Collaboration is at the heart of what we do at Bath Pizza Co. Whether that’s with our partners who create our local produce in Bath and Somerset, our friends around the South West who make fantastic ciders and ales, or our technology partners.
In our introducing series we’ll be telling the stories of our partners, how we work with them and the story behind their business. In this article we introduce Ordoo CEO, Tom Dewhurst who we recently caught up with in a Q&A session here at Green Park Station, Bath.
Bath Pizza Co: Hey Tom, thanks for coming down to Bath Pizza Co and seeing us in action. Can you tell us a bit about Ordoo?
TD: Sure. Ordoo is an app for busy people to save time collecting coffee and lunch. You can now order and pay in advance at your favourite cafes, coffee shops and lunch spots to avoid waiting around and to earn loyalty rewards on your smartphone.
We're based in the University of Bath Innovation Centre by the bus station and we're really excited to be working some amazing local independent businesses. Bath is a great place to start a company and we are really enjoying the feedback we're receiving.
"customers were avoiding venues with consistent queueing problems as this creates a poor customer experience. the root cause of this poor customer experience derived from inefficient payment systems, cash handling and laborious ordering processes".
- Tom Dewhurst, Ordoo CEO
Bath Pizza Co: We’ve been using Ordoo now at Bath Pizza Co for a few months and are really impressed with the product you’ve built. How exactly did the idea come about?
TD: I had the idea whilst at University over 14 months ago. I was stuck in this 15 min queue, on my phone, and it was taking so long and I was so busy that I was actually reading an article for my dissertation. This was on the factors that drive adoption of digital payments amongst the youth market. As I stood in this queue, this particular paper got me thinking that the future of mobile payments is mobile ordering – as this added value to the boring process of payment. This would change the Point of Sale for the hospitality industry and digitalising this process would make it more efficient process – saving everyone time.
I looked into the problem further and it was obvious that customers were avoiding venues with consistent queueing problems as this creates a poor customer experience. The root cause of this poor customer experience derived from inefficient payment systems, cash handling and laborious ordering processes. Worst of all, many venues don't know who their loyal customers are and can't connect with them. If I went to a venue – asked loyal customers – Markas, Jess, Dave – how do you contact then and reach them with personal offers – they can't. They might have a loyalty card but they don’t have any information on who that is and what they order.
So I created Ordoo to address this problem and to provide a consistently better experience for the venue and the customer.
Bath Pizza Co: You’ve been working across Bath and Bristol for a while, what are the plans for the next 12 months?
TD: Yes, we first launched in Bath in January and then Bristol in April, so it's been moving pretty quickly! We have found the majority of the forward thinking, early adopting venues in the area. We are now pushing to get more people to try out the app.
If things continue to develop as they have then the next 12 months will be a whirlwind! We're largely focusing on our 3 month plans to launch in London and Cardiff, so this is very exciting. If these go well then I look forward to seeing where we will be in 12 months...
Bath Pizza Co: I expect you get to try a pretty good range of food and cuisines as you meet more and more businesses?
TD: Ha. Yes, this is definitely one of the perks of the job. Our partners are very generous and we are offered loads of great coffee and lunch. We only work with the best venues, so this pays dividends. The team also get free app credit so we go around trying out the wonderful selection of food and drink that can be found on Ordoo.
Bath Pizza Co: So hand on heart, which restaurants and coffee bars have you been most impressed with so far?
TD: We really value all our partners. It is clear that the partners who work closely with us get the most out of the platform. The feedback we received from some of our first partner venues, such as Forum and Bath Coffee co, was extremely valuable. They are now amongst our best venues. Over the last few months we've been working with loads more lunch venues and they are performing really well. We are excited to be working with Bath Pizza Company to push your lunch menu and save people time who don't want to wait around for the pizza to be made.
Bath Pizza Co: We’ve obviously seen huge growth and change in how as consumers we experience and purchase food; what is the next step in making the consumers’ experience better or easier?
TD: It's so important that customers receive a great experience when eating out. Especially in for lunch and takeaway, there must be a significant emphasis on convenience and efficiency. Customers came to enjoy the quality food and making this process quick and painless makes everyone happy!
Our core mission is to ensure a consistently amazing customer experience. We strongly believe this derives from saving people valuable time and creating personal relationships between customers and venues. We like to think that the Ordoo app achieves this and is the next step forward in the food and drink industry.
Bath Pizza Co: As you’ve given up your time with us we thought we’d allow you a full on shameless plug for Ordoo. Why should people download your app?
TD: Whoops, I've been plugging it all along! Well, for all the reasons mentioned above really. We're a local technology business looking to support local independent venues as their digital enabler.
If you like getting take away coffee or going out for lunch then the app is definitely for you. Don't waste time standing in queues and order ahead. What are you waiting for?
Bath Pizza Co: Tom, thanks for joining us, it’s been a pleasure!
TD: Thanks for the opportunity Alex. I look forward to working closely together at the Bath Pizza Co!
