Solo Run And Shared Crew

Choose how mobile operations assign order ownership, assistance, and handoffs across staff.

Solo Run and Shared Crew control how staff share work on orders during mobile operations. This is an organization-level setting—not per person.

It works alongside Easy vs Standard interface preference. A Shared Crew restaurant can have some staff on Easy and some on Standard.

Why this setting exists

Restaurants run differently:

A single-counter café often has one person doing everything.
A full-service dining room has waiters, runners, and kitchen handoffs.

Zesty adjusts the Operations workspace so the UI matches how your team actually works—without forcing claim steps on a solo operator or hiding ownership on a busy floor.

Solo Run

How it works

One operator owns an order from capture through collect. The Operations workspace shows the next task in sequence without claim or handoff steps.

Best for

small cafes with one counter person
food trucks or kiosks with one active seller
training with a single mentor on the floor
outlets where roles overlap informally

Typical flow

Staff takes or receives order
        ↓
Prepare (kitchen steps as needed)
        ↓
Serve / hand to customer
        ↓
Collect payment

Tips

Still use KDS and Billing modules when volume grows—Solo Run is about ownership UI, not skipping kitchen.
Managers should watch for bottlenecks when one person owns every ticket.

Shared Crew

How it works

Multiple staff collaborate during the same service period. Orders can be claimed, assisted, and handed off with visible notes and attribution.

Active-order reads stay synchronized across devices so claim state does not fork.

Best for

table-service with separate runners and cashiers
busy counters where multiple staff touch one ticket
outlets that need a clear owner per order without losing team visibility

Staff actions

Action	Meaning
Claim	Become responsible for an unowned order
Assist	Help on another person's order; attribution stays visible
Request assistance	Owner asks for help while keeping ownership
Handoff note	Pass context to the next role (e.g. runner → cashier)

Typical flow

Order arrives (QR or staff)
        ↓
Runner claims → kitchen updates
        ↓
Food ready → handoff note to cashier
        ↓
Cashier assists or collects → receipt

Training rules (recommended)

Agree as a team:

Who claims incoming QR orders during rush
When to assist vs take ownership (avoid two people collecting payment)
Handoff notes required for large tables or split bills
Managers resolve stuck claims at shift change

Choosing a model

Question	Solo Run	Shared Crew
One person often does full order?	Yes	No
Multiple staff touch same ticket?	Rare	Common
Need clear owner per order?	Informal	Explicit
Table service with runners?	Unusual	Yes

You can change organization setting as you grow—train staff when you switch.

Relationship to other settings

Setting	Layer	Affects
Solo Run / Shared Crew	Organization	Operations ownership UI
Easy / Standard	Per member	Layout and routes
Sales workflow mode	Organization	POS vs service paths
Permissions	Per member	Which modules appear

Common problems

Two staff tried to collect payment
Shared Crew: only the owner or designated cashier should collect. Use handoff notes.

Order shows unclaimed during rush
Train claim discipline; manager can reassign in full Orders workspace.

Solo Run feels cramped at peak
Consider Shared Crew or split roles across Billing and Operations.

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