Most no-shows are honest mistakes — a lost phone, a child's meltdown, a wrong postcode in the diary. A short message usually rescues the order. If it doesn't, the food is yours to keep and so is the payment.
First, message them
From the order in your dashboard, you have the customer's phone number on file. A short text — “Just checking you're still on for pickup, food's ready” — recovers most of these.
If they reply, be flexible
If they can come within an hour, hold the food. If not, offer to drop it on a nearby spot or arrange a different day. Customers remember a chef who saved the day; they remember a chef who refunded reluctantly even more.
If they don't reply
After your pickup window has closed, the order is yours to mark complete. The payment stays with you — there's no automatic refund for no-shows. If you want to refund anyway as a gesture, you can do so from the order details page.
PickupChef doesn't step in on no-shows. You're the one who cooked and waited, so you decide whether to refund. We're happy to back you up if a customer disputes the charge.