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Out here in the hinterlands of "fly-over country", I just want a phone number, address, menu, and hours of operation. I don't care what form they take be it web

Out here in the hinterlands of "fly-over country", I just want a phone number, address, menu, and hours of operation. I don't care what form they take be it website, Facebook, a Yelp page, whatever. Something that a search engine can index. Just those 4 things can be something of a large ask from the mom and pop places around here. What you're asking for sounds like science fiction.

petre 6y ago
Then you won't be buying food from dark kitchens which is what these food delivery apps encourage.
- yoshamano 6y ago
  True, but dark kitchens/ghost restaurants aren't really a thing around here.
  - JAlexoid 6y ago
    Most of the "flyover" country isn't even on these apps.
    - yoshamano 6y ago
      I'm surprised by the number that are around here. The town of 7,000 people I live in (Marshall, MI) doesn't have a lot in the way of delivery app participation. However, 15 minutes away is a town of 52,000 people (Battle Creek, MI), and I would say at least half of the local mom and pop places there are in bed with at least one delivery app.
chii 6y ago
> Just those 4 things can be something of a large ask from the mom and pop places around here. i bet that there's a way to turn this sort of need into a utility that can be provided with a very simple method. It used to be very difficult to operate a telephone when it was new. Now it's ubiquitous. Calling somebody meant looking up their number in a phonebook. And it is because of standardization. So i propose that all businesses standardize in describing what they sell - make this a requirement by law, and there will be companies that can provide cheap services to do this task for them. Using this standardization process, online ordering and other (like inventory tracking) can also be "standardized" in such a way that makes it outsource-able.
- JAlexoid 6y ago
  And then they charge 30% or the cost of operating such a machine is 30% of average sales volume... and we're back to the beginning.
threatofrain 6y ago
Science fiction? What's wrong with the Facebook and Yelp you just mentioned? You don't need a perfect website, right?
- RandallBrown 6y ago
  Even in Seattle, I find Facebook and Yelp's hours to be inconsistent and wrong. My neighborhood bar hasn't updated their Facebook page in years.
- yoshamano 6y ago
  Nothing at all wrong with Facebook or Yelp. The issue is a lot of them are auto-generated pages by those websites. So they're usually nothing more than placeholders created with the hope that the restaurant will claim them, and then populate them with info. The science fiction is bit_logic's requests from up at the top of the thread: * A way to order and pay online. * Details on their contactless pickup procedure if I drive there. I want them to bring it to my car, then I can unlock my trunk, and they can place it inside and close it.
deleted 6y ago
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petre 6y ago

Then you won't be buying food from dark kitchens which is what these food delivery apps encourage.

yoshamano 6y ago
True, but dark kitchens/ghost restaurants aren't really a thing around here.
- JAlexoid 6y ago
  Most of the "flyover" country isn't even on these apps.
  - yoshamano 6y ago
    I'm surprised by the number that are around here. The town of 7,000 people I live in (Marshall, MI) doesn't have a lot in the way of delivery app participation. However, 15 minutes away is a town of 52,000 people (Battle Creek, MI), and I would say at least half of the local mom and pop places there are in bed with at least one delivery app.

chii 6y ago

> Just those 4 things can be something of a large ask from the mom and pop places around here. i bet that there's a way to turn this sort of need into a utility that can be provided with a very simple method. It used to be very difficult to operate a telephone when it was new. Now it's ubiquitous. Calling somebody meant looking up their number in a phonebook. And it is because of standardization. So i propose that all businesses standardize in describing what they sell - make this a requirement by law, and there will be companies that can provide cheap services to do this task for them. Using this standardization process, online ordering and other (like inventory tracking) can also be "standardized" in such a way that makes it outsource-able.

JAlexoid 6y ago
And then they charge 30% or the cost of operating such a machine is 30% of average sales volume... and we're back to the beginning.

threatofrain 6y ago

Science fiction? What's wrong with the Facebook and Yelp you just mentioned? You don't need a perfect website, right?

RandallBrown 6y ago
Even in Seattle, I find Facebook and Yelp's hours to be inconsistent and wrong. My neighborhood bar hasn't updated their Facebook page in years.
yoshamano 6y ago
Nothing at all wrong with Facebook or Yelp. The issue is a lot of them are auto-generated pages by those websites. So they're usually nothing more than placeholders created with the hope that the restaurant will claim them, and then populate them with info. The science fiction is bit_logic's requests from up at the top of the thread: * A way to order and pay online. * Details on their contactless pickup procedure if I drive there. I want them to bring it to my car, then I can unlock my trunk, and they can place it inside and close it.

deleted 6y ago

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