Restaurant Order Pads

How can order pads benefit your staff?

Among catering consumables, order pads could too easily escape your notice as a necessity when you seek to equip your staff with organisational tools to help them do their job efficiently and effectively.

When we’re talking about order pads, we’re referring to the small books that waiters and waitresses use to take your orders and communicate dietary requirements to the kitchen. When we consider this, it really puts into perspective how many unbridled benefits a catering consumable can have on your business when we consider the benefits in relation to efficiency, organisation and the satisfaction of your customers.

What are order pads?

Firstly, it would be a great idea to establish exactly what we’re referring to when we talk about order pads. Order pads are used by front of house waiting staff to take down your orders in precise detail and also note down any dietary or special requirements a customer may have. Have you ever wondered how the waiting staff that serve you your delicious meals can write down a full table of orders in such a small space and so quickly?

Between waiters and the chefs that prepare your food, there’s an unwritten list of slang and abbreviations to help denote dishes and drinks that each respective table has ordered. However, an effective order pad can go a long way in improving the organisation and understanding of your waiting staff as well as provide a strong line of communication between the eating space and the kitchen.

The order pads available at Crosbys come in various sizes in both carbon and carbonless bound product lines to make them more suited to disposal. Additionally, our order pads aren’t just blank sheets of paper; many of our pads are already printed and suitable to the hospitality industry to make life easier. With markers showing spaces for table numbers as well as starters and mains dishes, this creates a clear order sheet for waiters and kitchen staff to consult when preparing your meal.

Furthermore, recording accurate orders across your order pad can be a great solution to checking why a till is up or down at the end of a service and working out where any discrepancies in payment may be. Place your order with Crosbys today and supply your waiting staff with the best order pads money can buy.

What are catering consumables?

Catering consumables are the replenishable items that we use to keep our kitchens, restaurants and hotels ticking over. They are the often overlooked products that people don’t consider when running a business and maintaining a kitchen that considers health and safety as well as food hygiene standards.

Catering consumables are the little things capable of imbuing your business with that little edge that other establishments may not consider. Whether you want to possess an endless supply of drinking straws in various sizes or stock napkins and cocktail stirrers, these items are essential whether you like it or not.

Consumables can also be condiments such as ketchup and mayonnaise - but, for the most part, our consumables are products that we buy to improve the health and safety and hygiene standards within our businesses.

When we talk about food hygiene, we’re referring to products that we use to help improve food preparation and protect our staff from any food spills that come into contact with our skin. These products can be anything from powdered gloves to wipes and plastic aprons - and they all help in reducing the chances and possibilities of dangerous bacteria like salmonella and E. coli that can be transferred between poultry foods and humans through contact.

With this in mind, why not take a glimpse at some of the amazing order pads available at Crosbys?

What pads are available at Crosbys?

Crosbys sell many different catering consumables, but their bestselling products include order pads that come in a range of sizes and designs. The order pads available from Crosbys are in a range of sizes, with some pads that can fit into back or top pockets - allowing them to be easily accessible for your waiting staff.

Additionally, some pads have more sheets than others, making them suitable for large drinks or food orders. Another feature of our order pads is the coloured underlay which allows two copies of each order to be made; one for the kitchen staff and one for the use of cashing up the till at the end of a busy service. Here are just a few of the order pads that Crosbys enable you to buy for your catering establishment today:

• Order Pad, 100 Sheet Single – This is the smallest of the order pads available at Crosbys and is perhaps most suited to keeping in a back pocket or for waiting staff who work predominantly in quiet cafes. They also come with a blank design, meaning that it's down to the waiting staff to deliver a clear and organised order to the kitchen.
• Order Pad, 50 Sheet Duplicated Carbon – This second order pad is slightly larger than the last, but still suitable for back pockets. With a simplistic blank design, this carbon option has less sheets but a wider surface area for when you want to write larger orders. It should be noted that all of the order pads available at Crosbys can be bought in boxes of 50.
• Order Pad, 500 Sheet Duplicated Carbon (Large) – This is the largest order pad available from Crosbys, with full measurements listed on the site. This order pad is perfect for waiting staff who work with large function rooms and tables with guests of over 15 people. It allows lots of food and drinks orders to be detailed in an organised fashion and features a design and layout letting you input the table and cover number as well as the date. This makes it easier at the end of the night for you to establish bills for large orders as well as deal with any dietary requirements from customers.

How can order pads benefit your staff?

Order pads can benefit your staff in more ways than one as well as across many departments. Both the kitchen staff and the waiting staff can benefit from an organised order sheet, as it allows messages to be transmitted effectively between often loud and chaotic kitchens.

This means that, if there are any special dietary requirements or health issues related to the order, the chef or cook can be easily notified as a means not to harm the customer. Here’s a list of some of the benefits an order pad can have for your staff in all areas of the hospitality industry:

• Easy-to-understand layout - The wording, design and layout of the pads available at Crosbys are perfect for a diverse collection of businesses within the hospitality and catering industries. Furthermore, the layout features jargon that transcends all areas of hospitality, so staff can understand what each section of the order pads means without hesitation.
• A simple-to-understand design allows waiting staff to simply and effectively write down large orders in a way that offers clarity to the kitchen staff who are working in a hectic and chaotic environment. Anyone who has worked in the hospitality industry will understand the importance of keeping an order plan clear and readable. Otherwise, the person responsible for that plan will face the wrath of the head chef.
• Tough inner board creates long-lasting use – Crosbys pads use a stiff inner board which gives the order pad a solid feel perfect for writing upon, as well as longevity when it comes to taking it in and out of your pocket. This board can also provide a perfect safety cover against any major spills of wine or beer that may compromise the order sheet that you have just taken. This will benefit your waiting staff, as it allows them to keep their own order book organised and useable throughout many different shifts.
• High-quality paper and tough binding – Purchasing order pads for your bar and establishment is never going to be highest on your priority list, but it always helps for you to do the best with the little things to allow the big things to add up. When buying order pads, you should always purchase pads with a tough sealed binding and carbon paper. This will ensure that your waiting staff’s order pads remain firm long into use and no orders are lost when you are transporting them to the kitchen.

What business benefit from order pads?

As we've already gathered, there are a few different businesses within the hospitality and catering industry that can benefit from order pads, but the size of your company and the number of its customers can determine what order pads are most suitable for your business.

Crosbys offer a range of order pads of various sizes available to buy in packs of 50, so it’s a good idea to pick the perfect catering consumable the first time around. Here’s just a small list of some of the establishments that can benefit from order pads and what size pads would best suit them.

• Restaurants – These eateries are the aficionados and biggest users of order pads, simply because taking orders and serving customers’ food and drink is what they do. The size of your restaurant will stipulate what size order pad you need, but a medium-sized book is probably the most suited. Nobody wants a waiter or waitress who doesn’t write down their order or records the order incorrectly - that’s why a book with a layout is perfect for those busy mid-sized restaurant tables.
• Coffee shops – It’s rare that you’ll ever be required to take a table order from a coffee shop, but when it comes to coffees, people are very precise about what they want. Did they want a latte or a cappuccino? What milk did they say they needed? When your coffee shop has a long list of coffees with a large selection of variables, it’s always wise for you to have a smaller order book on hand to write down a list of coffees that you need to make. When following this tip, you won't have to dread being greeted with groans and moans because a customer has tasted skimmed milk instead of the almond option for which they had asked.
• Corporate events – If you’re a member of waiting staff at a large-scale corporate event, you know you’re in for a tough night. Often, you’re in charge of a couple of tables of 10 people each, and the drinks orders are constant while the food orders are precise. A large order pad where you can accurately record your orders in a readable fashion will be perfect for helping you keep your cool when those drinks orders begin to stack up.

When you want to purchase order pads, you should never look past Crosbys as your number one supplier of catering consumables. In using order pads, you can help your waiting staff to record orders, while you can also bring more efficiency and order to both front of house and your kitchen. Look around the Crosbys website today to discover more of our products.