AI Ordering Troubleshooting

Last updated: March 23, 2026

If you're experiencing issues with how your Maple AI agent handles ordering — whether it's incorrect order behavior, missing payment links, or menu discrepancies — this guide walks through the most common problems, their causes, and how to resolve them.

AI Attempts to Take Orders Instead of Sending an Ordering Link

Symptom: When a customer calls and says something like "I'd like to place a to-go order," the AI responds with "What would you like?" and tries to take the order directly, rather than providing a link to your online ordering site.

Cause: The AI's logic flow may not be configured to recognize all variations of order-related requests. In many setups — particularly where direct POS integration (e.g., SpotOn) is not enabled — the AI is not able to process orders itself. It should instead direct customers to your online ordering platform. The issue often arises because the AI handles different phrasings inconsistently. For example, it may correctly offer an ordering link when a customer asks "How much is the crawfish?" but attempt to take the order when the customer says "I want to place an order."

Fix:

  1. Contact Maple support and request that the AI be updated to recognize all common order-request phrasings (e.g., "place an order," "to-go order," "I'd like to order food," "can I order for pickup").

  2. Confirm that the AI is configured to respond to these requests by immediately sending your ordering website link via text.

  3. After the update is deployed, test by calling your AI agent with several different order-related phrasings to verify consistent behavior.

AI Does Not Ask Qualifying Questions (e.g., Menu Preference)

Symptom: You expect the AI to ask customers a follow-up question — such as "Which menu would you like to order from?" — before sending the ordering link, but it skips straight to providing the link or handling the request.

Cause: The Maple AI follows pre-established logic flows and does not proactively ask qualifying questions outside of its configured script. It is not designed to dynamically generate follow-up questions on its own.

Fix:

  • Work with your Maple support team to incorporate qualifying questions into the greeting message. For example, the greeting can prompt callers to specify their preference (e.g., "Are you calling about our lunch menu or dinner menu?"), which guides the AI's response.

  • This approach ensures customers provide the necessary context upfront without requiring the AI to ask unprompted follow-ups.

Payment Link Not Received After Placing an Order

Symptom: A customer places an order over the phone and is told a payment link will be sent via text, but the link never arrives.

Cause: This is typically caused by an ordering processing issue on the backend. In some cases, a system-wide issue may temporarily prevent payment links from being generated or delivered. In other cases, payment and menu configuration settings on your account may be misaligned.

Fix:

  1. Ask the customer to check their text messages (including spam/filtered folders) and confirm the correct phone number was used.

  2. If the link is genuinely missing, contact Maple support with the following details:

    • Date and time of the order

    • Customer's phone number

    • What was ordered (if known)

  3. Maple support will investigate whether the issue was part of a known system-wide fix or specific to your account's configuration.

  4. If the issue is account-specific, support may need to review and realign your payment and menu configuration settings.

Menu Items Missing from the Customer-Facing Ordering Interface

Symptom: Certain menu items that exist in your POS system are not appearing in your menu on Maple. For example, you have four salads in your POS but only two are displayed in Maple.

Cause: This is usually a menu sync issue between your POS system and the Maple platform. Common causes include:

  • Menu item names were recently changed in the POS but haven't synced to the ordering interface yet.

  • There may be a mismatch between the POS name (internal system name) and the display name (what customers see). The system may pull one but not the other.

  • The online menu data export may be incomplete compared to what's configured in the POS.

Fix:

  1. Verify the exact names of the missing items in your POS system — both the internal POS name and the customer-facing display name.

  2. Contact Maple support and provide the list of missing items along with their POS names.

  3. Support may need to re-sync your menu or switch to using a POS menu data export instead of online menu data to ensure completeness.

Modifiers or Customization Options Missing from Online Orders

Symptom: The online ordering menu shows fewer modification options than what's available in your POS system. Customers who are used to extensive customization when ordering by phone may be confused by the limited options online. In some cases, orders may fail to process because required modifiers (e.g., pizza size) are not being presented to the customer.

Cause: Online menus are often configured with simplified modifier lists compared to the full POS configuration. This is partly by design — online menus prioritize convenience — but it can lead to:

  • Customer confusion when expected options are unavailable

  • Order processing failures when required modifiers (like size or preparation style) are missing from the online menu configuration

  • Discrepancies between what the AI collects and what the kitchen needs

Fix:

  1. Compare your POS modifier list with what's available on the online ordering menu. Identify any required modifiers that are missing (these are the highest priority).

  2. Contact Maple support to update the modifier configuration. Support can use your POS menu data export to ensure all critical modifiers are included.

  3. For items with complex customization needs that can't be fully represented online, consider configuring the AI to offer a transfer to a staff member for those specific items.

  4. After updates, place a test order to confirm that all required modifiers are presented and that orders process successfully.

Orders Not Coming Through to Your System

Symptom: Customers place orders, but the orders don't appear in your POS or order management system. This may be particularly noticeable when payment was not processed as part of the order.

Cause: This is most commonly caused by:

  • Menus not being synced or published correctly — particularly for combo items or complex menu structures

  • Payment and menu configuration being misaligned on your account

  • A system-level ordering processing issue (temporary)

Fix:

  1. Contact Maple support to verify that your menus are fully synced and published.

  2. Ask support to check your payment and menu configuration alignment.

  3. If the issue affected specific orders, provide the order details (date, time, items) so support can investigate and confirm whether a deployed fix resolved the problem.

  4. Once resolved, place a test order end-to-end to confirm orders flow through to your system correctly.

Out-of-Stock (86'd) Items Still Appearing as Available

Symptom: Items you've marked as 86'd (out of stock) in your POS are still showing as available on the online ordering interface or being offered by the AI.

Cause: When you 86 an item in your POS, the system communicates that status to online ordering partners. However, there may be a delay in syncing, or the connection between your POS and the ordering platform may need to be verified.

Fix:

  1. Confirm the item is marked as 86'd in your POS system.

  2. Allow a few minutes for the sync to propagate.

  3. If the item still appears as available after syncing, contact Maple support to verify the connection between your POS and the online ordering platform.

Manual Size or Quantity Errors in Order Processing

Symptom: Orders are processed with incorrect size specifications or quantity modifications — for example, a customer orders a large pizza but the order comes through without a size, or quantities are wrong.

Cause: This is a known issue related to how the system handles manual size and quantity inputs during order processing, particularly when modifier configurations are incomplete.

Fix:

  1. Review your menu configuration to ensure all size options are set as required modifiers so customers must select them before completing an order.

  2. Report specific examples of incorrect orders to Maple support, including what was ordered vs. what came through.

  3. Support will review your modifier configuration and adjust the order processing logic as needed.

Ordering Login Not Working

Symptom: You're unable to log in to Maple and/or access ordering-related settings.

Fix:

  1. Clear your browser cache and try again.

  2. If the issue persists, contact Maple support with your account email address and a description of the error you're seeing (e.g., error message, blank screen, redirect loop).

Best Practices to Minimize Ordering Issues

  • Test regularly: After any menu update in your POS, place a test order through the full flow (AI call → ordering link → payment → order received) to catch issues early.

  • Keep menus synced: Whenever you add, remove, or rename items in your POS, confirm the changes are reflected on your online ordering interface.

  • Provide clear item names: Ensure your POS item names match what customers expect to see. Avoid internal shorthand that could confuse customers.

  • Review modifier completeness: Periodically compare your POS modifiers with what's available online, especially for your most popular items.