The Item Substitution feature allows you to mark an item as out of stock once you have accepted an order, meaning you can offer your customer the chance to replace the order without the unavailable item or with a substitute item.
1) How does the ‘Item Substitutions’ feature work?
If an item is unavailable and you have already accepted the order, you can use the ‘Item Substitutions’ feature to mark the item as out of stock directly from the tablet.
Customers will receive a notification about the unavailable items and have the option to:
Add a new substitute item(s) to their basket.
Check out again with their previous order, excluding the unavailable item(s).
This will mean you are no longer required to engage in time-consuming and costly processes, such as contacting Deliveroo support or reaching out to customers via phone for approval on substitutions.
This feature will enhance the customer experience, streamline operations, and boost overall order accuracy by introducing the ability for a customer to substitute an item and check out again without the unavailable items.
2) How do I use the ‘Item Substitutions’ feature?
If you were unable to mark a menu item as out of stock in time and have an ongoing order, this is how you can mark the item as out of stock on an accepted order within the tablet:
Go to the ‘Manage Order’ button.
Select ‘Item out of stock.’
Select the unavailable items.
This will get sent directly to the customer in the app, and the basket is pre-filled with the available items.
The customer can either choose to reorder without the unavailable items or add more items to their basket before checking out.
Once the customer has checked out, the customer or you will not be charged for the first order.
Important: If the customer decides not to replace the order after being offered the possibility to substitute an item, the order will not count as a Cancellation.
To see how to use the Item Substitution button on your tablet, watch this video.
To see what a customer will see when you use the Item Substitution button, watch this video.
3) Where can I find the ‘Item Substitutions’ feature?
Under the ‘Manage Order’ button in the live order screen on your tablet.