4 ms·

The Taco Bell and Chick-fil-a apps are amazing. I spend as much time as I want going over the menu, customizing my items as I see fit (steak instead of ground b

The Taco Bell and Chick-fil-a apps are amazing. I spend as much time as I want going over the menu, customizing my items as I see fit (steak instead of ground beef, or creamy salsa dressing instead of avocado lime), and pay for it before I get in the car. When I drive up, I just say "online order for function_seven" and they say, "cool, we'll have it at the window". The staff taking orders from the speaker are often doing 2 things at once. They're also taking money from another car or prepping orders as well. They don't catch every nuance, and screw it up half the time. Not their fault! They're not being allowed to focus on one thing. The app is like skipping that unreliable middleman and putting my order directly into their system.

samtheDamned 5y ago
> I spend as much time as I want going over the menu, customizing my items as I see fit (steak instead of ground beef, or creamy salsa dressing instead of avocado lime) Having worked in fast food for a long time, I've noticed that with the rise of ordering on mobile apps, a lot of the apps have started to nudge customers to customize their orders way more. It can be somewhat frustrating to be on the receiving end of orders that would normally sound extreme to order over the counter or through a drive-thru speaker, but the app makes it seem fine. They're usually not a problem other than slowing down the line, but getting them in a rush can be a nightmare. I do have to say though, I do like the ability to browse the menu without feeling like I have to hurry up and order, and I think the benefits of ordering through an app generally outweigh the downsides.
- function_seven 5y ago
  > It can be somewhat frustrating to be on the receiving end of orders that would normally sound extreme to order over the counter or through a drive-thru speaker, but the app makes it seem fine. Oh I can imagine. I'm mindful of not making each item have 5 indented lines below it with crazy swaps, omissions, etc. Mine are always a simple thing. Always just one add, remove, or swap. A long time ago I used to order a Quarter Pounder with extra onions and no pickles. About a quarter of the time (heh) I'd get one with a mountain of pickles and not an onion in sight. I finally decided that I might as well learn to love pickles, and simplified that order to just "extra onions". Error rate dropped and—bonus!—now I actually like pickles.
- freetime2 5y ago
  You mean like None Pizza with Left Beef? https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/838967-special-delivery-instructions https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/838967-special-delivery-inst...
evandale 5y ago
The McDonald's app is amazing for that too. I discovered you can get a breakfast sandwich with McChicken sauce, lettuce, and tomato though the app and it's delicious.
wiseleo 5y ago
There's a DQ near my office. Too near. Their app's frequent customer program maxes out at 500 points display. I have 11000+ points. 2500 points is redeemable for a large ice cream cake. The staff writes me love letters on my box. Seriously, I have pictures. How to do a food app right: 1. Let me customize my order with all available options 2. Store my payment details 3. Let me re-order with one or two taps. I get hungry while coding, open app, tap recent orders, order again, pay, and I am done. By the time I walk into the store, my food is ready. I walk past all waiting customers and enjoy my meal. :)
- jackson1442 5y ago
  Interesting! I'd love to see those pictures :) As an iPhone user, allowing Apple Pay in your app is a HUGE boon. I absolutely hate filling out purchase forms; the one tap + Face ID experience is impressively polished. Even though I used PayPal in the chick-fil-a app originally, I have noticed that I order CFA more often since they added Apple Pay due to the smoothness of the experience. Even seeing an Apple Pay button on a website increases my personal conversion because using it is so seamless. Do with that what you will. The same could be said for Google Pay, but I would enjoy that experience more if it used biometrics for authentication instead of CVV, even though CVV is probably a more logical/secure choice.

samtheDamned 5y ago

> I spend as much time as I want going over the menu, customizing my items as I see fit (steak instead of ground beef, or creamy salsa dressing instead of avocado lime) Having worked in fast food for a long time, I've noticed that with the rise of ordering on mobile apps, a lot of the apps have started to nudge customers to customize their orders way more. It can be somewhat frustrating to be on the receiving end of orders that would normally sound extreme to order over the counter or through a drive-thru speaker, but the app makes it seem fine. They're usually not a problem other than slowing down the line, but getting them in a rush can be a nightmare. I do have to say though, I do like the ability to browse the menu without feeling like I have to hurry up and order, and I think the benefits of ordering through an app generally outweigh the downsides.

function_seven 5y ago
> It can be somewhat frustrating to be on the receiving end of orders that would normally sound extreme to order over the counter or through a drive-thru speaker, but the app makes it seem fine. Oh I can imagine. I'm mindful of not making each item have 5 indented lines below it with crazy swaps, omissions, etc. Mine are always a simple thing. Always just one add, remove, or swap. A long time ago I used to order a Quarter Pounder with extra onions and no pickles. About a quarter of the time (heh) I'd get one with a mountain of pickles and not an onion in sight. I finally decided that I might as well learn to love pickles, and simplified that order to just "extra onions". Error rate dropped and—bonus!—now I actually like pickles.
freetime2 5y ago
You mean like None Pizza with Left Beef? https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/838967-special-delivery-instructions https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/838967-special-delivery-inst...

evandale 5y ago

The McDonald's app is amazing for that too. I discovered you can get a breakfast sandwich with McChicken sauce, lettuce, and tomato though the app and it's delicious.

wiseleo 5y ago

There's a DQ near my office. Too near. Their app's frequent customer program maxes out at 500 points display. I have 11000+ points. 2500 points is redeemable for a large ice cream cake. The staff writes me love letters on my box. Seriously, I have pictures. How to do a food app right: 1. Let me customize my order with all available options 2. Store my payment details 3. Let me re-order with one or two taps. I get hungry while coding, open app, tap recent orders, order again, pay, and I am done. By the time I walk into the store, my food is ready. I walk past all waiting customers and enjoy my meal. :)

jackson1442 5y ago
Interesting! I'd love to see those pictures :) As an iPhone user, allowing Apple Pay in your app is a HUGE boon. I absolutely hate filling out purchase forms; the one tap + Face ID experience is impressively polished. Even though I used PayPal in the chick-fil-a app originally, I have noticed that I order CFA more often since they added Apple Pay due to the smoothness of the experience. Even seeing an Apple Pay button on a website increases my personal conversion because using it is so seamless. Do with that what you will. The same could be said for Google Pay, but I would enjoy that experience more if it used biometrics for authentication instead of CVV, even though CVV is probably a more logical/secure choice.