ChowNow

The menu was easy to customize.It was easy to take items off the menu temporarily when we ran out of items.We liked getting orders via Google (maybe there is a more technical name for this - we only knew that we were getting orders placed by customers using Google ordering...) and we would not have gotten this business if we hadn't been using ChowNow.ChowNow support was almost always easy to reach by phone.ChowNow provided a iPad on which we received orders - it was quicker and more responsive hardware than the Android tablets provided by most other ordering and delivery services. ChowNow provided some basic marketing services such as e-mail blasts to the list of our customers that we developed via accepting online orders through ChowNow.Customer information (name, e-mail address, etc.) was accessible to us through the ChowNow system, unlike with other ordering and delivery services, which keep this information for themselves.ChowNow reporting features were mostly good (although I would have liked to have been able to reach back farther in time when generating reports).

ChowNow lacked a feature that would allow us to "up-charge" - that is, to add an additional charge for a customization requested in an order. Other ordering/delivery services do offer this, and it is very convenient (and eliminates the need for us to "eat the cost" of some special request.ChowNow has gotten more expensive over the years, to the point where I am tempted to look at competing products.Support in the area of marketing was unreliable during our first year using ChowNow. Our assigned marketing person did not respond to e-mails or phone calls. Fortunately that employee left the company and was replaced with someone more responsive.ChowNow allowed customers to place their orders even days in advance. Occasionally this caused a problem, such as when we planned to be closed on a particular day, but had not let ChowNow know about it yet (we had to figure out a way to get back to a customer and politely tell them we could not jake their Phad Thai on Thursday of next week...). However, if I made the effort, I suspect I could have found a way to "turn off" or limit this ordering in advance capability.Another con - occasionally I would test our ChowNow ordering by getting onto our website via my phone, and clicking on the "order now" link. In a small minority of instances, this resulted in my getting a screen full of gibberish rather than an ordering form. ChowNow support had no solution for this. It didn't happen often and doesn't seem to be happening now, though.