Avoid getting paused: Why it is critical to maintain the correct store hours in food delivery apps

In just over four years, delivery service providers (DSPs) have evolved into vital revenue generators for nearly all QSR franchises. According to a recent DoorDash report, 70% of U.S. consumers have ordered food delivery in the past month, and 51% of consumers surveyed listed third-party apps as their preferred way to place the orders.

This prominence brings a critical new requirement that no restaurant can ignore: maintaining accurate buffer times and operating hours consistently across all delivery platforms. This responsibility lies squarely with each location’s team. Neglecting it can result in lost sales, disgruntled drivers and customers you’ll never see again.

Put another way, effectively managing these details is vital to maximizing the potential of this rapidly growing sales channel. Fortunately, this process is both quick and straightforward — a classic “set it and forget it” scenario that any QSR can easily manage.

What is buffer time?

Buffer time is the cushion that separates the day’s final online delivery order from the store’s closing, which helps to ensure customers are not allowed to place orders that will be impossible to fulfill. But buffer time also creates a set of operating hours for restaurants that is distinct from their actual brick-and-mortar operating hours.

QSRs are responsible for managing their hours, buffer and actual, in each platform. They’re also in charge of adjusting for changes caused by holidays, renovations, weather events or other situations when a store may temporarily open and close at different times than the rest of the year.

The concept of buffer time in delivery apps emerged approximately three years ago at the urging of DSPs. It was a response to the problematic trend of in-app orders being placed too close to physical store closing times, resulting in drivers showing up at closed stores. This led to a cascade of issues, including futile trips for drivers, unfulfilled orders for angry (and perhaps non-repeat) customers, and financial losses for the store from unclaimed prepared food and reimbursements to DSPs for customer refunds.

Each DSP now has its own recommendation for buffer time in its delivery app, which is set automatically in the platform for each QSR relative to its listed physical store closing time:

In other words, if a physical store closes at 10 p.m., the default buffer time for that store in DoorDash is 9:40 p.m. (and 9:30 p.m. for the other two). However, restaurant operators can override the delivery app settings and change them at any time — or inadvertently forget to change them for exceptions — leading to errors and failed orders.

Making just a few of these errors will negatively impact a store’s ranking in the delivery app, and it may even result in the store being paused indefinitely.

Getting paused on delivery apps effectively blocks incoming orders until someone at the store goes into the platform and reactivates the location. The restaurant is not available in the app when paused. Many QSRs remain unaware of these suspensions, as DSPs do not provide alerts or notifications. The typical indication for the QSR is a steep decline in delivery store drivers at their location.

Food delivery companies have become strict about imposing pauses for in-app store hour errors. Given the razor-thin profit margins of many restaurant franchises, this is revenue you simply can’t afford to lose.

And you don’t have to.

An easily avoidable issue

The good news is that maintaining the appropriate buffer times and special store hours is a straightforward process, only requiring a small amount of your time on a periodic basis. To verify and update this information within each delivery app, simply:

• Update your digital and physical store hours within your DSP aggregator software, or
• Log into each DSP’s merchant portal and make the updates there.

All these user interfaces offer options to “set buffer times” and “select holiday hours” that are relatively easy to locate. If your store is paused, this will also be clearly visible. You can usually restore full order-taking privileges with just a few clicks.

Staying proactive is essential

Blocking 30 minutes on someone’s calendar once a quarter to verify the correct store hours in each delivery app will make all the difference. You can also incorporate these steps into your special store hours preparation and completion processes to ensure that opening, closing and buffer times are all accurately updated or reviewed periodically. There can be delays between when you save your updates in the platform and when they appear to the public in the app, so be sure to plan accordingly.

Since most franchisees collaborate with just a few DSPs, this task is entirely manageable for any team member, even within franchises that don’t use a DSP aggregator. You might also consider offering small incentives each time a buffer time or other digital store hour error is found and fixed by your team. This investment will be well worth it.

As one of the busiest seasons for food delivery approaches, now is the ideal moment to add in-app buffer time and store hour checks to your regular business routine. A little awareness and preparation will go a long way in ensuring your digital store hours foster smoother, more satisfying and more profitable relationships with your third-party providers — which invariably creates happier and more loyal customers.

If you have questions about anything covered in this article, please reach out to Delaget and we’ll make sure you get the help you need.

Want to hear more ideas for enhancing your food delivery-related business? I was recently a panelist in an engaging webinar titled “20 delivery ideas in 20 minutes,” which was packed with fresh and actionable insights on this very topic. Some of them may surprise you!