility and bi-directional communication throughout the entire process. We decided it was imperative to build Customer Connect to solve these problems," added Srinivasan.

Similar to the way package tracking software has transformed package delivery by providing full visibility to the journey and current location of a parcel, Customer Connect transforms the way guests order and receive food by giving full visibility to the food order status and empowers the guest to inform the merchant when they have arrived for pickup.

Customer Connect is activated once a customer places a food order on the Zuppler Menu Anywhere Platform. Once they opt-in to receive updates throughout the ordering process, the guest will receive notifications that can be sent to their device as a text message, an email or a push notification sent to the mobile app they've downloaded to their device. 

Once opted in, the guest has complete visibility into each stage of their food order, including (but not limited to) when:

1. The order is placed
2. A guest makes a payment on an order
3. The merchant confirms the order
4. When the order is prepared
5. When the order is packaged
6. The order has been dispatched and is sent out for delivery
7. The guest has arrived for pickup
8. Satisfaction rating of the food item and merchant

Food operators now have the ability to notify guests in real time with push notifications, letting them know information in a way that is clear, concise, and immediate. While guests are waiting for their food, these notifications give full transparency about real-time food status. Visibility turns into confidence, and more confident guests feel they have more control over the process when ordering online from an establishment and arriving for curbside pickup.

Amelia, an owner of LoCo Co-ops, said, "A common question our guests ask is 'Where's my food, and when will it arrive?' As a Zuppler client, we're excited to enable this new feature for our restaurants. Some days are more unpredictable than others, and having a way to stay in touch with our guests throughout the food journey is instrumental for added efficiency."

When a restaurant becomes busy, it can use this functionality to let the guest know that the order has a new pickup time; for example, sending a message saying, "We apologize for the delay. Our kitchen is busier than usual and additional time has been added to your order. Your new estimated time is 7:35PM." Businesses can also send notifications if new charges occur or if they've had a change to the food charge, including receiving a refund.

Customer Connect also contains other helpful features including text or email notifications for online cart abandon, requests for feedback about an order or merchant, and food reorder reminders. Merchants have absolute flexibility over how to customize their messages, and when they are deployed when interacting with their guests.

To learn more about Customer Connect, visit https://www.zuppler.com/customerconnect.

Zuppler is a global software and services company focused on empowering solutions for the food services industry, offering Menu Anywhere, a complete online ordering platform for restaurants, caterers, groceries, universities, hospitals, hotels, sports stadiums and delivery services online and on-premise. Headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, Zuppler has additional offices in Romania and India. The Zuppler team has launched thousands of dynamic online ordering menus for brands across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Zuppler also integrates with Google and the leading delivery, POS, loyalty and payment providers.

Media Contact:
Ed Barrett
Zuppler
[email protected]

Related Images

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Zuppler Online Ordering Process Notification 'I Have Arrived'
Customer view of the online ordering process for curbside ordering with Zuppler Menu Anywhere

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Customer Connect Food Order SMS Notification from Zuppler
A guest's text message view from a restaurant regarding their a food delivery order and arrival

SOURCE Zuppler