The private note only the owner reads

What the private note to the owner is

The private note is a text field the guest fills in at the end of the rating, inside the Private note to the owner block, right below the public comment. The deal is spelled out right there on their screen: it doesn't go public, it doesn't change the score and, if the score is 3 or less, it reaches the owner right away. It holds 600 characters and needs no account to write, just the table QR code.

Under the hood, this isn't a hidden corner of the same form: it's a different table in the database, kept apart from the public rating on purpose. The separation is structural, not a query filter — no public qmen.us page serves that text. There's only one way out, and it leads to your Dashboard.

Why this channel is worth more than the score

• People tell the truth when there's no audience. The same person who gives four stars out of politeness will write, in a private field, that the restroom was dirty or that the waiter disappeared.
• You find out while you can still fix it. A score of 3 or less lights up the alert on the Dashboard right away, without refreshing anything. The guest's screen says the owner has just been notified — they know you have time to come to the table before they leave.
• A complaint doesn't go on display. The note doesn't count toward the stars and doesn't show to anyone who opens the menu later. The conversation stays between the two of you.
• Nothing gets lost in the middle of service. Until someone taps Got it, the note stays listed on the Dashboard, with the score, the order name and how long ago it arrived.

How the private note works, from the guest to your Dashboard

Six steps: two to understand what the guest sees and four to handle the alert on your Dashboard without letting anything slip.

1. See where the guest writes

   On the table page, with the order Served and the table not yet freed, the How was it? card appears with the Rate your order button. The first screen asks for Liked it or Didn't like it on each dish and accepts a photo, all optional. The second is the score screen, and that's where the note lives.

2. Understand what goes where

   The score screen has three different things. The stars are the score, and they're required: without tapping them, the Send rating button stays off. The Public comment is what the person leaves for whoever comes next. And the Private note to the owner is the text that stays put — it goes neither to the menu nor into the score.

3. Get the alert on the Dashboard

   On the Dashboard, the Ratings to check block appears, with a counter in the title and a note that it's a private note from the guest and isn't shown on the menu. Each line shows the score, the order name, how long ago it arrived and the full note. With a score of 3 or less, the block appears the instant it's sent, without you reloading the page.

4. Find out whose note it is

   Next to each line there's View order, which opens that order on the Dashboard: the table, the items, the times. That's how you connect the complaint to a person who's still sitting in the dining room. The note doesn't carry the writer's name — what shows is the order name, or its number if the tab had no name.

5. Fix it before you tap Got it

   The Got it button says the note has been read and takes the line off the list, so it doesn't come back on every refresh. Read it carefully first: after Got it, the text leaves the Dashboard and the order screen doesn't show any note.

   Tip: Do the opposite of the usual: first go to the table and talk to the guest, then come back and tap Got it. The button means "resolved", not "received".

6. Check the notes with good scores too

   A note with four or five stars goes into the same list, just without the instant alert — that's reserved for a score of 3 or less. Take a look at the Dashboard at the end of service: the block keeps the ten most recent notes that haven't been marked Got it yet.

Frequently asked questions

Glossary

Private note to the owner

The private field on the second rating screen. It isn't public and doesn't affect the score; it only ever shows up on the owner's Dashboard.

Ratings to check

The section of the owner's Dashboard where private notes with a low score land, with the order, the score, the time and the View order and Got it buttons.

Got it

The button that marks the note as read and removes the line from the Dashboard. After that, the text doesn't show up again on the restaurant's screens.

Public comment

Free text of up to 600 characters that guests write for whoever orders next; it keeps the rater's name when they're signed in.

Low score

A rating of 3 stars or fewer. It's what triggers the instant alert on the owner's Dashboard.

Rate your order

The button on the How was it? card, which shows on the table page once the order is Served and opens the two rating screens.

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