This article will provide a guide to reducing Rider Wait Time.
Rider Wait Time is measured as a percentage of orders where the rider waits more than 5 minutes to collect the food. This is measured as the difference from when the driver arrives at the restaurant, and when they leave.
Not sure where to track your Rider Wait Time? Check out our guide to reading your metric reports!
So why is it important to reduce rider wait time?
For the drivers, time is money. This means if they wait too long they may reject or cancel a customer’s order. The longer a delivery person waits, the longer the customer waits, which has a negative impact on their experience. And they might not order from you again AND leave you a bad rating.
Let’s go through some statistics on driver behaviour!
On average, how much longer do you think a driver waits to collect an order once they’ve arrived?
It’s 8 minutes - this is because if a driver waits much longer than 8 minutes they are missing out on potential earnings with more deliveries.
How much more likely are drivers to reject an order before arriving at the restaurant if they know you have a high wait time?
It’s 38% more likely - this is because if a driver knows that your restaurant repeatedly gets orders late, they will avoid accepting to deliver them.
How much more likely are drivers to cancel an order after they have arrived at your site and you tell them there’s a higher wait time?
It’s 2x more likely - this is because again, the longer the driver waits, the less they can earn, so they will decide whether your order is worth it.
Clearly the delivery drivers experience of your restaurant matters too, so what small things can you do to maybe get them to wait that little bit longer?
Establish a clearly visible and easily accessible order collection area to make the handover process more efficient
Communicate politely and honestly with delivery people, and consider giving them a space to wait in to avoid interrupting your in-store operations in the even of a delay.
So ensure you apply everything you have learned above to minimise your rider wait time, and get your customers order ready for the target time listed on the top of the ticket ⏱️
Let’s go through a final checklist going over how to reduce Rider Wait Time!
As you check these off, have a think about how you can apply these in your own restaurant 👇🏻
Have you established a designated area for delivery orders to be collected?
Are you preparing your orders for the expected arrival of the delivery person?
Are you using the time management tools to manage your incoming orders?
Do you have the appropriate number of staff rostered on to service both in-store and delivery orders?
Have you established an order management system for your incoming orders?
Now let’s recap:
Rider Wait Time is the time it takes for the rider to collect the food
The 5-minute threshold is the maximum time a rider should wait to collect the food
Restaurants can improve rider wait time by preparing the food around 2 minutes before the scheduled driver arrival
Not sure where to track your Rider Wait Time? Check out our guide to reading your metric reports!
In need of Deliveroo Rider Tags to help bring down your Rider Wait time? Let us know!