Fake and uncollected orders: how a restaurant can protect itself

Every restaurant that takes orders for pickup or cash on delivery knows this scenario: an order arrives, the kitchen prepares it, and the customer never shows up. The phone goes unanswered.

You can’t prevent it completely. But you can reduce it — and you can know who’s doing it.

What one uncollected order costs

More than it seems:

• ingredients — the food is usually thrown away;
• kitchen time — during the rush, that time is taken away from other orders;
• the courier — if it’s a delivery order, a wasted trip;
• capacity — in that time slot you may have turned down a real order.

One uncollected order a week adds up to 50 prepared orders a year that nobody paid for.

1. Confirm the order before preparing it

The kitchen shouldn’t start cooking until it accepts the order. In Restoran Pilot every order first arrives as new, and the kitchen clicks Accept or Reject. Meanwhile the customer sees “Waiting for confirmation…”.

That gives you a moment to look at the order: is the customer known, is the address OK, is the order unusually large?

2. A clear pickup time

With pickup, customers often don’t come because they don’t know when to come. When you accept the order, choose when it will be ready — 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes — and the customer sees it. A specific time reduces “I thought it wasn’t ready yet”.

3. Track who doesn’t collect

This is the most important measure. When a customer doesn’t collect an order, click ⚠️ Not collected in the kitchen. The system:

• increases that customer’s uncollected-orders counter;
• shows the number on the customer card, together with their full order history.

Next time the same phone number orders, you know who you’re dealing with. You can reset the counter if it was a misunderstanding.

4. Customer notes

On the customer card, write a note: “2× not collected, call before preparing” or “regular guest, always pays”. Notes are visible to every staff member with access to customers, so it doesn’t depend on who’s on shift that evening.

Notes are useful for good things too: allergies, favourite dishes, regular guests you mark with a star ⭐.

5. A call rule for risky orders

Agree on an internal rule, e.g.:

• customer with 1 uncollected order → call before preparing;
• customer with 2 or more → call required, no answer means no preparation;
• new customer with a large order (e.g. over 8,000 RSD) → a short confirmation call.

A call takes 20 seconds and saves a whole order’s worth of ingredients.

6. A minimum order for delivery

Fake orders are most often placed for delivery. A minimum order per zone doesn’t prevent abuse, but it reduces the number of “test” and frivolous orders. More about zones and minimum orders in Your own restaurant delivery.

7. A clear message on the website

A short sentence at checkout or on the home page helps more than you’d think:

We start preparing your order only after confirmation. Please collect your order at the agreed time.

Most uncollected orders aren’t ill intent, just forgetfulness. A reminder works.

Conclusion

You can’t eliminate uncollected orders completely, but you can:

1. not cook before confirmation;
2. give the customer an exact pickup time;
3. record who doesn’t collect and call risky customers.

All three are part of Restoran Pilot at no extra cost. See how the whole flow from order to kitchen works in Kitchen display: why orders shouldn’t arrive by email.

Frequently asked questions