Chowly Customer Service — Expert Operational Guide

Overview of Chowly customer support

Chowly is a point-of-sale integration specialist that connects third-party ordering channels (third-party marketplaces, direct online ordering, delivery aggregators) to a restaurant’s POS. From a customer-service standpoint you should expect two parallel support tracks: account/onboarding support for configuration and commercial questions, and technical/engineering support for uptime, API/webhook issues, and order flow. The company website (https://www.chowly.com) is the canonical entry point for account teams, documentation and to initiate requests.

Good customer service for an integration vendor like Chowly combines fast incident response with a proactive onboarding workflow. For planning, assume an SLA-oriented model where severe outages get immediate attention (acknowledgement within 60 minutes) and operational incidents are triaged within business hours; smaller configuration requests follow the account manager cadence. Preparing your internal contact list and escalation path shortens time-to-resolution significantly.

Onboarding and implementation — practical timeline and deliverables

Typical implementations take 5–15 business days per location when menu mapping and POS access are ready; complex multi-location rollouts with menu variants, modifiers, and differing tax jurisdictions can extend to 4–6 weeks. A sensible onboarding plan has three phases: discovery (POS version, merchant bank, existing integrations, network topology), configuration (menu mapping, modifier rules, tax and gratuity mapping, printer/KDS routing), and validation (live order simulation, end-to-end receipts, staff training). Collect the following before kickoff: POS vendor and version, merchant account ID, current menu file (CSV or JSON), printer models and IPs, and a contact for in-store POS access.

Deliverables should be explicit: production cutover checklist, test order matrix (10+ scenarios that cover modifiers, discounts, voids, combos), fallback manual process, and a rollback plan. Onboard teams typically schedule two 60–90 minute remote sessions: one technical for POS/integration staff and a second training session for managers and kitchen staff. Request a written runbook from Chowly that lists IP addresses/domains to white-list and any port/SSL requirements — this avoids firewall delays that are the most common cause of stalled launches.

SLA, escalation and metrics to demand

When negotiating support, insist on published SLA metrics. Reasonable targets in this category are: uptime ≥ 99.95% for order routing, order success rate ≥ 99.5%, critical-incident acknowledgement ≤ 60 minutes, and critical resolution target ≤ 4–24 hours depending on root cause. Ask whether the provider has 24/7 on-call engineering for Sev-1 (complete outage) incidents versus business-hours support for Sev-2/3. Get the definition of “critical” in writing to avoid ambiguity during an outage.

Escalation steps should be explicit: support ticket → account manager → engineering lead → executive on-call. Require a post-incident report for outages longer than one hour that includes root cause analysis, timeline, and corrective actions. Track mean time to acknowledge (MTTA) and mean time to resolve (MTTR) monthly; if MTTR trends upward beyond contractual targets, use that as leverage to request process or personnel changes.

Common issues and a high-value troubleshooting checklist

Most support tickets fall into a few repeatable categories: network/firewall issues, menu mapping errors (missing modifiers, combos, or taxes), duplicate orders, printer/KDS routing failures, and token/credential expiration for API/webhooks. An organised troubleshooting process cuts average resolution time by 30–60%.

• Network & firewall: confirm egress on TCP 443 to vendor domains, check NAT/PAT rules, and validate time synchronization (NTP). If using a captive portal or private VLAN for POS devices, verify routing to the internet.
• POS compatibility: provide POS brand/version and current API/connector logs. Many issues occur because POS vendors release patches that change field names or endpoints.
• Menu mapping: validate SKUs and modifiers line-by-line; test voids and discounts; run a test file with 10–15 representative orders covering knobs and combos.
• Token & credential rotation: confirm credential expiry dates and storage method (avoid rotating API keys without coordinated cutover).
• Printer/KDS routing: check IP addresses, port 9100 (if raw TCP printing), and receipt formats. If orders print but don’t show on KDS, inspect character encoding and message queue backpressure.
• Duplicate orders: compare order IDs between channel and POS; duplicates often indicate retry logic triggered by a late acknowledgement — tune timeouts and retries.
• Latency & timeouts: measure round-trip order latency; target <2s for acceptance acknowledgements and monitor for spikes during peak hours.

Use the checklist above during any support call to reduce back-and-forth. Have logs, timestamps, order IDs, and screenshots ready to accelerate triage.

Billing, pricing and contract considerations

Chowly-style integrations are commonly sold with a one-time setup/implementation fee plus a recurring monthly charge per location. Market ranges for integration vendors typically place setup fees between $250–$1,500 depending on complexity, and monthly fees between $49–$499 per location. When signing, clarify what constitutes “additional work” (menu re-maps, new POS versions, custom webhooks) and request capped change-order rates. Always negotiate a 30–90 day termination clause and a clear refund policy for prorated billing after cancellation.

For billing disputes, require a single point of contact on the vendor side and an agreed timeline for resolution (e.g., acknowledge dispute in 48 hours, resolve within 30 days). Track chargebacks and reconciliation discrepancies monthly; set an acceptable discrepancy threshold (for example, ≤ 0.25% of monthly order volume) and require vendor remediation if exceeded.

Best practices for long-term support and operational resilience

Operationalize support: run weekly order reconciliation reports, maintain a living runbook with vendor contacts and escalation paths, and schedule quarterly health checks with your account manager. Monitor three KPIs continuously: order success rate, average order latency, and duplicate-order rate. Aim for a success rate above 99.5%, average latency under 2 seconds, and duplicate orders below 0.1%.

Train staff on a fallback manual process and run tabletop incident drills at least twice a year so staff can move to phone order entry or a single-channel ordering app during outages. Maintain backups of current menu files (CSV/JSON) and a copy of the integration configuration so re-provisioning a location can be completed within a day if needed. When in doubt, escalate early—rapid, data-rich tickets lead to faster engineering responses and better long-term outcomes.

Quick checklist to have before contacting support

Prepare: (1) exact timestamp of the affected order(s), (2) order IDs from both the channel and POS, (3) POS vendor/version and merchant account ID, (4) recent logs or screenshots, and (5) a description of any network changes. Including these five elements in your initial ticket reduces diagnostic cycles and shortens resolution time.

For more details and to open a support case, visit the official site at https://www.chowly.com and use the support/contact links provided there to reach account or technical teams.