The problem
Wrong items, cold food and late deliveries produce order complaints and refund requests by text and through delivery apps that need a calm, fair answer. If a takeaway gets 15 order complaints a month and each reply takes 10 minutes to word, that's 150 minutes, 2.5 hours a month.
What the AI does
Paste the order complaint into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini without the customer's name, address or phone number, add what actually happened from your own check of the order, and ask for a short, polite reply that offers the remedy you've decided, such as a refund or replacement. You edit it and send it yourself. Complaints that mention an allergic reaction, illness or food poisoning never go to an assistant: the owner replies personally, writes down what was ordered and prepared, and takes advice from your local environmental health team or insurer. The assistant doesn't know your ingredients and must never say what a dish contains.
A worked example
A takeaway in Derby handles about 15 order complaints and refund requests a month, mostly missing items and late delivery. The owner checks each order first, then pastes the facts into an assistant for a draft.
Before
10 minutes per reply to think and write: 15 x 10 = 150 minutes, 2.5 hours a month
After
About 4 minutes per reply to check, paste, edit and send: 60 minutes, 1 hour a month
What it's worth
About 1.5 hours a month saved (90 minutes), worth around £30 if your time is worth £20 an hour. The free plans of ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini can do this; a paid plan is up to about £20 a month for one person if you hit usage limits.
How to set it up
- Decide your standard remedies in advance, such as refund, replacement or credit, and who can offer them.
- For each complaint, check the order and what happened before writing anything.
- Paste the facts, with no customer name, address or phone number, into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and ask for a short, polite reply that offers your chosen remedy.
- Edit out any promise or admission you haven't agreed, and send from your business account.
- Log each complaint and what you did, and handle any mention of allergy or illness yourself.
What goes wrong
- An assistant can offer a refund or a free meal you haven't agreed, or admit fault. Decide the remedy first and read every line.
- Don't use an assistant for complaints about allergic reactions, illness or injury. Record them and get proper advice.
- Don't paste customer names, addresses, phone numbers or order histories into consumer AI plans.
- If the complaint or refund request arrives through a delivery app, answer in the app and follow its own rules; don't assume how it handles refunds.