Pod Capacity
We often get asked a fair question: how can something this small handle food deliveries for an entire building? The short answer is that food delivery doesn't all happen at once. A single pod handles over 100 deliveries a day. Here's how a small footprint goes that far.
The footprint is genuinely small
A single Q Series Minnow Pod takes up less than 4 square feet of floor space. That's about the size of a welcome mat. It tucks into a lobby corner or a vestibule without you rearranging a thing.
| Q Series Minnow Pod | Dimension |
|---|---|
| Width | 31 3/4" (807 mm) |
| Depth | 17 21/32" (449 mm) |
| Height | 71 5/8" (1820 mm) |
With the optional LilyPad Floor Mount, the depth comes to 25 11/32" (644 mm) and the height to 72 7/16" (1840 mm). Either way, you're giving up about the same floor space as a vending machine and getting something far more useful.
Why a small footprint doesn't mean small capacity
A lot of people assume you'd need a wall of lockers, one slot sitting reserved for every order all day long. By that math, 80 orders means 80 lockers.
But that's not how it works. Food delivery is asynchronous. Orders don't pile up in one big batch and wait around until evening. They show up and get picked up all day, on their own schedules.
A cubby is a turnstile, not a parking spot
A driver pulls up, drops an order into an open cubby, and is gone in under a minute. The cubby is now holding food. A little while later, the tenant comes down, grabs their order, and the cubby is empty again, ready for the next delivery.
That cycle, drop then pickup then empty, repeats over and over all day. The same cubby serves a lot of different orders. So capacity isn't set by how many cubbies you have in a single frozen moment. It's set by how fast those cubbies turn over.
And they turn over fast. Average dwell time, the stretch between a driver dropping an order and a tenant grabbing it, runs about 12 to 15 minutes depending on the building. Sometimes it's as little as 10 seconds, when someone's already waiting in the lobby and doesn't want an awkward conversation with their delivery driver. At that pace, a single cubby clears and refills several times an hour, which is exactly why 7 of them go so far.
Think of it like a coffee shop with ten tables. The shop serves far more than ten customers a day, because nobody sits forever. People come, they leave, the table opens up. A Minnow Pod works the same way. Seven cubbies handle over 100 deliveries a day because no single order occupies its space for long.
Drivers love it too. No waiting for a tenant to come down, no buzzing apartments, no phone calls, no leaving food on the floor. They drop and dash, which keeps them moving and keeps your lobby clear.
What if the pod fills up?
It rarely does, but it's worth knowing how we handle it. If every cubby is occupied when a driver arrives, the driver gets a notification to coordinate the delivery directly with the resident, exactly the way deliveries worked before the pod. Nothing breaks, and no order gets stranded.
As long as expired pickup notifications get addressed in a timely manner, capacity typically isn't a problem at all. The whole system runs on cubbies clearing out, so when tenants grab their orders promptly, those cubbies keep turning over and stay ready for the next wave.
Need more capacity? Add a pod, not a renovation
For higher-volume buildings, the Q Series Add-On Pod bolts right onto your Control Pod, the one with the touchscreen. It's the same size as the Control Pod, so the whole setup stays clean and consistent.
| Configuration | Width | Depth | Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add-On Pod (alone) | 31 3/4" (807 mm) | 25 11/32" (644 mm) | 72 7/16" (1840 mm) |
| Control + one Add-On | 63 1/2" (1613 mm) | 25 11/32" (644 mm) | 72 7/16" (1840 mm) |
The best part is you don't have to guess your peak volume on day one. Start with a single pod, watch the orders flow, and add capacity only when your building actually needs it. No rewiring, no construction, no rethinking your layout.
What this means for your property
You get a secure, organized pickup point for food deliveries that fits where you already have room. Your lobby stays uncluttered, your staff stops playing courier, and your tenants get a reliable spot to grab their orders, all from a unit smaller than a closet.
Small footprint. Big throughput. That's the whole idea.
Frequently asked questions
- How much floor space does a Minnow Pod need?
- Less than 4 square feet, about the size of a welcome mat. A single Q Series Pod is 31 3/4" wide and 17 21/32" deep (25 11/32" deep with the LilyPad Floor Mount), standing about 6 feet tall.
- How can such a small pod handle so many deliveries?
- Because food delivery is asynchronous. Seven cubbies handle over 100 deliveries a day, since drivers drop off and tenants pick up at different times. Capacity comes from turnover, not from having a slot for every order at once.
- What happens if the pod is at full capacity?
- The driver gets a notification to coordinate delivery directly with the resident, just like before the pod, so no order gets stranded. As long as expired pickup notifications are addressed promptly, capacity typically isn't a problem.
- How long does an order stay in the pod?
- On average 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the building, and sometimes as little as 10 seconds. That quick turnover is what lets 7 cubbies handle over 100 deliveries a day.
- Can I add capacity later?
- Yes. Add-On Pods attach to your Control Pod and are the same size as it. A Control Pod plus one Add-On Pod together measure 63 1/2" wide. Add capacity as your order volume grows.
See how a Minnow Pod fits your building
Tell us your space and your delivery volume, and we'll size the right setup with you.
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