On-Line Ordering for Pick UP

The Sub Zero On-Line Ordering platform is now operational for any shop that would like to offer pick-up service (we can use the latest catch-phrase "non-contact" service). The platform is not as polished as the delivery services that have been around for a while, but we have no commission and the payments go directly to our individual shops. You can go to: http://subzero.linkordering.com and look at the setup for those of us that have been the early adopters/testers of the system. Our two shops in Sarasota, FL only went live last night, so we don't have a track record to relay, but we have made test orders to get a feel for the process, and cleaned up identified kinks in the system.

The steps for moving forward if you would like are as follows:

1. Review the ordering site and see how active shops are set up.
   
2. Edit your on-line menu. Jerry posted a video last week on ways to edit (similar process to making edits to your shop menu, but you will select Sub Zero On-line Menu instead of Main). This will be the most time consuming part of the process because you will need to edit prices, make sure tax rate is correct, remove items, flavors, or mix-ins that you do not plan to offer by hitting "edit", unchecking the "available" box all the way to the right then "update". We will need to coordinate adding any new items, flavors, renaming, etc. as a group because anything that is added will populate to all shops; e.g., when John adds "Voodoo ice cream" for the Indy shop, I need to know it was added so that I can remove it from my offerings (I said the platform is a little clunky...). If you need assistance, please feel free to contact Doug Shenk at (941) 720-3529.
   
3. Contact LinkPOS to activate your account and set hours when you will accept on-line orders. support@linkpos.com
   
4. Once live, make a few test orders. The orders should come to you with a POS message that will time out in 60 seconds and a receipt printout of the items ordered, name of customer, and phone number. Since we have free time these days, our local procedure will be to call the customer and confirm order and get a general timeline for pickup. There are some POS settings that might need to be changed if the printer does not print it out; if so, the LINK help desk can quickly make those changes for you. We have asked the developer to add a chime to alert us of the incoming order, but there is no timeline yet for this feature. The orders will be need to be tendered manually - we plan to do this once the order has been picked up (hit the recall button to see the order).
   
5. Market the on-line link to customers.
   

This was put together quickly, and we will provide more details in subsequent posts or through comment/answer getting feedback from others who have had more experience using the tool. We went to Facebook with a post and offer of a $5 gift card with $20 purchase through the end of the month.

FYI - There is a process for selling gift cards on the site (this is trending right now as a way to show solidarity and "support your local businesses" - so not a bad idea to offer gift cards even if it is the only thing you only offer for now