What is Operational Accountability?
Operational Accountability is a program tied to the most important Operational Metrics to identify locations at-risk of hurting customer experiences and apply operational pauses when issues persist.
The program exists to:
Protect business customers who rely on ezCater for high‑stakes events like client meetings and trainings
Give you clear expectations for reliability and performance
Provide a path to improvement when a store falls below standards
Operational Accountability is not meant to punish your team. It is designed to:
Flag issues early so you can adjust settings, staffing, or processes
Use short, focused training to help locations get back on track
Maintain a high bar for reliability across the Marketplace
Pauses and progressive steps
When a location’s performance falls below standards for certain metrics, Operational Accountability may apply one of two states:
At risk
Store paused
“At risk” status
When a location reaches an at risk threshold:
You receive an email about the issue
A warning banner appears in the Partner Portal
Your store remains live on the Marketplace, but you are strongly encouraged to fix the problem before it worsens
At this stage you should:
Review your Operational Metrics in the Partner Portal
Identify the metric causing the warning such as rejections, cancellations, or on‑time delivery
Adjust settings such as lead times, capacity limits, closures, and delivery parameters
“Store paused” status
If performance continues to fall and hits a pause threshold:
Your store may be paused from receiving new orders
You will see clear messaging in the Partner Portal explaining:
Which metric caused the pause
What training or next steps are required to be considered for reactivation
Progressive steps for pauses
First Pause:
Completion of a training course associated with your pause is required to resume activity on the Marketplace
Second Pause:
You will need to meet with our Catering Partner Operations Team to review your account and methods for preventing further pauses
Third Pause:
A third pause is cause for removal from the ezCater platform.
Partners on a third pause due to on-time performance may transition to automatic Dispatch to remain active on the platform.
Thresholds that can lead to a pause
Operational Accountability focuses on a small set of key metrics
Rejection rate
Cancellation rate
On‑time delivery for self‑delivered orders (and takeout orders)
Ready for Dispatch for Dispatch orders
Thresholds are based on order volume in the last 90 days. There are different rules for
Stores with 6 or less in 90 days
Stores with 7 or more orders in 90 days
Rejection thresholds
Metric
Rejection rate (restaurant‑initiated rejections)
If your store has fewer than 6 orders in 90 days:
At risk
2 rejected orders in the last 90 days
Store paused
3 rejected orders in the last 90 days
If your store has 7 or more orders in 90 days:
At risk
Rejection rate between 5.01% and 29.99%
Store paused
Rejection rate 30% or higher
Cancellation thresholds
Metric
Cancellation rate (restaurant‑initiated cancellations)
If your store has fewer than 6 orders in 90 days:
At risk
1 cancellation in the last 90 days
Store paused
2 cancellations in the last 90 days
If your store has 7 or more orders in 90 days:
At risk
Cancellation rate between 3.01% and 9.99%
Store paused
Cancellation rate 10% or higher
On‑time delivery thresholds (self‑delivery)
Metric
On‑time delivery rate for self‑delivered orders only
If your store has fewer than 6 orders in 90 days
At risk
1 late order in the last 90 days
Store paused
2 late orders in the last 90 days
If your store has 7 or more orders in 90 days
At risk
On‑time delivery rate between 85% and 90%
Store paused
On‑time delivery rate below 84%
Ready for Dispatch thresholds
Metric
Ready for Dispatch measures how often food is ready at the scheduled pickup time for Dispatch drivers
If your store has fewer than 6 orders in 90 days:
At risk
1 order where food was not ready on time for Dispatch pickup
Store paused
2 such orders in the last 90 days
If your store has 7 or more orders in 90 days:
At risk
Food‑ready rate between 85% and 90%
Store paused
Food‑ready rate below 84%
How to stay out of pauses
You can use the Operational Metrics tab in the Partner Portal to see where you stand at any time
Focus on:
Rejections and cancellations
Set realistic lead times
Use capacity limits and closures to avoid taking more than you can handle
On‑time delivery and ready for ezDispatch
Stage and pack orders so food is ready at the scheduled time
Build in extra time for traffic and building access
Training and habits
Make sure managers know how Operational Accountability works
Use help center articles and training videos to coach teams toward best practices
By watching your metrics and taking early action, you can avoid at‑risk warnings and pauses, protect your customers’ events, and keep your locations growing on the ezCater Marketplace
Additional Resources
Training Resources