Top Customer Service Issues and CustomerServ’s Call Center Expertise in the Food Delivery Services Industry

CustomerServ’s Call Center Support for Fast-growing Food and Restaurant Delivery Industry

The popularity of online food ordering has exploded in recent years and will continue to grow exponentially over the next decade, according to a report by investment bank UBS, which predicts that global food delivery sales will rise more than 20% annually from $35 billion to $365 billion by 2030.

The obsession with having on-demand access to a wide variety of restaurant-prepared meals delivered at home has contributed to a surge in mobile food delivery apps. However, the complex logistics associated with food delivery combined with high customer expectations and steep operating expenses can make it difficult for startups to get a toehold in an increasingly competitive market. Maintaining adequate staff to deliver food orders promptly is an ongoing pain point and can be a barrier to scaling the business. Bloomberg reports that the demand for delivery drivers has tripled in the last few years. The churn rate is high with the average driver only staying for a matter of months, according to The New York Times.

Balancing the fee structure with the high cost of delivering perishables is the ultimate test for food delivery models. Tech giants Amazon and Uber recently entered the market launching food delivery apps backed by well-established delivery and customer support operations. It’s a move that is certain to be a game-changer for others operating in the field. Customer engagement will be the key to differentiation in this intensely competitive landscape.

Customer Service Challenges for Food and Restaurant Delivery Businesses

For food and restaurant delivery businesses, catering to the needs of three stakeholders—consumers, restaurants and delivery staff—can become a precarious balancing act. Once an order is placed, the consumer’s experience is largely out of the company’s hands: It is up to the restaurant partner to ensure accuracy, quality and timely order fulfillment, and the driver to provide quick, friendly delivery service to the consumer.

Providing the value, variety and speedy delivery that consumers demand calls for solid partnerships with the restaurants and eateries within the network and a fair fee structure that will retain delivery staff and motivate them to help build repeat business for the service.

Food delivery providers will need to be more proactive in handling consumer inquiries and complaints or risk damaging relationships with the restaurants within their networks. Off-Premise Insights’ “2018 Takeout, Delivery & Catering Study” reported that the majority of consumers (82%) will blame the restaurant when things go wrong, not the delivery service. Leading restaurateurs take consumer complaints to heart. Some have voiced their concerns about the way their brand is being represented and have taken steps to end their relationships with third-party delivery companies.

Top customer service challenges for the food and restaurant delivery industry include:

• Providing quick and easy access to customer support when consumers have questions or problems with their orders, delivery or payment. A frequent complaint that consumers have about food delivery apps is the lack of phone support. Consumers then call the restaurant, which results in consumer backlash and poor relationships with restaurant partners.
• Fluctuations in demand make it difficult to predict staffing needs for delivery drivers accurately. Understaffing results in long wait times, cold food and unhappy customers.
• Lack of transparency in order fulfillment. Orders can be delayed for many reasons: restaurant didn’t receive the order or is busy, heavy traffic in metropolitan areas, high volume of orders, insufficient delivery staff. Consumers often have no visibility of their order once it’s been placed and no customer support.
• Strong competition and lack of brand loyalty. Consumers have access to a wide variety of food delivery apps and will switch to a competitor for better promotions and deals, lower delivery fees, more variety or if they have a bad experience.
• Managing relationships with restaurants and eateries. Maintaining up-to-date information (menus, prices, specials, promotions, operating hours, delivery areas) for current partners. Proactive outreach to build new partnerships.
• Providing delivery drivers with real-time support when there are delays in order fulfillment, traffic issues, vehicle problems or the driver can’t find the delivery location.

CustomerServ’s Call Center Vendors Offer Scalable Support Solutions for Expanding Food and Restaurant Delivery Businesses

In today’s era of instant gratification, consumers expect immediate access to customer support when they have an issue with a late order, poor quality product, pricing dispute or delivery complaint. CustomerServ’s call center vendors offer scalable customer support solutions for new and expanding food and restaurant delivery companies. Services include:

• Voice, text, chat, email, mobile app and social media customer support
• Payment inquiries and adjustments
• Technical support and help desk
• Sales/new client accounts
• Client/restaurant account management, including support for restaurant promotions and loyalty programs, analyzing order trends and consumer feedback
• Delivery staff support—payouts and adjustments; vehicle issues; parking tickets
• Community and content moderation
• US-based, nearshore and offshore support
• Site based and work-at-home agents
• PCI compliant call centers
• Bi-lingual and multi-lingual call centers

A robust platform is the starting point for any food and restaurant delivery business. But while technology lays the foundation, future success and revenue rely on the ability to provide an end-to-end experience that ensures a satisfied, loyal and growing customer base.