A Call Center for Restaurants: More Profit with Less Strain

For many of your customers, your food reminds them of home. You’re passionate about serving delicious dishes and providing a great experience in your community. But that can feel impossible when the phone rings nonstop, like a prank caller on a mission during summer vacation.

Your staff feels the pressure, and they burn out. When this happens, you can’t provide accurate orders or the relaxed, pleasant guest experience you wish you could. But there's a way for those calls to be answered so you can turn your attention back to your customers. 

Call centers for restaurants fill in the gap.

Imagine having all your phone orders and deliveries handled for you while increasing sales. An answering center can pick up the phone, answer your customers’ questions, take their orders, and send those tickets straight to you. That takes a massive load off your shoulders and helps you focus on your business, food, and customer experience (and maybe even help you finally take that cruise to the Bahamas). 

Find out how using a call center can improve your business, and see how choosing the right one for your restaurant can increase sales without stress.

Don’t let your phone orders go unanswered. With streamlined order-taking, you can increase sales, focus on customers, and grow your restaurant business.

What are call centers for restaurants, and how do they work?

Call centers for restaurants are services that answer customer calls and fulfill their needs.

• If a customer wants to place an order for pickup, the call center will arrange it. 
• If a customer wants a delivery, the service can take the order and organize a driver. 
• If a customer has questions about operating hours, menu items, and other details, a well-trained call center team can offer customer support.

Modern food call centers use AI-supported technology and traditional methods to ensure they can answer your restaurant’s calls 24/7, 365 days a year, and send you orders as efficiently as possible.

For example, Tarro can handle a virtually unlimited number of calls simultaneously, answering every customer call within just three seconds. Tarro takes the orders and sends them straight to your printers in the kitchen, the front of house, or anywhere else they’re located. You get an accurate order sent to your staff in English (or Chinese, if needed) without ever having to pick up the phone.

Who should use a restaurant call center?

A call center system can benefit any restaurant that receives phone calls. The last thing you want as an owner or leader is for your team to get distracted by constant incoming calls (or miss them altogether). 

In the U.S. alone, Restaurant Business reports that food spending away from home grew 42% in 2024 compared to the previous year. Despite tight budgets, customers want to eat out, with demand reaching pre-pandemic levels. That’s why it’s essential to make sure your restaurant is the first one they call for a fast order.

You can help customers get this fast service by putting your remote ordering experience on autopilot. A professional answering service can handle your orders from customers who speak English or Spanish. 

A call center team not only automates your service—it can also take care of delivery. That’s another revenue stream you can open to increase sales without any headaches.

‍

4 ways restaurant call centers improve business

Below are some of the top ways your restaurant can improve by using a call center:

1. Increase revenue

Who would say no to more sales? More takeout orders mean more money, not to mention keeping your team happy. By adding delivery, outsourcing calls, and processing orders quicker, you can make more sales. Businesses partnering with Tarro see 10 to 20% more revenue and 5 to 10% more savings.

What’s behind these revenue benefits? For one, the ability to answer all calls. Think of your average sale per customer order. Now think of how many calls a day you miss. That’s a lot of money you’re leaving on the table. You’ll get every order cashed in if every call gets answered.

It’s not easy to manage all the highs and lows of the different peak periods for phone ordering with your own team. But a call center for restaurants can take orders quickly and accurately, so you’ll be able to take simultaneous orders anytime. It doesn’t matter what time it is, how busy you are, or how many people call during rush hour. Top call centers can get every order during busy times—and with solutions like Tarro, you don’t pay when there are no calls.

Mr. Chen, for example, used a Tarro as a call center. It not only made life easier but also increased sales. He stated, “Since we teamed up, our business has grown by a remarkable one-third."

2. Make hiring and employee retention easier

The more the phone rings, the more difficult it is for your staff to keep up with all the calls. And that's unfortunate, since a ringing phone means more business.

If a cashier is at the register, they have to help the person in front of them while listening to the constant ringing in the background during rush hour. If they manage to ask the customer to wait and pick up the phone, they can’t provide the best experience either. That affects future calls and visits, not to mention order accuracy.

If you outsource phone ordering, you don’t have to hire someone trained in phone ordering anymore. Your staff can now focus on the task at hand and provide the best food and service possible.

Over time, you’ll retain your employees longer because they’ll feel less pressure. And it will be much easier to fill new roles when you don’t require taking orders as part of the job.

3. Provide better customer service

Your staff can’t provide the best experience if they’re spread too thin. Using a restaurant call center is good for accuracy and efficiency as well as high-quality customer service. Since there’s a dedicated team taking care of phone orders, you can rest easy knowing that you have pros providing the customer experience you’ve always wanted.

Call center reps are professionals trained to handle orders and fulfill customer needs. Tarro even trains its teams to intimately know your menu and restaurant. If someone has a question about a sushi roll or a popular dish, that team member can give an accurate and appealing explanation. Or, if a customer wants to remove or add an ingredient or include any customization, Tarro can make it happen with a 99.5% order accuracy—the highest in the industry. It’s like you have a whole other team supporting your restaurant.

4. Save yourself the energy for growth

With phone orders and even delivery services taken care of, a weight is lifted from your shoulders. Your mind no longer has to think about juggling incoming calls, drivers, orders, in-house customers, and food. It’s focused on the daily operations right in front of you.

When you create an efficient ordering system, you can shift your energy toward growing your business and improving the experience. Restaurant operators like Mr. Zhao have used Tarro to make ordering efficient, allowing his team to open multiple locations. Your opportunities are as big as you want them to be.

Restaurant call center case study: Mr. Zhao grows to multiple locations

‍

Mr. Zhao wanted to expand his locations and needed a way to streamline his ordering experience.

The restaurant owner chose Tarro because no matter the call volume, his team can receive multiple calls simultaneously.

With Tarro answering those calls and sending orders directly to Mr. Zhao’s operations, he found his staff was less stressed. They were able to focus on packing orders and handling payments, which improved customer interactions. 

The technology and team helped him open new locations, streamline operations, and hire staff more efficiently.

Mr. Zhao tells Tarro, “When I open new stores, Tarro plays a big role.” He says he explains to applicants that they don’t need to answer phones because Tarro handles the calls. “They just need to handle the cash and pack orders.” He says that by using Tarro, his phone orders typically increase by one-third, which results in a one-third increase in sales. 

‍

When restaurant owners can streamline ordering operations, they flip the narrative. The business doesn’t control them; they control the company—and growth follows.

Choosing the right call center partner

‍

‍

Call centers for restaurants aren’t optional—they’re necessary for restaurants to grow, make more money, and keep their staff. The problem is finding the right solution. You can start by checking off the following criteria:

The right price: Does the price fall within your budget? Solutions like Tarro don’t charge you if you don’t get a call, so you know every penny you spend will go toward immediate value. 

Record for accuracy: Is the company well known? Are its orders accurate? The last thing you want is a poor customer experience and order mistakes that cost you. Tarro, for example, has a track record of excellent service with 3,000+ restaurants. Its order accuracy runs at an impressive 99.5% average, meaning your callers’ orders are right every time. 

The option for continued growth: Does your solution make growth possible? You’ll want to run away from services that charge you high fees no matter your size (or that multiply fees when you see progress). You want a company that fits your budget throughout the entire life of your business. Solutions like Tarro grow with you, so you can still increase sales and save 5 to 10% of costs. 

Operational integration: Nearly every customer has experienced placing an order on the phone or online and arriving at the restaurant only to find their order has been delayed or even lost. No one wants that, especially you as an owner. Make sure the solution you choose can send orders to your team so orders arrive in the correct sequence and are delivered on time. 

Tarro: Save money, make more money without the stress

‍

Tarro’s AI-supported phone-ordering solution and stress-free delivery make restaurant ordering simple. You can set your experience on autopilot and receive orders as soon as customers place them. Tarro’s call center agents provide a positive, accurate, and fast experience for your customers.

Using Tarro helps you save costs from avoidable order mistakes, and it increases sales by providing fast, accurate, and easy ordering.

You don’t have to be tech-savvy to use it, and it’s easy to get started. Since it’s made especially for restaurant owners, you can grow your business without worrying about the constant ringing of the phone. And Tarro grows with you: You’ll only pay when someone places an order.

Book a call today to find out how Tarro can help streamline your ordering and help you grow your business.

‍