An ISO Sees Tasty Potential in Online Ordering for Fast Food

An online-ordering system for fast food, introduced in January by a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based independent sales organization, has been adopted by more than 1,200 locations so far, including small proprietors looking to compete with large chains. The system, which allows consumers to order and pay for pizzas, sandwiches, and other items at the restaurant's Web site, is expected to be processing more than 1 million transactions on an annualized basis by the end of the year, says Terri Melle, director of marketing for Direct Technology Innovations, whose Click to Go system handles credit, debit, and gift card payments. Privately held DTI, which handles more than 50 million transactions annually for more than 5,000 merchant locations as an ISO for First National Bank of Omaha, is now in talks with at least one national pizza chain for Click to Go. To provide the technical solution for Click to Go, DTI has struck non-exclusive agreements with two vendors of online-ordering software, Atlanta-based Kudzu Interactive Inc. and Fresno, Calif.-based Delphis LDG Inc. With Click to Go, customers order food and quantities, together with specific add-ons like toppings, from a restaurant's online menu. The system allows them to specify a window of time for pick-up or delivery. They pay at a checkout page. The order is routed directly into the restaurant's point-of-sale system or to a dedicated fax line. Merchants can download the application, which carries monthly maintenance fees starting at $19.95 for a single store. The fee increases with the number of locations and menu items, Melle says. Click to Go works best, Melle says, with easily packaged food such as pizza, sandwiches, or Chinese dishes that require preparation time. It has the potential to generate more orders for proprietors while smoothing out phone-in operations at peak times, which can lead to better order accuracy, according to Melle. “It alleviates all that bottlenecking,” she says. The system stores details of each order for future use by the customer. “I log on and it knows me,” Melle says, who adds DTI has certified compliance with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard. DTI introduced Click to Go because employees grew weary of placing phone orders for lunch, Melle says. “We do a lot of internal lunches for visitors and employees,” she says. “We order a lot of pizzas. We thought, wouldn't be nice if we could just click, click, click and it's delivered, and we don't have to run around and find the boss's credit card.” Recognizing an opportunity among quick-serve and casual-dining restaurants, which represent a significant portion of its customer base, the 6-year-old company began internal preparations and started training its independent sales agents. Now, with transactions flowing, e-commerce for fast food may become a hot item for DTI. “It seems the growth potential is humongous,” Melle says.