Your Customer Waits in the Car? Call Them on Their Phone with Zaheb
· Cortex Solutions
Many customers wait in the car or a nearby shop, out of a pager's reach. Learn how Zaheb calls them on their phone when the order is ready, with no app and no devices.
In Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, many customers prefer to wait in their cars rather than stand at the counter, especially at cafés and restaurants with lots of takeaway orders. Others order and then pop into a nearby shop until the order is ready. This behaviour is natural, but it disrupts traditional ways of calling customers.
The problem: the call does not reach those who walk away
Traditional pagers work only inside the shop and its immediate surroundings, and the signal drops as the customer moves away. Calling out the number cannot be heard by someone sitting in their car. The result is familiar:
- Ready orders go cold on the counter because their owner did not know they were ready.
- Customers walk in every few minutes to ask, «Is my order ready?», adding to the crowd at the till.
- A staff member is busy calling out and looking for customers instead of serving the queue.
- Pagers are bought by the dozen, charged daily, lost or broken, then bought again.
The solution: the phone already in the customer's hand
The idea is simple: customers carry their phones everywhere, in the car or in the shop next door. Instead of handing them a device that only works near the counter, make their phone the calling tool. That is what Zaheb from Cortex does.
How does Zaheb work?
Zaheb is a customer-calling system based on a number on the receipt, and it works in three steps:
- The cashier issues the ticket: a large number and a QR code are printed on the receipt for every takeaway order, with no extra step for the cashier.
- The customer scans the code: a page opens directly in the browser. No app to download, no account, and no phone number requested.
- The «Ready» button triggers the alert: when staff press «Ready» on the orders screen, the status changes and the customer's phone vibrates and rings, even when locked.
This is the key difference for the customer in the car: the alert reaches their phone wherever they are, in the car or the shop next door, without depending on a device's signal range inside the shop. The customer sees their order progress: received, in preparation, ready.
Even when the phone is on silent
Many phones are on silent mode. On iPhone, Zaheb's alert arrives through a lightweight App Clip that opens with one tap, so sound plays even when the device is silenced. The Zaheb page notes that a web page alone cannot do this. The App Clip later removes itself from the device.
Know who picked up, and when
One of the most valuable things Zaheb offers is turning waiting into data. Every ticket has an issue time, a ready time and a pickup time, and it also records when the customer opened the link. Average preparation time becomes a clear number instead of a guess.
On a single board you see all of the day's tickets: how many orders are in preparation, how many are ready and waiting for pickup, and how many tickets have not had their page opened. The status refreshes every 10 seconds, and calling takes one tap, whether you open the board on the cashier device or on a phone.
What about customers who do not scan the code?
The link is an addition, not the only option. The calling screen shows the numbers just as a pager system does today, and it can be opened as a link on any screen or TV above the counter, with no special device or installation. The board also shows how many tickets have unopened pages, so staff know who needs to be called out loud.
Your space in front of the customer
The customer page carries your shop's name and logo, not a nameless plastic disc. You can also display an offer or campaign on the page while they wait, turning waiting time into a marketing opportunity.
Does it suit my business?
Zaheb is not limited to restaurants and cafés. It fits any place with a wait: clinics calling patients, pharmacies, workshops telling car owners their car is ready, salons calling the next customer, and pickup points. You choose the text the customer sees.
Works on its own or with Cortex POS
Zaheb does not require a cashier system, so you can issue tickets directly from the Zaheb board alongside your current system. If you use Cortex POS, a ticket is issued automatically with the invoice for every takeaway order. Setup takes minutes: sign up and the board opens, with no database to build and no server to prepare.
Cost and trial
According to the official Zaheb page, there is a single price that includes every feature: 200 riyals per branch per year, excluding VAT, with a 14-day free trial that asks for no card, and you can cancel at any time. There are no devices to buy.
Start today
If your customers wait in their cars or move between shops, do not let your calling stop at your door. Try Zaheb free for 14 days, tell us your type of business and how many branches you have, and we will set it up with you.
Zaheb details: https://cortex.sa/solutions/zaheb
Start the trial and see pricing: https://zaheb.io
WhatsApp: +966 50 144 2924