Restaurants are constantly changing prices and adding or subtracting items from their menus.  In addition, we are always adding new restaurants or subrtracting those that no longer offer delivery or go out of business.  Consequently, the menu books that we publish are always ‘obsolete” shortly after they’ve been printed.  That’s why we encourage everyone to use our website http://waiteronthewaymd.com where all of the information is up to date and correct.

In recent months, we have added some restaurants that are not in our printed menus.  They include:

FREDERICK COUNTY

Anne’s Steakhouse, Bangkok Thai Kitchen, Delhi 6, Fellini’s Italian, Hard Times Cafe, Olive’s Italian, Patrick’s Irish Pub, Pizza Blitz, Rosa Pizza and Pasta and Wow Cafe & Wingery.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Geppetto, Growlers Restaurant & Brewery, India Grill, Love Sushi, Paradise Indian Grill, Passage to India, Philadelphia Mike’s, Slice of Olde Towne, Spice Xing, Stella Restaurant and Tippy’s Taco House. 

To view any or all of these menus, click here.  To print a menu guide from our website which includes the newer restaurants, click here.

This is the time for giving and receiving gifts, and it truly is better to give than to receive.  However, it is still a great feeling to receive something that lifts your spirits and brings a smile to your face.  That’s how we felt two weeks ago when we received an email from one of our customers.  Here it is:

Bob -                                  (email from 12/6/2011)

I just wanted to take a moment to reach out to you and once again thank you and your organization for the excellent service you have provided to me and my clients over the past year. You truly have been the bright spot in what has been a difficult year for me both personally and professionally. Your staff has always been responsive, courteous and most importantly, engaged in representing your company in a consistently positive light. These things are rare in these difficult times and speak volumes not only the quality of your employees, but also to the culture you have created at Waiter On the Way. You should be very proud of both these facts.

I also wanted to let you know that as of this past Friday my prior organization ‘optimized’ and as a result, I will no longer be a part of the company. It is the second such optimization in two years and while I wish them well, I am presently seeking opportunities outside of the pharmaceutical industry. I am certain that greener pastures lie ahead. One of the things I will miss most is doing business with you and your team. If the chance to work together presents itself again I will not hesitate to call. Meanwhile, I will tell everyone that I know who is in need of your services just how wonderful my experience has been.

I wish you, your staff, and your families, a wonderful holiday season and a blessed 2012.

Fondly -

K. B.

It is so nice for someone to take the time to write something like that completely unprompted.  It makes us feel good and gives validation to the things that we are trying to accomplish at Waiter on the Way.  A wonderful gift indeed. 

 One note: I was saddened by the note with regard to the person losing their job, but after following up, she confirmed that everything was actually great in her life (actually never better) both personally and professionally.  Another reason to smile………..

Jay and I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.

As the holidays rapidly approach, it is often a good time for reflection.  Thinking back on this year, and really, our 22+ years in business, Jay and I are thankful for everyone who has given our company an opportunity to provide food delivery service to them.  We realize there are many options, many competitors, in our industry and we don’t treat lightly the choice our customer has made nor underestimate the responsibility to provide excellent service that comes along with that order.  So, in summary, a very big Thank You to our customers and best wishes for a wonderful holiday season…….

I also wanted to take this time to highlight the needs of some who are less fortunate than many of us.  You may have recently heard the news that the Dumfries Food Pantry announced it would close temporarily because it had run out of food, putting thousands of people in and around Prince William County in limbo.  Fortunately, the Capital Area FoodBank was able to rush in an emergency delivery of over 6 tons of food.  If you are looking for a good place to direct your charitable funds, please consider sending a gift to that organization.  They are working to keep tens of thousands of our neighbors from going hungry every day.  Their website: http://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/

There is a lot of excitement this week as the local 1st place team that rhymes with FredWins (hey, you never know when the owner of that team is going to fire off another lawsuit) prepares to take on the Eagles.  The players will need to prepare properly and execute flawlessly to be successful.  Things out of their control: bad bounces, bad calls….., may occur during the game, but with determination and attention to detail they can still prevail.

The same holds true for Waiter on the Way.  Instead of once each week, we play “big games” every day.  Every single order is a Big Game for us and we strive to do the things that will make each delivery a success.

Unfortunately, as with every business, there are times that we fall short of the desired result.  There are a number of things outside of our control that can cause a problem with an order: traffic, restaurant backed up, restaurant doesn’t put everything in the order, etc……

There are also times that problems with orders are strictly caused by a failure on our end.

EITHER WAY, you are our customer and we have a responsibility to make things right.  Customer Service is our highest priority.  Without our customers, we don’t exist.

If you ever have an experience with Waiter on the Way which leaves you unsatisfied (or worse), please reach out to us by email at waiter@waiteronthewaymd.com or call the office at 301 869 0300.  Bob and Jay are the owners and Kevin is the General Manager.  Any of the three will work with you to make things right, so we all end up on the winning side.

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We currently (limited time) have two restaurant special promotions running – one with California Pizza Kitchen and one with Hamburger Hamlet.  Check out our Facebook Page or Twitter for details.  If you would like to view menus from our restaurants, click here and to place an order click here.

Well, we’ve all made it through an earthquake and now Hurricane Irene and a couple of things struck me about these events.  Coming with no warning, the earthquake caused a very unsettling feeling as it occurred.  Hurricane Irene on the other hand, came with trumpets blaring for almost a week in advance and the actual event was much smaller than advertised.  I don’t mean to minimize the impact felt by those affected by the hurricane, – my house was without power until a few hours ago – but in general, the hurricane did not justify the sensationalistic quality of the media coverage.

What does that have to do with value?  Well, many of the more significant things in life are those that stand on their own, that don’t need a lot of hype for justification. 

We think one of our policies meets that standard – Waiter on the Way has no raised restaurant menu prices.  Unlike with almost every other Restaurant Delivery Service (RDS), the prices that you see on a Waiter on the Way Restaurant Partner menu are exactly the same as that restaurant’s in house menu.

What does that really mean?  It means that you aren’t being subjected to hidden charges that won’t show up on your receipt.  It means that you are receiving value and respect for your business.

If you travel or have occasion to use any other RDS, ask them if their menu prices are exactly the same as the restaurant’s in house menu prices – not for some restaurants, but for all of them.  Most will try to minimize the fact that they don’t have that policy.  They will try to say that many of their restaurants have the same pricing or that the restaurants themselves choose the (raised) prices for the Delivery Service. 

The bottom line is, they don’t subscribe to that policy and you’ll never know if and to what extent the prices you are being charged are above those at the restaurant.  When using Waiter on the Way, you will never have that worry.  We very much appreciate your business and value you as a customer – and we never want that to change.

As I mentioned in our first post, we’ve been in business for 22+ years now.  Jay and I were fairly young back then and now we’re…..less young, so to speak.  One of the real challenges maintaining a business for that length of time is trying to keep up with the constantly changing technology.  When we first started, we took orders by hand, put the customer on hold, furiously worked the calculator and then gave a total for the order (usually accurate).  We then dispatched the order to the driver via radio – reading off every bit of information, often having to repeat information as the driver attempted to write as fast as we spoke.  To say our office was like a fire drill when we got busy is a huge understatement. 

Now of course, we have computers and software to handle phone and internet orders as well as a dispatch system which automatically sends a text to the assigned driver with all of the delivery and order information.  Although we have the ability, we really don’t need to speak to the drivers at all.  With regard to our operations technology, we feel pretty comfortable.

Less comforting has been our grasp on Social Media and Marketing (a source of amusement for my 18 and 23 year old daughters).  We are doing our best to get up to speed in this area by posting regularly on this Blog, our Facebook Page,Twitter and by sending out email newsletters.

One of the main goals with these efforts will be to offer our customers as many Special Offers/Discounts from as many restaurants as possible.  Currently, through August 14, on online orders from Hamburger Hamlet that exceed $150, a $20 Discount will be applied when you enter Coupon Code ZIRCLES.  Click here to place an order.

Be sure to check Facebook (we need friends!), Twitter (we need followers!), this Blog and our e-newsletters for more Special Offers.