How to Stop Delivery Drivers Crowding Your Counter
Practical steps to give riders their own pickup point, keep your counter clear for customers and reduce interruptions at the pass.
Riders crowd the counter because the counter is the only place they can collect. Give them their own pickup point — ideally a locker they can open themselves — and the counter goes back to your walk-in customers.
1. Create a separate rider pickup point
Mark out a spot away from the customer queue, close to the door riders use. Even before adding lockers, this alone reduces crowding.
2. Let riders collect without staff
Staff load the finished order into a compartment and go straight back to the pass. The rider opens that compartment with a code and leaves. Each collection is recorded.
3. Load from the kitchen side
A rear-loading locker means staff never step into the rider area. Read front vs rear-loading.
4. Signpost it clearly
A light box or sign above the locker, and a short instruction at the door, stop riders heading for the counter by habit.
5. Review it after a few weeks
- Are riders using the pickup point?
- Do orders wait too long before collection?
- Is the counter calmer at peak?
- Do you need more compartments?