Rachel Do
Staff Writer at FoodServiceDirect.com
1. Speed Is Everything
One of the most important parts of food delivery is speed. The total time that it takes for the restaurants to prepare the ordered food from the customers and to deliver it to their front door greatly affects the overall rating on delivery apps. According to Deliverect, 60 percent of the customers said that the delivery time is a key factor when it comes to ordering their food online. With the majority of the food prepared hot, fast delivery not only secures the freshness of the food, but also the warmth. In order for customers to enjoy their food at their homes, it is crucial to maintain the quality of the food as if it just been cooked.
2. Provide Special Offers
It is important to show the customers that the restaurants value their orders and are willing to offer more than the bare minimum. By offering special deals such as free drinks and appetizers or discounts on the orders, restaurants show that they are thinking from the customers' perspective. Not only such special offers catch customers' attention, but they also are likely to be featured on the main page of the delivery apps, as Deliverect and Uber Eats note. Additionally, if the restaurants provide special offers, it is likely for the customers to give high ratings due to the service they've received and more importantly, it increases the chances of the customers reordering from the same places in the future.

3. Reasonable Prices with Reasonable Portions
Some customers might be hesitant to order delivery because of its high prices. Some restaurants do charge extra for the delivery compared to dining in or ordering takeouts. It is true that with delivery fee and with the addition of tips for the delivery partners, sometimes delivery isn't appealing to some customers. Other times, some restaurants disappoint their customers by offering small portions but charging them high prices for the food. In order to receive high ratings on the delivery apps, it would be helpful to give the customers reasonable portions and receive reasonable prices that the majority of the public would agree on. Then, the customers wouldn't feel like they've been robbed of their money and would be satisfied with their food. Satisfication will naturally lead to higher ratings on the delivery apps for the restaurants.
4. Value Existing Customers' Criticisms
No one can be perfect--and that's why it's important to listen to constructive criticisms. Ratings for a restaurant cannot always be full five stars because there are a variety of customers with a variety of tastes and preferences. If the restaurants want to raise their ratings, it is important to listen to customers' criticisms about the food, the service, and the delivery. Then, by reflecting on the criticims, the restaurants can improve the overall quality of the food and service. If the restaurants continue to listen to the customers, it is a matter of time before the delivery ratings increase.
5. Expand the Menu Reguarly

While consistently expanding the menu once in a while can be a challenge, it demonstrates that the restaurants are willing to offer new options for their customers. Not only adding new options to the menu attracts both new and existing customers, but it also increases the chances of getting featured in multiple categories on the delivery apps. As for Uber Eats for instance, having a variety of food on the menu helps the restaurants to be categorized multiple times. This would lead to an additional exposure to more customers using the delivery apps for the restaurants, meaning more customers would place their orders. Adding more customers' reviews is important to gain or maintain a high rating on the delivery apps.
6. Communicate with the Delivery People
When the restaurants are using the delivery apps, it is natural for them to contact delivery people who specifically work for those delivery apps when the orders are ready to be delivered. It is important for the restaurants to continuously communicate with the delivery people who work for the apps because there are times they don't arrive on time. This could lead to a delay of the delivery, which would cause the customers to leave a lower rating on the apps, compared to when their orders arrive on time. Additionally, it is also significant to make sure that delivery people are heading to the right place without any confusion. The third-party delivery people also could not be familiar with where the restaurants are located if this is their first time, so it helps if the restaurants keep in track of where they are, making sure that the food is delivered on time.
7. Take Responsibility for Conflicts During Deliveries
While the majority of the food deliveries are quite successful with delivery apps, sometimes certain problems could arise. The delivery apps could crash all of a sudden for example, and this is a common problem given that there's an increase in the number of people who use delivery apps today. DoorDash, one of the main delivery apps in America, actually crashed last April for an hour, causing many customers to complain about their extremely delayed orders. If such problems are inevitable, then it is important for the restaurants to constantly update their customers on the situation and make sure that they're aware of the reasoning behind the delay. The restaurants can manually give updates on the orders so that the customers have an expected time for their orders to arrive. While some conflicts are inevitable, the response to the conflicts is up to the restaurants.
8. Provide Complimentaries from Time to Time
In addition to special offers such as discounts and free delivery, simply offering small complimentaries to the customers can lead to an increase in the ratings for the restaurants. These can be appetizers such as soups or salads, or desserts such as cookies or pieces of cake. They don't have to be something big--it's the thought that counts. If the customers receive complimentaries in their orders, they are going to appreciate the service and would likely to give a high rating and leave a positive review for the restaurants. Such small actions will build a good reputation for the restaurants, meaning that the chances of continuously receiving high ratings would also increase.

9. Preserve the Freshness of the Food
It is true that sometimes the quality of the delievery food decreases due to delivery time and the distance between the restaurants and the destinations. Therefore, it is critical of the restaurants to have their food to be in the best quality when they're delivered. For example, if they have noodles with soup, it would be smart to pack the noodles and the soup separately. If there's some distance between the restaurants and the destinations, it would be helpful if the restaurants packed the food in a specialized container that would keep the food hot throughout the delivery. On the other hand, if cold food such as ice cream is being delievered, it would be helpful to include some dry ice with ice cream so that it will not melt.
10. Minimize the Errors
The last tip is to minimize any errors from the beginning to the end. There are certain instances where some orders have been misplaced, or the restaurants forgot to include drinks or sides. These mistakes can be avoided if they do final checkups and make sure that the orders are correct. Errors like delayed deliveries can also be avoided if there's continuous communication between the third-party delivery people. The crucial factor is to always check up on the orders and the delivery processes--such actions would naturally minimize mistakes along the way. If the customers are satisfied with the delivery, then those high ratings on the delivery apps would come right back to the restaurants.