One or More Reasons Why I Loathe Delivery Apps

[pastrygirl]

15 hours ago, MetsFan5 said:

Also on the flip side, people are making a living and not a bad one at that, working for UberEats, Doordash and Postmates. I tip 20% because if I’m too lazy to cook or pick up food then I think the drivers deserve compensation for my laziness. 

 

I also want the restaurant owners to make a living and not a bad one at that. 

 

Are they still adequately compensated after the 30% fees?  Can restaurants charge extra for food ordered through the app?  Most restaurants don't have the margin to take 30% off their regular menu price. 

[IowaDee]

Nancy, we had the same chicken delivery company in Newbury Park, Ca in the late 60's.  There were times I would have traded a kid to have a fully prepared dinner dropped off at the door.  The only store to door service that was more important was the one that delivered fresh, clean diapers.

Edited June 25, 2019 by IowaDee (log)

[Kim Shook]

Some folks I know use gift certificates from these services to give to new parents and folks just out of the hospital.  At our church, we have a casserole group that fills the same need, but it is homemade.  I find that much more personal, but some people don't cook and still want to contribute.  I've also known people to do it for a loved one who lives far away from them.  I guess it means that the people being gifted at least get to pick out what they want to eat.  So that's one reasonable use, I think.

 

We've never used one of these services.  The only thing we ever get delivered is pizza.  Crap pizza - Domino's, Pizza Hut, Papa John's.  But since we've found 2 very local places that make good pizza, I've convinced Mr. Kim that it is worth going a mile or so to get that!

 

I've always had a guilty love of delivered food, though.  In the 60's, I used to sometimes spend the night with my father's mother.  Her house was fascinating.  She and my grandfather knew everyone in politics in Washington DC and she had pictures and dance programs and invitations to embassies, grand hotel ballrooms and even the White House.  Her refrigerator was not so fascinating (at least to a 6-7 year old).  She cooked one night a year (Christmas) and that was it.   The freezer had bottles of gin and vodka and as many ice cube trays as would fit.  The fridge section had bottles of olives, cocktail onions, milk (for her morning coffee) and Metrical shakes (like SlimFast).  When I'd get hungry, she'd had me a sheaf of menus and say, "Pick what you want and The Man will bring it".  To this day, I have no idea who "The Man" was.  I don't know if she had contacts at all the restaurants who would deliver to her or if this was someone on retainer who delivered meals for her or what.  But she'd make a phone call and in a bit we'd be sitting down to chicken or Chinese (our favorite) or spaghetti.  

[MetsFan5]

7 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

 

I also want the restaurant owners to make a living and not a bad one at that. 

 

Are they still adequately compensated after the 30% fees?  Can restaurants charge extra for food ordered through the app?  Most restaurants don't have the margin to take 30% off their regular menu price. 

 

  I can only speak for the restaurants I worked for— not chains and high end— and it seems to be working well for them. Specially because people find their food and packaging to be good and so they then go to dine in. 

  A lot of popular restaurants, family owned places like the apps because they’re still selling when they have a full house with a waitlist. 

 

  That is just my experience. 

[chromedome]

For a balanced look from the other side of the table, here's a recent article from a high-profile industry publication:

https://www.qsrmagazine.com/reports/delivery-dilemma-rages-restaurants

[pastrygirl]

then there's this

https://www.eater.com/2019/6/28/19171476/grubhub-seamless-cybersquatting-restaurant-web-domains

 

[gfweb]

3 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

then there's this

https://www.eater.com/2019/6/28/19171476/grubhub-seamless-cybersquatting-restaurant-web-domains

 

 

There must be several ways that this illegal...trademark issues...false advertising...wire fraud

[TdeV]

Post reconsidered.

Edited July 4, 2019 by TdeV
Correcting punctuation (log)

[lemniscate]

In the latest news headline cycles today:

 

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/30/746600105/1-in-4-food-delivery-drivers-admit-to-eating-your-food

 

Those are the ones who admit to it, I'd say % a bit higher due to human nature.

[rotuts]

how hard can it be to put a ' sticker ' on the container of food

 

that can't be pealed off ?   but has to be cut to open the container

 

maybe a 

 

 

?

 

idiots .

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

how hard can it be to put a ' sticker ' on the container of food

 

that can't be pealed off ?   but has to be cut to open the container

 

maybe a 

 

 

?

 

idiots .

 

Tamper-proof is not a new concept.

 

With all the twisted creeps in the world, I'd have a hard time trusting an unsealed container.

Edited July 31, 2019 by gfweb (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Amazon Prime Now puts a seal on the delivery bags.

 

[Chris Hennes]

I was staying at a hotel in the Bay Area a couple of days ago and didn’t feel like fighting traffic (again) when dinner time arrived, so I gave DoorDash a try. From a consumer’s perspective the experience is good (setting aside the question of whether our driver sampled any of the food!). The apps are a nice way to see a quick look at the menus for a lot of local places all in one place, with a good user interface and up to date price information. If mobility were easier in the area I might have used the app to find a restaurant to eat in at instead. Probably not quite what the app developers had in mind.

[rotuts]

the Internet , for good or evil , or really bad FB evil, 

 

changes markets for the better or the worse.

 

remember Groupon ?  are they still laughing all the way to The Bank ?

 

delivery apps become an easy method to order food , in a way

 

the current generation accepts a routine :  on a Smart Device 

 

recently the NYtimes had an article how apps are changing restaurants 

 

themselves :   no in-dinning , just take out:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/technology/uber-eats-ghost-kitchens.html?searchResultPosition=1

 

try googling   

 

The Rise of the Virtual Restaurant

 

if there is something the internet might do efficiently :

 

it would be to minimize the Middle Layers Cost.

 

some interesting business are resisting :

 

Domino's

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/dominos-goes-it-alone-on-delivery-11566219685

 

try googling

 

Domino’s Pizza Goes It Alone on Delivery

 

their will be a give and take until some sort of equilibrium is achieved.

 

Amazon changed how you buy a book .  a book is a book , and Im pleased I can get

 

one easily and cheaper.

 

you can also look into Waterstrone's  , a British chain

 

that changes its business model , its in store experience 

 

and is now doing well , because of Amazon's  ' pressure '

 

food , instore or online or farmers markets will eventually do the same

 

but of course , ' ease of use '  " what a deal '  will bring out very hung Sharks

 

AKA  Groupon , FB, etc

 

 

 

 

 

[chromedome]

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/09/doordash-hack-spills-loads-of-data-for-4-9-million-people/

 

 

[weinoo]

As the pandemic settled in, the vultures circled and are circling...

 

Quote

Rescuing Restaurants: How to Protect Restaurants, Workers, and Communities from Predatory Delivery App Corporations