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The problem that I have yet to see DoorDash et. al. solve is that they're injecting a middle-man where one doesn't need to exist. The typical delivery model of

The problem that I have yet to see DoorDash et. al. solve is that they're injecting a middle-man where one doesn't need to exist. The typical delivery model of a local restaurant worked just fine without them, but with a third entity holding their hand out for money in that system it becomes net negative for pretty much everyone involved.

beachy 4y ago
There is a place for a middle man, but these guys aren't occupying it yet. Take 100 customers ordering food from 10 different restaurants, and 5 delivery drivers. There's an optimal delivery schedule where everyone gets their food warm and relatively promptly, and all the drivers are somewhat busy. That's a valid logistical problem that a middleman can solve. If all the driver is doing is pickup, delivery, pickup, delivery, ad infinitum, then yeah, there's no unique middleman position there.
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
  I haven't used Doordash in a while, but Uber Eats is definitely attempting to do what you're describing. You have to pay additional money for someone to drive directly from the restaurant to you, or else they'll often stop to do another pickup or delivery on the way.
- newsclues 4y ago
  There is a few things: Food marketing. Delivery orders for companies without a website or app for ordering. This is worth Pennie’s per order not a hefty %. Delivery service (logistics and Human Resources). This is hard and not solved. The hardest part of the problem has not been solved and the tech firms don’t deserve a big cut of food companies revenue for the incomplete service.
jaw0 4y ago
> they're injecting a middle-man where one doesn't need to exist a food logistics service should exist, as (if done well) it should scale better than local restaurants doing their own delivery.
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
  The "if done well" is key though. One specific example, but Pizza delivered by apps is basically garbage. Actual pizza delivery drivers that work for the restaurant have special boxes that control temperature and humidity, enable them to easily carry lots of pizzas and keep them relatively horizonal, etc. Pizza from the app delivery drivers inevitably ends up cold and sad and bunched up to one side the box. Pizza drivers only need one bag thing, but your food logistics service would definitely to give the drivers a few different sized containers that can keep some things hot, other things cold, be able to be carried a medium-length walk (sometimes you have to park far away), etc. and they definitely don't do that today.
LeifCarrotson 4y ago
> the typical delivery model of a local restaurant worked just fine without them The typical delivery model of my 4 favorite local restaurants was to not do delivery at all. With DoorDash, they're offering a middle-man as a service when the overworked and understaffed local restauranteur doesn't feel like adding a hat to his collection for managing a delivery service. The problem, though, is that this service does not come without added risk for said restauranteur - ther business lives and dies on a combination of online reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations, both of which can be harmed by DoorDash.
oliwarner 4y ago
I think a lot of small restaurants would disagree. Managing a fleet of drivers on top of managing your kitchen (and often a front-of-house too) is a nightmare. You have to surge in ways that go beyond day of the week, you have to handle short-time route management and work out how much return to base will affect your availability. Plus insurance. Plus fraud. Plus systems handling. Doing this independently might cost more both up-front and in running costs. Using a third party, most of those problems are now not yours. It's on the intermediary to make sure they have a driver available, and another, and another, and another because everybody decided they want Chinese tonight. And if nobody wants Chinese, you're only paying the standing fee. We have a nearby Thai restaurant that just stops taking delivery orders when their one driver is fully booked for the next hour. They lose money. And on a slow night, they're paying for a delivery driver they're not using.

beachy 4y ago

There is a place for a middle man, but these guys aren't occupying it yet. Take 100 customers ordering food from 10 different restaurants, and 5 delivery drivers. There's an optimal delivery schedule where everyone gets their food warm and relatively promptly, and all the drivers are somewhat busy. That's a valid logistical problem that a middleman can solve. If all the driver is doing is pickup, delivery, pickup, delivery, ad infinitum, then yeah, there's no unique middleman position there.

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
I haven't used Doordash in a while, but Uber Eats is definitely attempting to do what you're describing. You have to pay additional money for someone to drive directly from the restaurant to you, or else they'll often stop to do another pickup or delivery on the way.
newsclues 4y ago
There is a few things: Food marketing. Delivery orders for companies without a website or app for ordering. This is worth Pennie’s per order not a hefty %. Delivery service (logistics and Human Resources). This is hard and not solved. The hardest part of the problem has not been solved and the tech firms don’t deserve a big cut of food companies revenue for the incomplete service.

jaw0 4y ago

> they're injecting a middle-man where one doesn't need to exist a food logistics service should exist, as (if done well) it should scale better than local restaurants doing their own delivery.

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
The "if done well" is key though. One specific example, but Pizza delivered by apps is basically garbage. Actual pizza delivery drivers that work for the restaurant have special boxes that control temperature and humidity, enable them to easily carry lots of pizzas and keep them relatively horizonal, etc. Pizza from the app delivery drivers inevitably ends up cold and sad and bunched up to one side the box. Pizza drivers only need one bag thing, but your food logistics service would definitely to give the drivers a few different sized containers that can keep some things hot, other things cold, be able to be carried a medium-length walk (sometimes you have to park far away), etc. and they definitely don't do that today.

LeifCarrotson 4y ago

> the typical delivery model of a local restaurant worked just fine without them The typical delivery model of my 4 favorite local restaurants was to not do delivery at all. With DoorDash, they're offering a middle-man as a service when the overworked and understaffed local restauranteur doesn't feel like adding a hat to his collection for managing a delivery service. The problem, though, is that this service does not come without added risk for said restauranteur - ther business lives and dies on a combination of online reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations, both of which can be harmed by DoorDash.

oliwarner 4y ago

I think a lot of small restaurants would disagree. Managing a fleet of drivers on top of managing your kitchen (and often a front-of-house too) is a nightmare. You have to surge in ways that go beyond day of the week, you have to handle short-time route management and work out how much return to base will affect your availability. Plus insurance. Plus fraud. Plus systems handling. Doing this independently might cost more both up-front and in running costs. Using a third party, most of those problems are now not yours. It's on the intermediary to make sure they have a driver available, and another, and another, and another because everybody decided they want Chinese tonight. And if nobody wants Chinese, you're only paying the standing fee. We have a nearby Thai restaurant that just stops taking delivery orders when their one driver is fully booked for the next hour. They lose money. And on a slow night, they're paying for a delivery driver they're not using.