Rider Wait Time is a key metric for any delivery kitchen, please see a description below alongside a video from Deliveroo explaining how they calculate it.
Rider Wait Time is measured as a percentage - it is the percentage of order where the rider waits more than 5 minutes to collect the food.
- Why 5 minutes? Kitchen are complicated and food has varying prep times, but if the rider waits more than 5 minutes this means the customer will too.
- How is it measured? When an order comes in, the platforms calculate (using data from previous orders) how long it will take - they then set a rider to collect the food once that 'prep time' is complete (and they put that time on the order). When the rider crosses into the restaurant their GPS flags them as present, and then measures how long they wait. (note, if the rider arrives early, it wont start counting until your prep time is complete)
- Is it important? Disappointing customer expectations is the cause for the majority of bad reviews and no-one likes to wait longer than they were told on their app, so rider wait has a huge impact on your customer rating and thus your sales.
- The riders are causing me problems! Some riders can cause issues that will affect your RWT, and thats to be expected from time to time, but remember that any bad rider can be reported on the platform hubs, and that keeping a friendly relationship with good riders is key for delivery success.
- How can I improve it? Firstly, its key your restaurant has all the correct details registered for instructions and pick-up location; see the two links at the bottom of this page on how to update those. Secondly, always aim to prepare the food around 2 minutes before the scheduled driver arrival and then keep it warm; this way any prep delays can be accounted for.
Please see an example below of how this is shown on your operational report PDFs below:
Please see a video from Deliveroo explaining this metric and how to improve it here!
And then also some advice on handing over the order to riders & Deliveroo tips for rider relations: Rider Relations
Deliveroo are now tracking your rider wait time, and if you have over 30% rider wait time you may be penalised and be suspended from Deliveroo for 60 days (or longer).
Ways to reduce your driver wait time:
- Check your rider instructions are correct and detailed. Click here for to do this.
- Check your restaurant coordinates are correct. Click here for to do this.
Please note that when you join Sessions, you will have a call with one of our account managers to run through each of the operations metrics we measure and how they work.