CUSTOMER STORY
Holbox’s Online Order Revenue Greatly Increases with Sauce
Gilberto Cetina is the chef and owner of Holbox in South Los Angeles’ Mercado La Paloma food hall. Holbox is Cetina’s take on traditional Mexican seafood, known as mariscos, with the inspiration of Southern California’s bountiful ingredients, and a more contemporary sensibility. Cetina takes pride in the food he puts out and in the level of service he provides. “We only serve things that me and our staff are excited to cook and excited to eat. We want to transmit that excitement to the customer.”
LOCATION
Los Angeles
CUSTOMER SINCE
2020
RESULTS
50%
Reduction in Delivery Costs
Gilberto Cetina
Owner, Holbox
“With Sauce, the bigger the order the better, the more orders the better.”
2020 and the Rise of Delivery
Prior to the pandemic, delivery had not been a big part of Holbox’s business model. But 2020 changed that. Suddenly, the only contact Cetina had with his customers was online or through the phone. To continue operating, Gilberto needed to provide comprehensive takeout and delivery offerings. Initially, Holbox tried using their own delivery drivers. After a month or two, they realized they did not have the infrastructure, technology, insurance, or bandwidth to manage their own delivery operation. They had used third party aggregators pre-pandemic and were not satisfied with the service. Being such a small portion of their business, they had not been previously compelled to look for a solution. With 100% of the business shifting to takeout and delivery, the search was on for the right delivery partner. “We thought that our customers should be ours and the revenue that we’re generating should mostly be going to the restaurant,” says Cetina. They needed a partner who would uphold the integrity of their food and customer service. That’s when he found Sauce.
Getting Back Control of Customers
Getting setup with Sauce was easy. Cetina sent the Sauce team Holbox’s menu, and within a few days, their backend was built out and the platform was up and running in the restaurant. Within 2-3 weeks, the Holbox team was seamlessly using the Sauce platform. Customers order directly through their website, Google, Facebook, or Instagram pages. The order goes directly into their POS, the kitchen receives it, and the delivery driver will come pick it up on time. Cetina notes that “Sauce enabled us to leave the commission model and gain control of our customer data and the relationship and experience with the customer.” They were no longer at the hands of the third party aggregators that handle customer service and own all your customer data, not to mention the high fees.
Welcoming Big Orders
With such high commission fees in the third party landscape, Gilberto would often dread seeing a big online order come in. “We knew that the commission is in sync with the size of the order. With Sauce, the bigger the order the better, the more orders the better.” They now pay an affordable monthly fee and a flat fee per order. Since switching to Sauce, Holbox’s online order revenue has greatly increased. On top of that, they are saving thousands of dollars on commission fees. Gilberto estimates that they have cut their delivery costs in half with Sauce.
“Literally the Best Customer Support Ever”
Not only is Sauce’s technology upping Holbox’s game, so is the team behind their customer support. “Sauce’s customer support is literally the best customer support I’ve ever seen from any company offering any kind of service to our business.” While he and his staff are busy doing what they do best, cooking, Sauce’s team and technology is providing the support and platform to help their business thrive. For Cetina and Holbox, Sauce is simply a solution that works.