How to notify that the order is on its way via WhatsApp (guide for food businesses)

It's 13:30, the phone won't stop ringing and you have five orders on the counter. One of them is a dozen empanadas for the office next door. The customer asked ten minutes ago if the delivery had gone out, and you, with the knife in your hand, answered "it's on its way." But the order is still there, waiting for the delivery driver who's taking his time. Does this sound familiar? Delivery communication is a critical moment in the food business: if you don't notify, the customer gets impatient; if you notify incorrectly, they get angry. In this guide, we show you how to notify that the order is on its way via WhatsApp, step by step, so you don't lose a single customer.

The problem: the customer wants to know, and you don't have time

In a pizzeria, the same questions repeat all day long: "how much longer?", "has it left yet?", "will it arrive in 20 minutes?" A customer who doesn't get a response within 5 minutes will order from somewhere else. And at night or on holidays, when there's no one to answer, the order is left in limbo. The drama isn't just cooking: it's keeping the person waiting informed. Notifying that the order is on its way isn't a luxury, it's part of the service. And it can be done well, without driving yourself crazy.

How to notify via WhatsApp, step by step

1. 1Have the customer's WhatsApp number on hand. If the order came in by phone, save it as soon as you finish the call. If it came in via WhatsApp, you already have it.
2. 2Put together a short, clear message. It doesn't need to be a novel. Something like: "Hi! 👋 Your order of [product] has left with the delivery. It should arrive in approximately [X] minutes. Thanks for choosing us!".
3. 3Include the detail that calms: the estimated time. If you're not sure, say "in a bit" or "before [time]". Better to be vague than to overpromise and fail.
4. 4Send the message as soon as the driver walks out the door. Not before, because the customer might complain if they see it's taking long, and not after, because it loses its effect.
5. 5If the customer replies with a "thanks", there's no need to respond (though if you can, it's a plus). If they ask something else, respond as soon as possible, even if it's with a "I'll confirm in 5".

How Wando makes your life easier

If doing this manually feels tedious, or if you simply want it to happen automatically, a tool like Wando can help you. Wando uses artificial intelligence to suggest responses to your WhatsApp customers, and you approve them with a click. It's not a robot that responds on its own without supervision: it's like having an assistant that proposes the perfect message and you decide whether to send it or not. It also learns from your real responses: if you correct a message, next time it suggests something better. And since it uses Meta's official WhatsApp API, it's reliable and secure.

For notifying that an order is on its way, Wando lets you have a ready-to-use template with a single click. It also centralizes messages from all your customers in one inbox, so you don't miss any between 12:00 and 15:00, when your phone explodes. And if you get a "has it shipped yet?" while you're up to your elbows in dough, the AI suggests an appropriate reply: you approve it and done. You can even schedule reminders or campaigns to announce promotions, but that's another topic.

Common mistakes when notifying that an order is on its way

• Promising a time you won't meet: if you say "in 15 minutes" and it arrives in 30, the customer gets angrier than if you hadn't notified them.
• Sending the message before the delivery person leaves: if the customer sees the order is taking long, they'll write to complain.
• Not notifying at all: the customer feels ignored and next time orders elsewhere.
• Using a tone that's too formal or too informal: find a balance, like a waiter who knows their customers.
• Forgetting to notify during peak times: at night or on holidays, when there's no one to answer, the "on its way" message is key to not losing the sale.

Notifying that an order is on its way is a small action, but it has a huge impact on the customer experience. Do it always, do it well, and if you can, let a tool like Wando help you not miss it. Your customer will thank you, and so will your reputation.

Three cases that go off the happy path and what to do in each one

It's not all about notifying and done. Sometimes the delivery person falls, the customer doesn't answer, or the order is wrong. We show you what to do in the three most common cases.

First: the delivery person is delayed more than expected. Don't wait for the customer to write to you. Send a proactive message: 'Hi! Your order is running a bit late, but it's already on its way. I'll let you know as soon as it arrives.' This way the customer feels you have them in mind, even if it's bad news.

Second: the customer writes to you and doesn't answer when you reply. If they don't respond within 10 or 15 minutes, try once more. If they still don't respond, leave it. Don't insist: the 'on its way' message has already been sent, and the order will arrive anyway. What you can't do is stay without notifying, because that's when they get angry.

Third: the order arrives but is incomplete or wrong. Here the priority is to resolve, not to explain. Respond quickly, offer a solution (replace the missing item or a discount) and don't get into an argument. The customer values getting an immediate response, not a promise to call later.

How to measure if the management improved

Notifying that the order is on its way is not an end in itself: it's so the customer feels at ease and orders again. How do you know if you're achieving that? With three simple numbers.

First, response time. Measure how long it takes you to answer a 'has it shipped yet?'. If you used to take 20 minutes and now 2, that's a concrete improvement. Second, the number of complaints about delays. If customers write less to ask, it's a sign the notification works. Third, repeat orders: if a customer orders twice in a month, you're doing something right.

With Wando, you can see statistics of your messages and campaigns in the inbox. There you'll notice if response times improved and if customers interact more. You don't need to be a data genius: checking once a week is enough.

The idea is simple: if the customer doesn't write to ask, it's because they already know you'll notify them. That's trust, and trust is measured in repeat orders.

What to do when the customer doesn't reply

Sometimes the customer doesn't respond to 'has it shipped?' or 'on its way'. What do you do? First, don't panic. Silence isn't always anger: they might be in a meeting or have their phone on silent.

What you do need to do is leave a record that you notified them. Send the 'on the way' message anyway, even if they don't reply. If the customer later claims they didn't know, you have the message as proof. And if they don't reply after the order arrives, no problem: the delivery driver rings the bell and that's it.

The most delicate case is when the customer doesn't reply and the order is cash on delivery. In that case, the best thing is to call them once. If they don't answer, leave the order with a neighbor or return to the store. Don't wait at the door: that wastes your time and money.

With Wando, if the customer doesn't respond, the AI suggests a follow-up message, but you decide whether to send it or not. It's not a robot that insists on its own: you're the one in control.

How it was done before and why that failed

Before tools like Wando existed, communication with the customer was chaos. The store owner answered the phone, wrote down orders on paper, and, if lucky, remembered to notify that the order was on its way. During peak times, they forgot. And the customer, waiting, grew impatient and called again.

Some used WhatsApp Web on the computer, but they had to copy and paste messages manually, one by one. Others simply didn't notify: 'it's coming' was the standard response, and the customer found out the order arrived when the doorbell rang. That created distrust and lost orders.

And when someone tried to automate, they ran into flow chatbots that had to be programmed and maintained. If the customer asked something off-script, the bot got stuck, and the customer got angrier than if they hadn't been replied to at all.

The underlying problem was the same: there was no simple and reliable way to keep the customer informed. That's why the solution isn't just to notify, but to notify well, consistently, and without taking time away from cooking.

What NOT to automate in this process

Automating everything sounds tempting, but not everything can be left on autopilot. The first thing that should not be automated is complaint resolution. If a customer says 'my order arrived cold' or 'an empanada is missing', AI cannot resolve that on its own: you need a human to decide, because that's where the customer relationship is at stake.

Nor should you automate the 'on the way' notification if you have no way of knowing when the delivery driver actually leaves. If the message is sent automatically at a fixed time and the driver is delayed, the customer will complain. Automation works when there is real data behind it.

And you should definitely not automate responses to open-ended questions like 'what do you recommend?'. That requires judgment and knowledge of the menu, something AI does not have. What you can automate is the standard 'on the way' notification with a template, or the response to 'how much longer?' with an estimated time.

The rule is simple: automate the repetitive and predictable, but leave the human stuff in human hands. That way you don't lose customers because of a robot that doesn't understand context.