Merchant Frequently Asked Questions by orderTopia

General Questions
Restaurant-Specific Questions
Retail-Specific Questions

General Questions

How does orderTopia work?

When your customers place an order, that order is sent from their mobile device or computer to our servers on the "cloud" (the Internet). 

For restaurants, we then send the order directly to your POS to print just before the appointed pick-up time.  Your customer pays for their order at the time when they place their order, so all they need to do is show up at the appointed time to pick up their order (unless it's a delivery order). 

For retailers, after an order is made, we send it to your email or website, or both.  It's your choice how you wish to be notified of new orders.  You then either ship the customer their order, or set it aside for pickup, depending on the order.   

But that's about all of the "secret sauce" we can share with you.

How much does orderTopia cost?

orderTopia starts $35 a month, and we also take a small fee (2%) of every transaction (for example, on a $10 order, this would be a 20¢ fee).  

Only $35 a month? What does that include?

Here is a full listing of orderTopia's different service offerings, and how much each service level costs.

I need help.  Is technical support free?

We offer free online forums for technical support, as well as free screencasts and podcasts on a variety of subjects from updating your store to using Facebook Connect.  We also offer telephone support, but it is not free.  Telephone support is sold in hourly blocks: 1 - 3 hours for $75 an hour, 4+ hours for $50 an hour.  Telephone support calls are measured in 15 minute increments.  So if you purchased 2 hours of telephone support, and your help call only took 15 minutes, you'd have 1.75 hours of help left.   

I see other stores have their own "branded" apps.  How do I get one of those?

orderTopia is happy to build you your own custom app for the iTunes app store.  A branded app is available as part of the $100 / month service subscription.  These apps are very similar to the orderTopia app where all of our participating merchants are listed.  However, having your own branded app does offer unique exposure in the app store.  For example, Elevation Burger has their own app (available October, 2009), which can be found by searching the app store for "Elevation Burger."  Even if you choose to purchase a branded app, your store will continue to appear inside the orderTopia app, as well on the orderTopia website.  To talk with us about getting your own personalized app, please contact us here. 

That's pretty cool.  Any other special stuff I can get for my store?

We also offer custom designed widgets for social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.  These are custom-built applications, so we price them on every time, but here's an example of a widget, and it's cost.  For one restaurant, we created a Facebook fan page widget to push coupon specials to fans.  The fans could then use these personal digital coupons on that day (and that day only) as part of their mobile or online order.  This widget cost $50 (one-time fee).  To find out more about custom applications, please contact us here.   

Restaurant-Specific Questions

How do I know that my customer will pay for their order?

On every order, customers pay for their food before their order is finalized and sent to your restaurant.  So rest assured you will get paid for every order made with orderTopia.

What do I do if my customer doesn't show up to pick up their order?

Your restaurant is your business, and nobody knows it better than you.  If a customer doesn't show up to pick-up their order, there's several things you can do, and you should do what is right for you.  On one hand, the customer has paid for their order.  On the other hand, they didn't come get their food.  It's not your fault they didn't show up, but that may not be the way the customer sees it.  We suggest you contact the customer and ask what they would like you to do (place the food in the refrigerator for pickup later, give it away to someone else, etc.), but the bottom line is this will be a rare occurrence, and you should handle it the way you think best.  There's not an easy right answer.

We messed up a customer's order.  What should we do?

This is another question without a "right" answer.  You know what the best solution is for your restaurant--whether you give the customer a free meal, or fix their order, or simply apologize to the customer.  We all make mistakes.  The important part is how we fix the mistake.

Retail-Specific Questions

How will I know when a customer has made an order?

There are several different ways you can be notified of a new order.  These methods are: email, order receipt on your store's public "wall," order receipt on your store's administration page, or text message.  You can choose to be notified in any or all of these ways.

If I own a retail store, do I need to ship orders?

You can decide whether or not you will ship orders.  The alternative to shipping orders is having orders picked up only.  This would be less work, but it also limits your ability to sell to customers outside of your immediate area, which is one of the major advantages of orderTopia.  We expand your reach from your physical storefront to every one with a Smartphone or Internet connection.