Plan Thanksgiving week before Halloween

There is a particular kind of chaos that hits pizza shops on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Everyone is cooking tomorrow. Nobody wants to cook tonight. Families are arriving from out of town, the fridge is full of things that cannot be touched, and the obvious answer is pizza.

Shops that plan for that night have one of their best evenings of the year. Shops that do not spend it apologising for wait times.

The plan needs to be made now, at the end of September, not the week before.

Thanksgiving Eve

Start with last year's numbers. How many orders did each store take on the night before Thanksgiving, and at what times did they peak? Where did you run out of capacity, whether that was dough, drivers, ovens or phone lines?

Then plan for more. Book the staff early, because everyone else will be trying to book them too. Increase the dough order. Decide on a simplified menu if your kitchen struggles under load.

Open preorders for the evening a few days ahead and tell your regulars first. A message on Monday or Tuesday saying "Skip the cooking tomorrow night, order ahead and pick your time" spreads the rush and makes the night calmer for everyone.

The weekend after

The days after Thanksgiving are strange for restaurants. Some families are still working through leftovers. Others are sick of turkey by Friday night. Students and visitors are in town for the long weekend.

A short message on Friday or Saturday aimed at families who are tired of leftovers can do well. Keep it light.

Gift cards start now

Black Friday and the weeks after are the start of gift card season. Gift cards are good business for a pizza shop. They bring in money before the holidays, and they often bring in new customers when the cards are redeemed in January and February.

Plan the offer now. A bonus card with a purchase above a certain amount is common and works well. Make sure gift cards are easy to buy online, not just at the counter. Mention them in every message from late November through to the week before Christmas.

Write it all down in one place

Lay out the whole stretch from Halloween to New Year on one calendar. Thanksgiving Eve, the long weekend, gift card pushes, office holiday parties, the last week of school before the break. Mark which customers each message is for.

The weeks between October and December are crowded, for you and for your customers' inboxes. A plan made in September lets you send fewer, better messages instead of a panicked string of them in November.