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You're way off on this one. A lot of those use cases don't work because texting is an asynchronous communication channel unless it's got some sort of automated
by BigJono 7y ago
You're way off on this one. A lot of those use cases don't work because texting is an asynchronous communication channel unless it's got some sort of automated system behind it. The reason you can't order takeout or make a reservation through text is because you come to an impasse if the person on the other end gets distracted and doesn't respond. The value in something like UberEats or OpenTable isn't in message passing, it's in state management. With UberEats if a restaurant closes suddenly or doesn't take your order within a timeout period, both you and the restaurant are notified and the state of your communication is updated, so there is no confusion. If you text or slack or whatever your order to a restaurant, and the person on the phone doesn't respond, you're fucked. How do you know whether it's safe to place an order somewhere else or not?
Sure, every restaurant could build their own automated system that texts you back and manages the communication, but that's never going to happen when there's already a managed, standardized service available.
- cataphract 7y agoYou might think that, but when I was in Brazil, ordering food by WhatsApp was commonplace. The restaurants would, generally speaking, answer very quickly. Some would send you the daily menu every morning.
- spats1990 7y agoThat is so nice! And I thought I had it made a few years ago when I lived two buildings down and three floors up from the best Indian restaurant in town and would call them to place the order then go downstairs to pick it up twenty minutes later. Calling. On the phone. Pfft. The daily menu thing is especially endearing.