Services → POS & Systems → Case Study
Taking Back Control: How a Hamilton Restaurant Reduced Delivery App Dependency
🍽 Restaurant & Cafe
$1,200
per month saved in delivery commissions
65%
of takeaway orders now placed direct
3.8 → 4.6★
Google rating improvement
About the Client
A family-owned restaurant in Hamilton, Newcastle. 45 seats plus a busy takeaway trade. The owners had been using UberEats and DoorDash exclusively for online ordering — it was convenient but came at a steep price: 25–30% commission on every single order sent through the apps.
The Challenge
At peak, the delivery platforms were costing the restaurant $1,400 per month in commissions. Worse, the owners had no direct relationship with their takeaway customers — no email list, no way to run promotions, no repeat-purchase loyalty. Their Google Business Profile was incomplete: missing business hours, no photos uploaded, and dozens of unanswered reviews (including several negative ones dragging down their rating). QR codes on every table pointed to a PDF menu that was two years out of date. The overall impression for a new customer researching online was poor, despite the food being genuinely excellent.
What We Did
- Square POS setup with full staff training — streamlined kitchen tickets and end-of-day reporting
- Direct online ordering system integrated into the restaurant’s own website — customers order and pay at 0% commission
- QR table ordering — customers scan a table code, browse the current menu, order and pay without downloading an app or waiting for staff
- Complete Google Business Profile overhaul: current hours, 35 new photos, menu link, booking integration, and review response templates for staff to use
- Facebook page refresh with current menu, weekly specials posts, and consistent branding
The Results
Within 90 days, 65% of all takeaway orders were coming through the restaurant’s own direct ordering system — saving $1,200 per month in platform fees. The QR table ordering reduced wait times on Friday and Saturday nights and increased average order values by 12% (customers tend to add extras when ordering at their own pace). The Google Business Profile overhaul saw the rating climb from 3.8 to 4.6 stars as the team began responding to reviews and new happy customers left positive feedback prompted by a post-visit follow-up card.
“The QR ordering was a game changer on busy Friday nights. And seeing $0 commission on a $600 Saturday night of online orders — that felt amazing.”
— Tony, Owner
Want to Stop Paying 30% to Delivery Apps?
If UberEats and DoorDash are eating into your margins, there’s a better way. We set up direct ordering systems that put the money back in your pocket — and Square POS to tie it all together.