Order Ahead Management

Online Orders / Orders ahead are now available in OTG Creator 

The Off the Grid app ecosystem now includes an online ordering feature, accessible from Off the Grid Experience (our guest application), called Order Ahead.

From OTG Experience, Guests will be able to browse events, Creators, menus, and order ahead from anywhere, skipping the lines and using contact-free payment options. Guests will also get access to exclusive discounts and offers from Off the Grid’s partners, like Apple Pay.

As a Creator, you will have the ability to manage both Order Ahead orders and in-person orders from the OTG Creator app. This means that you may need to adjust some of your operations, but the benefits of implementing theOrder Ahead feature will provide new opportunities to grow your business.

Below is a comprehensive look at the entire ordering experience, including views from both Guest and Creator.

Why Order Ahead? Off the Grid has a wide range of public markets and experiences. At destination Markets like Fort Mason Center and Presidio Picnic, Guests come to enjoy a uniquely OTG community experience, and at our Business Lunch Markets like Civic Center Food Spot and Vallejo & Front, Guests may be looking for more fast and casual food options. Depending on the experience and time of day, we want to offer a faster and more digitized ordering journey to align with our Guests’ varied desires.

How to learn more about this 

1. Let's look at your customer view 
2. How to manage the ordering flow from your OTG Creator app
3. Best Practices and recommendations

1-Order ahead / Let's look at your customer view 

Guests will be able to browse your menu in advance before you start operating in a market, and order some dishes ahead of time.

2-How to manage the ordering flow from your OTG Creator app

The main advantage to managing orders ahead is to be able to accept and update all your online incoming orders, in addition to serving and taking care of your on-site Guests.

First, let’s jump into how to manage Order Ahead from the OTG Creator app:

==> From the OTG Creator App:

1. Launch your POS Terminal when you are about to start your shift at an event.
2. Your homepage should show an “Order Ahead” tab, located on the left side of the POS homepage. Check it to see if you have already any orders to manage.
3. Tip: Guests are able to submit orders while the market is not open, so make sure to check all “Order Ahead” orders while you start your operations. If you have already some, you can accept or reject them, depending on your readiness.
4. When you have received new orders, this is how to proceed:
   1. You will see a clock indicating how much time has passed since the order was placed. Guests are able to cancel their order ONLY until you have confirmed/accepted it.
   2. Click on the order as soon as possible, accept it if possible, and always specify the time you will need to prep and have it available for pick up. You can select, 5’, 10’, 15’ or a custom number.
   3. Click on “Complete Order” when the order is ready for pick up
      1. If you cancel, the system will automatically refund the Guest
         
      2. f you need to update the time needed to have the order ready, you can adjust within OTG Creator
         
         

3-Best Practices and recommendations

How to make sure you see all the Order Ahead orders you’ve received:

• Check your Order Ahead tab at the beginning of your shift 
• Keep on top of checking all your notifications every few minutes—you will get a new one every time a new order is received

How to best communicate with your Guests that are ordering from their OTG Experience app: 

• Accept the order as quickly as possible 
• If you cancel, specify the reason 
• If you accept, don't forget to specify the time to have it ready for pick up 
• If you need to extend the “Order Ready for Pick Up” time, that's fine, but make sure to send an update to your Guest with the updated wait time

How to manage the balance between in person and online orders:

• Do your best to prep orders as you normally would, keeping all Guest wait time as reasonable as possible.
• If you feel that you have too many orders coming in, feel free to turn the Order Ahead function “Off” on your terminal. This means that Guests will not be able to use the Order Ahead feature during the event, unless you turn it on again.