How to Group Order on CaterCow with Polling
For those ordering for groups who want more control over what they’re eating, we’ve launched a feature called “Polling”, effectively a group order functionality. For select menus, you can send out a link to your team with menu items for them to choose. Once all your employees or guests have chosen what they want, you can make adjustments like adding extra meals for short-notice guests, drinks, desserts, etc. While we've set it up to be relatively self-explanatory, we'll walk you through that process below! If you have any trouble, email us at support@catercow.com and we'll get back to you right away!
1. First, if you aren't already there, navigate to the CaterCow search page here (if you've already chosen a menu, skip to step 2!). You'll then enter your delivery address, date, time, and expected headcount (your options will update in real-time). Then you'll click the "Group Order Poll" filter button to find all the menus that are eligible for group ordering.
2. When you find the menu you like, click on the menu and it will bring you to the menu details page, which is where you'll find all the details about the specific menu and caterer, as well as where you'll begin the poll process. Click the "Start Group Order" button to start! (clicking the "Customize & Pay" button takes you through a normal orders checkout process)
3. From the pop-out you'll be able to pick the options that you want your team to choose from. You know your team best in terms of if you want to give them more vegetarian options, no pork options, etc. Keep in mind, some menus will limit how many options you can choose (ie. 5 max types of sandwiches). If a menu limits your choices, once you click the max number of options, the rest will be grayed out.
4. If you don't like the options listed out, certain menus allow you to create your own choices. If you want to customize the different parts of the meal, you'll scroll down to the bottom of the list where you'll find a "Create Your Own Combo" button. Click that button to open up the options you can customize. You'll create the item(s) and then click "add to my options" so that you can now select that choice for your team. Once you are done making custom combos, you can then click the blue "Create Group Order Poll" button
4a. Instead of you needing to custom create combos, some poll menus allow you to tick a checkbox at the bottom that will allow your guests to create their own "Custom Combo's" when they choose their menu items, you'll see that noted at the bottom of the choices list, if it's available on that menu (2nd screenshot below).
5. Once you've created the poll, you'll be brought to a page with a link to that specific poll. You can then send that link to your team via email, Slack, etc. so they can respond!
6. You've just created a Group Poll order! Well done. Once you send the link to your team, your teammates will be asked to sign up for an account when they make their first selection so that for further ordering, checking out and choosing options is a breeze.
7. If you click on the blue "View Group Order" button, you'll be brought to your group order page where you can do the following:
Monitor the options your team has selected
Add extra meals for teammates
View the poll link and the poll submission deadline
Update the delivery date, time, or add a title to the poll if you have multiple departments
Add a poll to your team calendar. If you set up multiple polls all at once, you'll want to tick the checkbox to share it on the calendar so that you can send your team one link that gives them access to all the polls in one place, rather than needing to send them each individual poll link. If you tick the checkbox, a blue link will appear on the word "Calendar"
8. Now that you have a poll or two created, you might be wondering where to access them from your CaterCow account? Navigate to your "Orders Page" by hovering over your name in the top right corner of the page and clicking "Orders" from the dropdown. You'll see caterer confirmed orders with solid gray outlines, and prospective group poll orders (waiting to be submitted to the caterer) with a dotted outline. Click the the blue "View Poll" button to get to your specific polls page, where you can track all the responses to your poll, and see and do the items listed in step 7 above
9. When you are ready to checkout, you'll press the blue "Go to Checkout" button. That will pop up a new modal that will ask you if you need extra meals. If you add extra meals from this screen, they will not be tied to anyone's name and will simply be labeled "extra meal" upon delivery.
10. After clicking the blue "Proceed to Checkout" button, you'll be brought to the official checkout page where you'll be able to review the selections your colleagues made, update your address or delivery details, add on additional items like drinks, desserts etc. (if offered) and we'll give you one more opportunity to add on "extra meals" if you forgot. Once you are ready, you'll click the "Place Order" button!
Happy Polling!
P.S. Here is what the poll looks like to your team/guests!
