Picking up the chain restaurant online ordering series, today's post is about checkout. Different chains handle it differently, but I keep running into the same handful of problems across them all. As a blind customer, checkout is also where things go wrong in the most expensive ways, including a recent order that ended up at the wrong house.
Most of what I am covering applies to both delivery and pickup. Yet, I'll focus on delivery because there are more steps where things go wrong for digital accessibility.
Address Entry
Address selection on a delivery order is one of the most important steps, and chains handle it in a few different ways. There are three patterns I run into. I have a different problem with each one.
The first pattern is manual entry with text fields and dropdowns. Mislabeled or unlabeled fields are a constant problem for me here, because my screen reader cannot tell me what each field is asking for. If the chain shows address suggestions as I type, they usually don't get announced at all, so I cannot pick from them.
The second pattern lets the chain use my phone's GPS to locate me. The result is displayed as a map graphic that I am supposed to confirm before continuing. Map graphics are not accessible to my screen reader, so I cannot verify anything, which makes this pattern unusable for me.
The third pattern is the one that bit me hardest recently. If I have more than one address saved to my account, which most people do, checkout shows them in a list. In two separate orders, my screen reader announced every saved address in the list exactly the same way, even though they were visually different.
I ordered from a pizza chain a couple of weeks ago and went with the default address because everything I heard sounded correct. Two hot pies showed up at my aunt's house, about an hour away from where I live. We all had a good laugh, but the address picker accessibility bug cost me an actual meal that day.
The saved-address bug is the kind of issue a step-by-step accessibility audit surfaces immediately. A human listening to the screen reader would catch it on the first run-through.
Choosing a Delivery Type
Most chains let me choose between standard, priority, and scheduled delivery at checkout. The options usually appear as radio buttons or checkboxes. My screen reader gets the option name and sometimes the surcharge, but rarely the full picture.
The most common piece my screen reader skips is the delivery window for each option. A typical readout sounds like "Priority Delivery, Plus 2.98 dollars," with no mention of when the food will actually arrive. Sometimes even the surcharge gets dropped, leaving me to pick a delivery type blind.
Scheduling a delivery for later has its own set of problems, many of which mirror the usual calendar picker issues on the web. My screen reader also struggles to differentiate the chain's open hours from its closed hours on the time picker. If I am trying to schedule near the start or end of the operating day, I can end up trying to schedule for a time the chain is not even open.
Unannounced radio button labels and missing surcharge text on options are exactly what a free automated accessibility test catches. Half of what I just described would show up on the first scan.
Setting a Driver Tip
Setting a driver tip is almost always part of checkout, and the interfaces vary a lot. Percentages are the most common option: I pick 15 percent, 20 percent, or 25 percent, and the tip amount shows at the bottom of the screen. My screen reader skips that dollar amount on most chains, which I think is because the number is shown in a large decorative font.
With only the percentage available to me, I have to do the math in my head to pick a tip. When I am allowed to enter a custom tip amount, the field sometimes resets to the default value after I hit Enter. It feels like the chain is ignoring my screen reader keyboard input entirely.
On some chains, there is a small button to the right of each percentage that I need to click to lock in that tip. Those buttons rarely have proper labels in the code, so my screen reader cannot find them. I end up unable to select any tip at all on those chains, which is a problem on top of a problem.
Whether the right way to fix this is an audit, an automated tool, or a managed remediation service depends on where the team is. Finding the right starting point for a given chain is its own thing.
Checkout Accessibility on Chain Restaurant Ordering Sites: Common Questions
Can a chain restaurant accessibility bug cause a delivery to go to the wrong address?
Yes, accessibility bugs in saved-address pickers can cause a chain restaurant delivery to go to the wrong address. A pizza order I placed recently ended up at my aunt's house an hour away because the saved-address picker announced every address identically. My screen reader read all three of my saved addresses with the same text, and I had no way to tell which one I was picking.
What is the most frustrating checkout step for blind customers on chain restaurant sites?
The delivery type selector is the worst step in the checkout process for me as a blind customer. Picking between standard, priority, and scheduled delivery without knowing the time window or the full surcharge is wild, and that is the default experience at many chains.
Why does the custom tip field reset itself for screen reader users on restaurant ordering sites?
The custom tip field appears to ignore screen reader keyboard input on many chains. I type a custom amount, hit enter, and the field resets itself to the default percentage.
Should chain restaurants test checkout accessibility separately from menu accessibility?
Yes, chain restaurants should test checkout accessibility separately from menu accessibility. Checkout has its own set of issues that do not appear on the menu pages. Address pickers, delivery selectors, tip fields, and payment confirmations each need their own walkthrough with a real screen reader.
Where Checkout Needs to Go for Blind Customers
Checkout is where the chain restaurant online ordering experience can fall apart for me in the most concrete ways. A wrong delivery address, a tip that does not lock in, a delivery type I picked without knowing the time window: every one of those affects the order in a way I cannot fix once the food is in motion. None of these failures is exotic. They are the kind of thing a real audit picks up in a few hours.
What that audit costs is rarely what keeps things in this state. It's that nobody on the team has been through checkout with a screen reader running.
Post-order management is up next in the series. The chain communicates with me, the driver communicates with me, the order changes status, I get prompted to rate the experience. All of that has its own accessibility surface.
In case you missed it, check out my other blogs in this series, starting with the first, "Chain Restaurant Online Ordering: How the Menu Fails Blind Customers."
For more insights on accessibility for restaurants and the hospitality industry, including how UsableNet can help, visit Food Service & Hospitality Accessibility Solutions
Editor's Note: This is a guest post from our marketing contributor, Michael Taylor. It reflects his opinions and experiences. Read more about Michael and some other posts on his experience online here.
