Pizzeria: how many hours you lose on the phone every month (and how to win them back)

On a Saturday night the pizzeria's phone rings non-stop. Each call seems short, but between "what pizzas do you have?", "how much is the bufala?", "can you repeat the total?" and the name to write on a scrap of paper, the minutes add up. And often the person answering is exactly the one who should be at the oven or the counter.

In this guide we do the maths first, then look at seven practical ways to move orders from the phone to writing, without losing the customers who prefer to call.

First of all, do the maths

Take any Saturday and note on a sheet of paper how many takeaway calls you receive. Then estimate how long a call lasts on average, counting the ones where the customer rings back to change something.

Even with cautious numbers you easily get to more than twenty hours a month spent on the phone, almost always at peak times. Those are hours in which one person isn't making dough, serving or watching the oven. And they're also the hours when mistakes are made: a name misheard, a pizza forgotten, a collection time that overlaps with ten others.

1. Move the order from voice to writing

The first step is to give customers a way to order in writing. A written order is read in five seconds, doesn't have to be repeated and stays there: if there's a doubt you check it again, you don't have to remember it.

The simplest channel in Italy is WhatsApp, because everyone uses it, older customers included. The customer chooses from the online menu, the basket turns into a ready-written message and you receive it on your venue's number. We cover this in detail in the guide on how to organise takeaway orders on WhatsApp without commission.

2. Let the menu answer for you

For one evening, listen to the questions you're asked on the phone. They're almost always the same: the prices, the doughs available, whether an ingredient can be left out, whether there's anything gluten-free, how late you can collect. Every recurring question is a piece of information your online menu isn't giving clearly enough.

• Prices always visible, including extras and special doughs.
• Options written down: size, dough, "without" and "with", each with its price.
• Allergens shown for every pizza, as we explain in the guide on the 14 allergens on your menu.
• Takeaway hours at the top, not hidden at the bottom of the page.

3. Give every collection slot a limit

The problem on Saturdays isn't the number of orders, it's that they all want 20:00. If the oven turns out at most ten pizzas every quarter of an hour, accepting thirty orders for 20:00 means customers waiting and pizzas going cold.

The solution is to divide the evening into slots, for example every fifteen minutes, and decide how many pizzas you accept in each. When a slot is full the customer only sees the free ones and chooses a different time by themselves.

At first it feels like giving up orders. In reality the opposite happens: the customer who finds 20:00 full chooses 20:15, instead of calling, finding the line busy and ordering elsewhere.

4. Put the link everywhere, not just on your website

An ordering system only works if customers find it. The link to the menu must be everywhere your phone number is today:

• Your Google profile, in the field for orders and as the website.
• Your Instagram bio and Facebook page.
• A QR code on the pizza box and on the receipt: the next order starts from there.
• A sticker in the window, for people walking past when you're closed.
• The automatic reply on WhatsApp Business: "Hi! To order, use this link and we'll reply in a moment."

5. Pause orders when the oven is full

There are evenings when, because of a table of twenty or an oven that's struggling, you can't keep up with everything. Instead of letting the phone ring, pause online orders for half an hour. The customer sees a clear message and the first available slot, and you don't build up delays that drag on until the end of the evening.

6. Mark sold-out items in real time

Has the bufala run out at 20:15? If the online menu keeps offering it, you'll get orders you have to correct, with a phone call. Marking it sold out from your phone takes two seconds and removes it from the choices. With a voice assistant you can even do it out loud, with your hands in the dough: "bufala's finished".

7. Don't switch off the phone, change the script

Some customers will keep calling, and that's fine. But you can change the way you answer: "If you like I'll send you the link on WhatsApp, so you can choose at your own pace and see the free times". After two or three times many regulars order directly in writing.

You can also record a voicemail message for the moments when you can't answer, giving the link to order.

A script for whoever answers the phone

Whoever answers the phone on a Saturday night needs ready-made phrases, short and always the same. Write them on a sheet next to the till:

"Good evening! If you like I'll send you the link on WhatsApp right now: you can choose at your own pace, see the free times and find everything ready."

"We're full for 20:00 tonight, I can give you 20:15 or 20:30. Or from the link you can see all the times still free."

The second phrase is important: don't just say "we're full". Always offer an alternative time, otherwise the customer orders elsewhere.

Use the slow days to move orders

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays the oven works at half speed. You can use those evenings to get customers used to ordering in writing, with offers that only apply online:

• The pizza of the month, available only from the online menu, with seasonal ingredients.
• A fixed-price combination, for example two classic pizzas and a soft drink, for online orders only from Tuesday to Thursday.
• The early slots: anyone collecting between 19:00 and 19:30 finds a little surprise, such as a portion of chips. It helps you fill the empty slots and ease the 20:00 ones.

The box that brings the next order

The pizza box stays on the customer's table at home for the whole of dinner. It's the best place for your link. A sticker with the QR code and a simple phrase is enough:

"Did you enjoy it? Next time, order from here in 30 seconds, without phoning."

Mistakes to avoid

• Accepting orders without a time: every order must have its collection slot, even those taken by phone.
• Slots that are too wide: "between 19:00 and 21:00" is no use at all. Quarter-hours are better.
• Not updating sold-out items: a customer who orders the bufala and finds it changed at collection won't order online again.
• Replying to messages one by one: if the basket arrives complete, confirming is enough.

What to expect in the first weeks

The switch isn't immediate. In the first two or three weeks written orders will be a part of the total, then they'll grow as the link gets around and customers get used to it. It's worth measuring: count the calls on a Saturday before you start and on a Saturday a month later. It's the most honest way to see how many hours you've won back.

How to do it with NovaMenu

With NovaMenu, the online menu, WhatsApp orders with collection slots, the order pause and sold-out items are all in one place, and you pay no commission on orders. If you'd like to see how it would work with your menu, book a 20-minute demo or read the page for pizzerias.