Last Minute Menu

A trend that I think is important and here to stay is ordering food – all types of food- right now. The idea of chow mein and pizza as the only option for online ordering is passé.

So a few months ago I had the idea to develop a mobile app so that customers could order cupcakes for immediate purchase on their phones. But there were lots of complexities such as payment method, making sales line up with our point of sale in-store, and our changing inventory.

Then it dawned on me that we already HAVE a great online shopping cart that’s been adapted for mobile use so why not reprogram it to accommodate what we decided to call a Last Minute Menu.

Like every project it has been bigger than expected, requiring significant work by Christina and Steve, our website designer and programmer; the recruitment of a Last Minute Catering Coordinator; and re-thinking our baking production. But we hope to launch during the week of April 25th, with a limited menu that’s available from 3 pm the day before right up to noon on the same day…revolutionary in the bakery business which usually requires several days’ notice for advance orders.

I can’t wait to see the response! One question I have is whether a Last Minute Menu will simply cannibalize the current Advance Orders and/or walk-in sales, or be new customers. I don’t know and I’ve stopped predicting these things 🙂

Jean

last minute menu online phone orders

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Jean Blacklock

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