Why does one item appear differently on our KDS?

[yaykenny]

Hi
I know the Square system pretty well and also our KDS setup. We have a product (cheese panini) that always appears on the screens with a grey box around it (2 pics attached). I can;t see any difference in the way this product is setup so am stumped as to why it has the box around it. 1 breakfast item also does this. Any ideas?
Thanks

[Summer2024]

Hi, @yaykenny ! 

Here are several reasons why specific items might appear with a grey box on your KDS and how to fix them:

1. Item Modifiers Setup:

   • Check if these items have special modifiers
   • Compare modifier settings with similar items
   • Look for any "forced" or "required" modifiers
   • Verify modifier group settings

2. Item Categories:

   • Check if these items are in special categories
   • Compare category settings with other items
   • Verify KDS routing settings for the categories

3. Preparation Time Settings:

   • Check if custom prep times are set
   • Look for any timing alerts or notifications
   • Compare with similar items' prep settings

4. KDS Station Routing:

   • Verify station assignments
   • Check if items are routed to multiple stations
   • Compare routing rules with similar items

5. Item Properties:

   • Check "Item Options" settings
   • Look for any special preparation notes
   • Verify "Kitchen Notes" settings
   • Check for any custom attributes

To Troubleshoot:

1. Compare Settings:

   • Create a duplicate of the panini item
   • Remove all special settings
   • Test if the new item shows the grey box
   • Add settings back one by one to identify the cause

2. Check System Settings:

   • Review KDS display settings
   • Verify printer routing rules
   • Check category assignments
   • Review modifier groups

If none of the above works, please let me know, and I will escalate to our engineers. 

[yaykenny]

Hi

Thanks for the info. I have worked through most of these before posting but have just realised that the grey box only appears on the 2 items that are causing this issue on the kitchen workstation, they appear as normal on other workstations/expo screens so I assume the issue must be on the kitchen KDS. I will take a look tomorrow but we have 8 panini all on the same lunch/panini category all with exactly the same modifiers so is an odd one. 

Kenny 

[HiveStores]

We have the same problem and we can't find the cause or solution.

One item started a few weeks back and a second more recently without any changes being made back of house etc... So i just wondered if you had found a cause / solution?  

Obviously i'll have to try the trouble shooting options....

[yaykenny]

Hey,

Nope!  We have 2 kitchen prep workstations and an expo station and these grey boxes on the 2 products affected only appear on one of the kitchen screens, the others are fine. There is nothing in the KDS settings I can see that are any different from the other screens or anything that could possibly put a grey box around a specific product.

We are actually used to it now but it can be fixed by deleting the product and adding a new one which is pretty quick but would be good to know what is causing it and what it actually means, I had thought that a greyed out item had something to do with timing or pre order but not sure. 

Cheers

[The_Sun_Inn]

We also have just 1 item that appears like this! Cannot see any reason why.

[yaykenny]

Just replied to HiveStores above, we can't figure it out but you can delete and re-add the product which seems to fix it 🙂