Improving the cake ordering process

Affected Users:

  • Customers

  • Department Admins

The custom cake ordering process at Amy’s Ice Creams was confusing, time consuming, and analog. The customer did not know what information was needed to submit an inquiry, and their only means of doing so were through phone or email. Additionally, they did not know how the ordering process worked or what to expect after they sent in a request. From the perspective of the cake team admins, the process was frustrating and drawn out by needing to contact customers multiple times throughout the order process, and they had no way of accessing payment or order details outside of the office.

Exploration:

I worked with the department admins and compiled data to establish the biggest pain points within the ordering process, and then distilled that information into a list of required information that every customer needed to provide. From there, that list was organized hierarchically to make the process intuitive for the user. We also put together a list of FAQs and notes that would be helpful for the customer to see before/during the submission process. Working with the Marketing and WebDev teams, options were explored for incorporating an order form into the website, as well as where on the site it could be housed, and also what would happen next after the user hits ‘submit.’

Implementation:

For the customer we added a user friendly request form to the bottom of the cakes parent page, following all of the flavor & sizing general information. We also incorporated an immediate kickback email to the customer so they know what to expect to complete the process and get their custom cake. Additionally on the department admin end, we created a new order input form system to more efficiently record and track orders all the way from inquiry through delivery & pickup. We also implemented a new online payment system that can be utilized to obtain and refund payments remotely as well as in office.

Results:

Admins can now immediately and accurately assess each order request, minimizing confirmation time and stress for both them and the customer. Even customers with complicated orders can be navigated quite quickly. Order issue resolution has been improved greatly with the order and payment databases being available remotely. Problems can be solved immediately, even after business hours, reducing the number of incidental refunds by 65%.

What could be better?

The capacity to request multiple custom cakes within the same inquiry form would be the natural next step in improving this process further. Another issue that persists is customer difficulty finding the cake page/form from the Amy’s home menu, as well as some confusion with the ‘Order Now’ function on the master homepage.