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When an order doesn’t work for your kitchen, decline it from the order page and tell us why. In-house orders are declined right away (see What if it’s an In-House order?). For a CaterCow marketplace order, we reach out first to see if we can work things out with the customer.
Decline an order
1. From your Orders page, click the Needs Attention tab. New orders wait here until you accept or decline them.
2. Click Review Order to see the order’s details.
3. Click Decline at the top of the order page.
4. Choose the reason that fits best, like Kitchen is busy or We require a higher minimum for this delivery address.
5. Add an explanation of at least 10 characters, so we know what happened.
6. Click Decline Order to send your request. Depending on your reason, we may suggest a next step. For a minimum, we point you to your minimums, delivery zones, and fees.
7. Click Cancel to close the popup and go back to the order. The order is from the CaterCow marketplace, so it now shows Decline Requested. It isn’t declined yet: before we confirm the decline, we reach out to see if we can work things out with the customer.
How declining an order works
- A marketplace decline isn’t final until we confirm it. Once we do, we email you and the customer.
- Some reasons also close that kitchen for the order’s date, so no new orders come in for it: No delivery people, Not enough notice / too last minute, Kitchen is busy, Outside of business hours, Business is temporarily closed, Business is permanently closed, and Other. To reopen the date, click it again on your days off calendar.
- If that kitchen has other orders the same day, you’ll confirm you can still fulfill each one before you can send the decline.
- Declined marketplace orders can lower your packages’ place in CaterCow marketplace search.
- You can decline an order only before you accept it.
- The next step we suggest depends on your reason. It can point you to your menu, business hours, delivery areas, or days off, or let you ask us about courier partners when delivery is the problem.
What if it’s an In-House order?
Orders from your in-house ordering link, and Direct Entry orders you create for your own customers, work differently. Declining one is final right away: we let the customer know and release any payment hold on their card. If your reason would close the kitchen for that date, the popup asks you to choose Close my kitchen on this date or Keep my kitchen open on this date. You can change that later on your days off calendar.
What if I can’t fulfill the other orders that day either?
Email us right away at support@catercow.com, and we’ll help sort it out.