How to take restaurant orders on WhatsApp

Why WhatsApp orders go wrong

Customers wait, then order somewhere else

At peak time the phone fills up faster than one person can answer. Customers who wait ten minutes for a reply open a delivery app instead, and you pay the commission or lose the order.

Orders typed by hand carry mistakes

A missed option, a wrong size, a block number with one digit off. Each mistake means a remade order, a late driver or a refund.

One phone, one person

Only the person holding the phone can answer. When they are on a break, or leave the job, the chats and the customers go with the phone.

Chasing payment

“I will pay the driver” turns into no change, or a customer who is not home. And a cancelled cash order is food you have already cooked.

No record of your regulars

Every order sits in a chat. You cannot see who orders every week, who stopped ordering, or what they like, so you cannot thank them or win them back.

Fix the basics in WhatsApp Business

Use the free WhatsApp Business app, never a personal number. Then set it up so it answers the easy questions for you.

1. Use the number your customers already know, from your Instagram bio and your delivery bags.
2. Fill in the business profile: name, logo, address, opening hours and a link to your menu.
3. Write a greeting message with your ordering link, so customers who know what they want can order and pay without waiting for you.
4. Write an away message for when you are closed, with the same link.
5. Save quick replies for the questions you get all day: the menu, delivery areas, delivery fees and opening hours.
6. Label every chat by order status: new, paid, preparing, out for delivery. Nothing gets forgotten at the end of a busy hour.

Take every order without mistakes

1. Send a link to your menu, not photos. A link always shows today’s prices and what is in stock.
2. Repeat the whole order back in one message, with every option, and ask the customer to reply “yes”.
3. Get the full address and a location pin. In Kuwait, ask for the area, block, street, house or building number, and floor.
4. Say the total with the delivery fee before the kitchen starts.
5. Send a payment link for KNET or card before you prepare the order. Keep cash on delivery for customers you know.
6. Tell the customer when to expect the order, and message them when it leaves the branch.

When one phone is not enough

The WhatsApp Business app runs on one phone and a few linked devices, and every reply is typed by hand. Busy branches move to the WhatsApp Business Platform, through a provider. Three things change:

• A shared inbox: the whole team answers the same number from one screen, and you keep the WhatsApp app on your phone. Zyda’s inbox works this way, with Instagram messages beside WhatsApp.
• AI that answers at peak time: Zyna AI answers in Arabic and English from your live menu and prices, takes the order with a payment link, and hands complaints and unusual requests to your team.
• An ordering link that does the typing: customers order on your own website, pick every option themselves and pay there. The order reaches the kitchen exactly as they chose it.

Questions restaurant owners ask

Is the WhatsApp Business app free?

Yes. The app is free. On the WhatsApp Business Platform the provider charges its own fees, and Meta charges for some messages the business starts.

Can several people answer the same WhatsApp number?

With the Business app, a few linked devices can share one number. For a whole team, use a shared inbox on the WhatsApp Business Platform.

How do customers pay on WhatsApp?

Send a payment link for KNET or card before you prepare the order. Keep cash on delivery for customers you know.

Should I stop selling on delivery apps?

No. Delivery apps bring new customers. WhatsApp and your own website are where regulars order directly, and where you keep their details.