3 ms·

I have never used one of these services and never will. Way too many horror stories. If I'm making already poor decisions to eat fast food I might as well bike

I have never used one of these services and never will. Way too many horror stories. If I'm making already poor decisions to eat fast food I might as well bike, walk, or drive to go get it and save myself another $10.

eddtests 3y ago
Or quick groceries for the elderly? There are a lot of people using these apps beyond fast food for lazy people. For example I used to order a lot from a meal prep place that did chicken, rice, and broccoli when I was working in another state and didn't have access to a kitchen. If someone asks for lunch to be delivered because they're stuck in a meeting it doesn't help if they have to go somewhere to pick it up. Etc... The default should be delivery to the door unless mitigating circumstances. And if you can help them out by going to meet them downstairs then great.
- bombcar 3y ago
  The elderly/handicapped is an interesting situation, because (in the USA) companies are required by the ADA to make "reasonable accommodations" for the disabled. Which includes things like offering full-service gas fill-ups even at stations that are self-serve only. So you could see delivery apps requiring "door delivery" for ADA purposes, and then people abusing that (because charging more for ADA compliance is usually a non-starter).
  - eddtests 3y ago
    Personally I think it should just default to front-of-building but have a no-charge button to have delivery to the door which drivers can see in advance. Then if they don't want to bother they can skip it, and if people need a delivery to the door they can get that too without having to message and explain. Also gives people the option to add additional information on door codes/where to locate the door inside the apartment etc. Sure some people might abuse the system but I think most people, most of the time, are happy to go and get it from the front of the building. If you really want you can have the tip automatically set to 15% instead of 10% for door deliveries but allow the user to reduce that if they want, should get around the ADA stuff I assume (but not sure).
    - bombcar 3y ago
      I've always been severely disappointed that these "gig apps" aren't actually gig apps - you know, that support negotiation and other such things. Because having Uber tell me it will cost $10 but I get no service at all is not useful, especially if there was a driver who would have gone for it at $11 or $15 or whatever.
      - mrguyorama 3y ago
        They would have a harder time making stupid money off the back of poor employees if they gave them any pricing power at all, hence the rules that prevent you from declining as many orders as you want. That alone should completely disqualify you from claiming that your employees aren't employees, that along with zero requirement for your drivers to register a business, because you know, they AREN'T INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES.
- mistercheph 3y ago
  I love how when the consumer class talks about the service class, they always allude to the needs of the elderly and disabled population, and the immediately go into a story about their needs that are supposed to sound elderly or disabled-adjacent, but its a scenario that is certainly not the tear jerker you were expecting like someone stuck in a meeting that doesn't have access to a kitchen and wants chicken rice and broccoli. What you have deliberately neglected to mention is that there is a desk at the first floor of the building where the food can be left for you to come downstairs and get after your meeting. It is a luxury service that you desire, not an essential service that satisfies the needs of the disabled and the senior, you are just piggybacking on their tears to make yourself feel better.
  - eddtests 3y ago
    > What you have deliberately neglected to mention is that there is a desk at the first floor of the building where the food can be left for you to come downstairs and get after your meeting If your apartment block has a front desk then that's fantastic but mine doesn't - if it is left outside it will probably be stolen. > you are just piggybacking on their tears to make yourself feel better Seems a little ad hominem, but taking it positively, a delivery worker should assume the worst and deliver to the door just in case there's a reason they've ordered a delivery and can't come downstairs unless something else has been agreed. They might be self isolating for covid for example. There's so many examples of why it should be delivered to the door, and there's no way to know if it is or isn't valid for that delivery, so that's what should happen. > I love how when the consumer class talks about the service class ... but its a scenario that is certainly not the tear jerker you were expecting That's why I added the other examples. Chill out a little.
diogenes4 3y ago
The service fees are actually insane, and it's super unclear what the fees go to. Not the person doing the work—that much is clear. I just automatically assume anyone who ordered with these apps is straight bad with money (outside of extenuating circumstances like being disabled or sick, that is, I happily order delivery when I'm sick).
- bombcar 3y ago
  If you're in a small enough town (that still has delivery people) you can often strike up a conversation with whoever did the delivery, and get "service outside the app" for much cheaper and nicer, and everything goes direct to them.
earthboundkid 3y ago
Good for you not having children.
- exabrial 3y ago
  There's a thing called a stove... I use it.
  - earthboundkid 3y ago
    > If I'm making already poor decisions to eat fast food I might as well bike, walk, or drive to go get it and save myself another $10. Okay, the context that you established in your prior comment is you've already decided to eat take out food. We're not talking about home cooking, which obviously is the main solution for parents. There's no point to getting sanctimonious about situations that people find themselves in for practical reasons. Hauling kids to the shop to get take out is not always easy or desirable. Obviously, this is all very contextual. If you have teenagers, you can send them down to the shop and have them bring it back to you. If you live in a suburb, you can strap everyone into their car seats and go to the drive through. But for the context which is the point of the discussion -- a person who lives in an apartment with a small child and wants to get take out that night -- it's not crazy to want it to come to your door instead of having to go to the front desk. It might not be possible to haul N boxes of food and M children in the elevator as a single parent. Obviously, this is tricky because the delivery person also has the problem of not wanting their bike stolen. It seems like a good compromise solution is the deliveries mostly go to the front desk, but you can pay an extra fee to get them to come to your door, but again, this is all practical stuff, not a matter of getting snotty that how dare someone be too lazy to walk to the farm and pull up the carrots themselves, blah blah…
- vel0city 3y ago
  I have children and don't do delivery apps either. Its way more expensive per meal, generates way more trash, and in the end sitting hot and steamy in the packaging for 10+ minutes makes the food worse than if I had cooked it myself or we went out to eat it. If anything, having kids is a reason to not do delivery apps. Having kids is expensive enough I don't need to spend an extra $10 a meal just to have someone bring it to me. If we're talking convenience, its pretty much the same level of effort as throwing frozen foods in the air fryer or in the steaming tray of the rice cooker and coming back in like 10 minutes. Or reheat a meal-prepped food. Or cook one of the several quick recipes of things we usually have on hand. Or having fun slicing soft fruits and vegetables with plastic knives with the kids. Most of the time that we do order takeout its because one or both of us are already out and about and will just swing by some restaurant on the way home. Or we'll pick up food to go and stop by the park on the way home and have a picnic. So many options that are all massively better than ordering delivery foods from an app.

eddtests 3y ago

Or quick groceries for the elderly? There are a lot of people using these apps beyond fast food for lazy people. For example I used to order a lot from a meal prep place that did chicken, rice, and broccoli when I was working in another state and didn't have access to a kitchen. If someone asks for lunch to be delivered because they're stuck in a meeting it doesn't help if they have to go somewhere to pick it up. Etc... The default should be delivery to the door unless mitigating circumstances. And if you can help them out by going to meet them downstairs then great.

bombcar 3y ago
The elderly/handicapped is an interesting situation, because (in the USA) companies are required by the ADA to make "reasonable accommodations" for the disabled. Which includes things like offering full-service gas fill-ups even at stations that are self-serve only. So you could see delivery apps requiring "door delivery" for ADA purposes, and then people abusing that (because charging more for ADA compliance is usually a non-starter).
- eddtests 3y ago
  Personally I think it should just default to front-of-building but have a no-charge button to have delivery to the door which drivers can see in advance. Then if they don't want to bother they can skip it, and if people need a delivery to the door they can get that too without having to message and explain. Also gives people the option to add additional information on door codes/where to locate the door inside the apartment etc. Sure some people might abuse the system but I think most people, most of the time, are happy to go and get it from the front of the building. If you really want you can have the tip automatically set to 15% instead of 10% for door deliveries but allow the user to reduce that if they want, should get around the ADA stuff I assume (but not sure).
  - bombcar 3y ago
    I've always been severely disappointed that these "gig apps" aren't actually gig apps - you know, that support negotiation and other such things. Because having Uber tell me it will cost $10 but I get no service at all is not useful, especially if there was a driver who would have gone for it at $11 or $15 or whatever.
    - mrguyorama 3y ago
      They would have a harder time making stupid money off the back of poor employees if they gave them any pricing power at all, hence the rules that prevent you from declining as many orders as you want. That alone should completely disqualify you from claiming that your employees aren't employees, that along with zero requirement for your drivers to register a business, because you know, they AREN'T INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES.
mistercheph 3y ago
I love how when the consumer class talks about the service class, they always allude to the needs of the elderly and disabled population, and the immediately go into a story about their needs that are supposed to sound elderly or disabled-adjacent, but its a scenario that is certainly not the tear jerker you were expecting like someone stuck in a meeting that doesn't have access to a kitchen and wants chicken rice and broccoli. What you have deliberately neglected to mention is that there is a desk at the first floor of the building where the food can be left for you to come downstairs and get after your meeting. It is a luxury service that you desire, not an essential service that satisfies the needs of the disabled and the senior, you are just piggybacking on their tears to make yourself feel better.
- eddtests 3y ago
  > What you have deliberately neglected to mention is that there is a desk at the first floor of the building where the food can be left for you to come downstairs and get after your meeting If your apartment block has a front desk then that's fantastic but mine doesn't - if it is left outside it will probably be stolen. > you are just piggybacking on their tears to make yourself feel better Seems a little ad hominem, but taking it positively, a delivery worker should assume the worst and deliver to the door just in case there's a reason they've ordered a delivery and can't come downstairs unless something else has been agreed. They might be self isolating for covid for example. There's so many examples of why it should be delivered to the door, and there's no way to know if it is or isn't valid for that delivery, so that's what should happen. > I love how when the consumer class talks about the service class ... but its a scenario that is certainly not the tear jerker you were expecting That's why I added the other examples. Chill out a little.

diogenes4 3y ago

The service fees are actually insane, and it's super unclear what the fees go to. Not the person doing the work—that much is clear. I just automatically assume anyone who ordered with these apps is straight bad with money (outside of extenuating circumstances like being disabled or sick, that is, I happily order delivery when I'm sick).

bombcar 3y ago
If you're in a small enough town (that still has delivery people) you can often strike up a conversation with whoever did the delivery, and get "service outside the app" for much cheaper and nicer, and everything goes direct to them.

earthboundkid 3y ago

Good for you not having children.

exabrial 3y ago
There's a thing called a stove... I use it.
- earthboundkid 3y ago
  > If I'm making already poor decisions to eat fast food I might as well bike, walk, or drive to go get it and save myself another $10. Okay, the context that you established in your prior comment is you've already decided to eat take out food. We're not talking about home cooking, which obviously is the main solution for parents. There's no point to getting sanctimonious about situations that people find themselves in for practical reasons. Hauling kids to the shop to get take out is not always easy or desirable. Obviously, this is all very contextual. If you have teenagers, you can send them down to the shop and have them bring it back to you. If you live in a suburb, you can strap everyone into their car seats and go to the drive through. But for the context which is the point of the discussion -- a person who lives in an apartment with a small child and wants to get take out that night -- it's not crazy to want it to come to your door instead of having to go to the front desk. It might not be possible to haul N boxes of food and M children in the elevator as a single parent. Obviously, this is tricky because the delivery person also has the problem of not wanting their bike stolen. It seems like a good compromise solution is the deliveries mostly go to the front desk, but you can pay an extra fee to get them to come to your door, but again, this is all practical stuff, not a matter of getting snotty that how dare someone be too lazy to walk to the farm and pull up the carrots themselves, blah blah…
vel0city 3y ago
I have children and don't do delivery apps either. Its way more expensive per meal, generates way more trash, and in the end sitting hot and steamy in the packaging for 10+ minutes makes the food worse than if I had cooked it myself or we went out to eat it. If anything, having kids is a reason to not do delivery apps. Having kids is expensive enough I don't need to spend an extra $10 a meal just to have someone bring it to me. If we're talking convenience, its pretty much the same level of effort as throwing frozen foods in the air fryer or in the steaming tray of the rice cooker and coming back in like 10 minutes. Or reheat a meal-prepped food. Or cook one of the several quick recipes of things we usually have on hand. Or having fun slicing soft fruits and vegetables with plastic knives with the kids. Most of the time that we do order takeout its because one or both of us are already out and about and will just swing by some restaurant on the way home. Or we'll pick up food to go and stop by the park on the way home and have a picnic. So many options that are all massively better than ordering delivery foods from an app.