Staff applications · 7 min read
The runner app
How runners sign in with a PIN, read carside vehicle cards and dine-in table cards to deliver prepared orders, and set up push notifications so nothing is missed.
Who this is for
Runners who deliver prepared orders, and the manager who creates their PINs.
What the runner does
The runner is the staff member who takes prepared orders from the kitchen to the customer — to a parked vehicle for carside orders, to a table for dine-in, or to the pickup counter for takeaway. The runner app shows exactly where each ready order needs to go, so handoffs are fast and order mix-ups are rare.
Signing in with a PIN
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Open the tablet browser and go to https://dashdinemenu.com/runner/{branchSlug}/login.
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A keypad appears. Enter your four-to-six digit PIN.
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On success, your name shows briefly and the board loads.
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Forgotten PIN? A manager opens Staff in the admin sidebar, finds your entry, and reveals or rotates the PIN.
Carside vehicle cards
A carside card has a single bold line near the top: COLOR MODEL - PLATE. The format is intentionally compact so a runner can read it from across the room. Example: "WHITE LAND CRUISER - 660".
The plate field shows what the customer typed — usually the last three or four digits, which is what drivers remember and all you need to match a parked car. Full plates are not stored; they are personal data that is not needed for the handoff.
Table and takeaway cards
A dine-in card has a TABLE pill near the top with the number in large, bold text. Tap it to copy the number — useful when calling out to the kitchen. When customers scan a per-table QR code, the table number fills in automatically; when they choose dine-in from the main menu link, they typed it themselves, so an unfamiliar number can mean a typo or a customer at the wrong table.
Takeaway cards have no vehicle or table line — only a counter icon and the customer phone. The runner walks the bag to the pickup counter and uses the order reference and phone to confirm.
Handoff communication tips
- Use the order reference, not the customer name, when calling an order across the floor. Names are sometimes private; references never collide.
- For carside, repeat the colour-model-plate as a single phrase. "White Land Cruiser, six-six-zero" is faster than three separate facts.
- When a card has been sitting in Ready for over a minute, mention it to the runner verbally — the audio alert only plays once, on arrival.
Push notifications
Push notifications alert the runner when a new order arrives even if the screen is off or the page is in the background. Without push, the tablet must be awake with the runner page in front for the audio alert and visual flash to register.
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Android: open the runner workspace, tap the bell icon in the header, and tap Allow when the browser asks for notification permission.
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iOS: open the page in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen, and open the app from that icon — not from Safari.
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On iOS, tap the bell icon inside the installed app and allow notifications.
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Test by submitting a small order from another device — a notification should appear on the tablet within a couple of seconds.
Push troubleshooting
- Permission denied: the bell icon shows a slash. Reset notification permissions for the site in browser settings, then tap the bell again.
- No notification fires: confirm Do Not Disturb is off and, on iOS, that the app was launched from the home-screen icon.
- Notification appears but with no sound: the OS notification settings allow visual but not audio alerts. Adjust per-app sound settings.
Frequently asked
Does closing the browser sign the runner out?
No — the session persists between shifts for convenience. Use the sign-out button in the top bar at end of day so the next opener gets a clean state, and because a signed-in tablet is a security risk if it walks off.Can one runner work at two branches?
Yes, but PINs are branch-scoped. Create a staff record for them at each branch; the digits can match if that is easier to remember, but each branch needs its own entry.What if the customer cannot be found at their vehicle?
Tap the customer phone number on the card to copy it and call. The vehicle line plus the plate digits resolve nearly all matches; the phone covers the rest.