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This is so interesting to me because I just never use these services. I think I've ordered on Grubhub's website maybe once, and I've never used DoorDash or Uber

This is so interesting to me because I just never use these services. I think I've ordered on Grubhub's website maybe once, and I've never used DoorDash or UberEats, and I eat a lot of takeout. Though I don't do much delivery and maybe it's really just down to that. The context of these (perfectly valid) complaints often comes down to, "wow this is a parasitic business model and we hate these guys, but we have to use them" from the business owner, and I guess I've just never gotten how much of the market they've apparently eaten up. I'll use the restaurant's own online ordering system (a lot of the ones I've visited lately are using the Toast POS system which seems to include online ordering, and I've used some of the apps and websites of the bigger chains), or call them, but the generic apps just seem like an unnecessary middleman and I can't quite get why I would use them, and that's without even considering that they're skimming off the restaurant's profits. It's also quite rare that I want "just anything" within some category vs. some specific restaurant. Maybe there's something I'm missing...

MattGaiser 6y ago
I suspect we have different thought processes. I can't Google for a restaurant as the only thing I have decided is that I want to eat takeout food by the time I open DoorDash. So DoorDash is not only a mechanism for delivery, but it is a mechanism for selecting the food.
121789 6y ago
I think there is a large portion of people, including me, that really just wants to maximize the reward to effort ratio of ordering from restaurants. The apps give you a one-stop place to filter on quality (reviews are generally good directionally), make it quite easy to get refunds if there are issues with your order, and streamline the payment/tipping process.
conductr 6y ago
I’m in your camp. Don’t use it much. But not a heavy take away user in general. I have a preference for fresh food even if it’s McDonald’s (10 minute old McDonald’s is worse to me). I don’t even like drive thru much and they proliferate in Texas. That said, when I order delivery (usually pizza), I just call. I feel like any amount of web/app UI, doing the ordering and account creation/management is a huge hassle. The telephone is easy and fast. It’s like Alexa except with a real human. Y’all should try it out /s But seriously, I’m a little older (that weird pre-millennial gen), but I find it crazy/funny how extreme the younger generations avoidance of voice calls has become. I don’t like talking on the phone, but sometimes it’s the best UI.
- mydongle 6y ago
  I used to work at a pizza place and often times phone orders will actually disrupt the pizza making since pizza makers have to go take the calls if there aren't any or not enough delivery drivers (who are the primary call takers). It takes just one problem customer to hold up a pizza maker for enough time and cause a huge pain. Not saying you're wrong to call though, just a little random anecdote.

MattGaiser 6y ago

I suspect we have different thought processes. I can't Google for a restaurant as the only thing I have decided is that I want to eat takeout food by the time I open DoorDash. So DoorDash is not only a mechanism for delivery, but it is a mechanism for selecting the food.

121789 6y ago

I think there is a large portion of people, including me, that really just wants to maximize the reward to effort ratio of ordering from restaurants. The apps give you a one-stop place to filter on quality (reviews are generally good directionally), make it quite easy to get refunds if there are issues with your order, and streamline the payment/tipping process.

conductr 6y ago

I’m in your camp. Don’t use it much. But not a heavy take away user in general. I have a preference for fresh food even if it’s McDonald’s (10 minute old McDonald’s is worse to me). I don’t even like drive thru much and they proliferate in Texas. That said, when I order delivery (usually pizza), I just call. I feel like any amount of web/app UI, doing the ordering and account creation/management is a huge hassle. The telephone is easy and fast. It’s like Alexa except with a real human. Y’all should try it out /s But seriously, I’m a little older (that weird pre-millennial gen), but I find it crazy/funny how extreme the younger generations avoidance of voice calls has become. I don’t like talking on the phone, but sometimes it’s the best UI.

mydongle 6y ago
I used to work at a pizza place and often times phone orders will actually disrupt the pizza making since pizza makers have to go take the calls if there aren't any or not enough delivery drivers (who are the primary call takers). It takes just one problem customer to hold up a pizza maker for enough time and cause a huge pain. Not saying you're wrong to call though, just a little random anecdote.