3 ms·

I think the issue is restaurants need a 3rd party platform. They aren't in the tech industry and they aren't going to hire a developer to build their own system

I think the issue is restaurants need a 3rd party platform. They aren't in the tech industry and they aren't going to hire a developer to build their own system unless its a global franchise. What we really need is for someone to build an open source / one time cost / subscription platform that gives restaurants the ease of using a premade system without the expense of having a per transaction fee.

cortesoft 6y ago
What makes Grubhub/doordash/etc so valuable to consumers, though, wouldn't be replicated by a premade system like that, though, no matter how good it was. The killer feature is that it is a single market place. I go on the app, I can search through dozens of local restaurants, all with a consistent interface. I can place an order in a couple of clicks at a brand new restaurant I have never tried, and I dont have to enter any new information. I can scroll through all my previous orders at all the previous restaurants, and re-order in one click. This service can ONLY be provided by a unified platform. It doesn't matter how good a restaurants website is, I want ALL the restaurants in one place. Now, could it be cheaper for restaurants? Does GH take too much of a cut? Maybe, but I don't know.... GH and DD both lose a ton of money, and have spent a ridiculous amount of money to get to where they are. Could anyone provide the service for a lot cheaper? If they could, they sure haven't yet.
- milesskorpen 6y ago
  I think the challenge here is that all the competitors are exceptionally well funded venture backed companies that are fighting to be the winner who takes it all. We don't know what this market would look like without the flood of exceptionally venture money to finance the engineers and discounts and all. Sustainable delivery would probably more bifurcated. I could imagine a range of food types that are delivery-centric (think pizza & Chinese) in areas with cheaper rents & smaller (or non-non-existant) dining rooms, and more delivery-optimized (high margin, easy to transport) food, with their own delivery drivers - and that a lot of other venues wouldn't do delivery, or would partner w/ a service like Lyft or Postmates when necessary, and it'd be expensive. I think this would be a healthier place to be.
  - cortesoft 6y ago
    It might be healthier for the restaurants, but it doesn't seem better for consumers. I want a solution that still lets me only have a single portal I have to interact with to order my food.
    - Super_Jambo 6y ago
      This was kind of the dream of the Semantic web. It's a fantasy though because it promotes competition and good customer outcomes and our system's main concern is moats and profit.
- bhargav 6y ago
  I think you are calling for something like the Instacart Marketplace for restaurants. These already exists SkipTheDishes.com is one of them; they primarily do delivery.
  - cortesoft 6y ago
    How are they different than Grubhub or DoorDash? Their website looks just like the other ones
- millstone 6y ago
  I think there's a seam between discovery and ordering. If I am traveling on business, and I don't know what's in the area, then a unified interface is valuable. But if I know which restaurant I want, then the unified ordering apps are charging restaurants for a service (discovery) that the restaurant doesn't need any more. Seems crummy.
lancewiggs 6y ago
mobi2go.com does this. Flat fee basically.

cortesoft 6y ago

What makes Grubhub/doordash/etc so valuable to consumers, though, wouldn't be replicated by a premade system like that, though, no matter how good it was. The killer feature is that it is a single market place. I go on the app, I can search through dozens of local restaurants, all with a consistent interface. I can place an order in a couple of clicks at a brand new restaurant I have never tried, and I dont have to enter any new information. I can scroll through all my previous orders at all the previous restaurants, and re-order in one click. This service can ONLY be provided by a unified platform. It doesn't matter how good a restaurants website is, I want ALL the restaurants in one place. Now, could it be cheaper for restaurants? Does GH take too much of a cut? Maybe, but I don't know.... GH and DD both lose a ton of money, and have spent a ridiculous amount of money to get to where they are. Could anyone provide the service for a lot cheaper? If they could, they sure haven't yet.

milesskorpen 6y ago
I think the challenge here is that all the competitors are exceptionally well funded venture backed companies that are fighting to be the winner who takes it all. We don't know what this market would look like without the flood of exceptionally venture money to finance the engineers and discounts and all. Sustainable delivery would probably more bifurcated. I could imagine a range of food types that are delivery-centric (think pizza & Chinese) in areas with cheaper rents & smaller (or non-non-existant) dining rooms, and more delivery-optimized (high margin, easy to transport) food, with their own delivery drivers - and that a lot of other venues wouldn't do delivery, or would partner w/ a service like Lyft or Postmates when necessary, and it'd be expensive. I think this would be a healthier place to be.
- cortesoft 6y ago
  It might be healthier for the restaurants, but it doesn't seem better for consumers. I want a solution that still lets me only have a single portal I have to interact with to order my food.
  - Super_Jambo 6y ago
    This was kind of the dream of the Semantic web. It's a fantasy though because it promotes competition and good customer outcomes and our system's main concern is moats and profit.
bhargav 6y ago
I think you are calling for something like the Instacart Marketplace for restaurants. These already exists SkipTheDishes.com is one of them; they primarily do delivery.
- cortesoft 6y ago
  How are they different than Grubhub or DoorDash? Their website looks just like the other ones
millstone 6y ago
I think there's a seam between discovery and ordering. If I am traveling on business, and I don't know what's in the area, then a unified interface is valuable. But if I know which restaurant I want, then the unified ordering apps are charging restaurants for a service (discovery) that the restaurant doesn't need any more. Seems crummy.

lancewiggs 6y ago

mobi2go.com does this. Flat fee basically.