Handling orders

How orders reach you

When a customer orders from your kitchen, the request arrives in the app as a new order with its own order number. It shows the dishes, the delivery address, when the customer wants it — now, or a pre-order for a later day and time — the payment method, and the total including your delivery fee.

You move each order through the same steps the customer sees: Requested, Accepted, Preparing, Out for delivery and Completed. Potlly never holds payment, so you keep the full amount.

1. Respond quickly

A hungry customer can order from more than one kitchen. The one that responds first usually keeps the order.

• Aim to respond to a new request within 15 minutes during the hours you are open.
• If you cannot take an order, say so straight away so the customer can try somewhere else.
• Mark your kitchen as closed in the app when you are away or fully booked, rather than leaving requests unanswered.
• For a pre-order, check that you can make the date and time before you accept it.

2. Check the details

Before you accept and start cooking, read the whole order:

• Each dish and the quantity
• The delivery address, and the day and time the customer wants it
• The subtotal, your delivery fee and the total
• How the customer plans to pay

Prices on an order come from your listing. If a price or a dish has changed, update it in the app before you accept new orders, so what customers see is what you charge.

3. Get paid

Customers pay you directly, by Interac e-Transfer or cash on delivery. The order shows which they chose.

• For large orders, party trays or anything you need to buy ingredients for, it is reasonable to ask for a deposit or full payment by e-Transfer before you start. Make sure the customer knows before you accept.
• Before you cook, check an e-Transfer has actually landed in your bank account — not just a screenshot of one.
• For cash, let the customer know if you cannot give change.

4. Prepare and pack

• Cook only at your approved facility, and follow safe food-handling practice for temperature, storage and hygiene.
• Use sealed, leak-proof containers. Tape or bag soups and stews.
• Label each container with the dish and the date it was made, and flag anything containing common allergens.
• Check the packed order against the order in the app before it leaves.
• Keep hot food hot and cold food cold until it reaches the customer.

5. Deliver

• Move the order to Out for delivery when it leaves your kitchen, so the customer knows it is on its way.
• If you are going to be late, let the customer know before the time they asked for — not after.
• Check the delivery address on the order, including any buzzer or unit number, before you set off.
• Mark the order Completed once the food has been handed over and you have been paid.

6. After the order

Once an order is completed, the customer can review your kitchen. Reviews raise your ranking, so great food and a smooth delivery are the best way to earn them. Never offer discounts or free food in exchange for a rating, and never review your own kitchen.

Every order stays in the app with its number, so you have a record of what was ordered and agreed if a question comes up later.

When something goes wrong

• A mistake in the order. Apologise, and offer to fix it — replace the missing item, refund the difference or take it off their next order. Customers remember how a problem was handled more than the problem itself.
• The customer cancels. Decide your cancellation policy in advance — for example, deposits are non-refundable within 24 hours — and make sure customers know it before you accept an order.
• Nobody answers at delivery. Try to reach the customer, wait a reasonable time, and keep a note of your attempts.
• An unfair or abusive review. Email support@potlly.com with your kitchen name and the review. We remove reviews that are fake, abusive or not about a real order.

If a customer reports feeling unwell after eating your food, take it seriously: stop serving the dish until you know what happened, and follow your local public health reporting requirements.

Staying safe

• Only deliver to addresses you are comfortable with. You can always offer pickup instead.
• Be cautious of anyone who overpays and asks you to send the difference back — it is a common scam.
• Never share login codes or passwords. Potlly will never ask you for them.
• Report harassment, threats or suspicious customers to support@potlly.com.

Our community standards apply to customers and kitchens alike.