4 ms·

I love how DoorDash created an adversarial system where it’s figured out how to earn billions of dollars for itself while ripping off both the consumer and the

I love how DoorDash created an adversarial system where it’s figured out how to earn billions of dollars for itself while ripping off both the consumer and the worker, and when they find that they’re screwed they fight each other instead of DoorDash which is quite literally siphoning off billions from both of them. This isn’t limited to DoorDash of course. This is the crux of the gig economy. The ability to steal money by making yourself a middleman.

paulgb 3y ago
And yet DoorDash itself is losing hundreds of millions per year[1]! It's quite remarkable how the gig economy has taken two-sided markets where both sides were reasonably happy and turned them into three-sided markets where nobody is happy. [1] https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1792789/000162828023035973/dash-20230930.htm#i696a47a8308e4ede884459265f14c93d_25 https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1792789/0001...
- oefrha 3y ago
  I’m sure the executives and employees collecting fat paychecks and stock grants are happy enough. The company losing hundreds of millions per year doesn’t really affect them.
- Laaas 3y ago
  When was it two-sided?
  - paulgb 3y ago
    When it was just the customer phoning the restaurant and making an order.
Solvency 3y ago
What I don't get is... why do businesses use it? My local podunk pizza joint uses this insanely basic, yet fully sufficient service called "weborder.net". Feels like it's straight out of the movie The Net. There are NO added fees. It accepts every card type. It emails you confirmations and notifications. Everything i'd want from a "modern" delivery experience. It seems like there are no shortage of alternatives to DD.
- xtiansimon 3y ago
  From my experience with food service biz, there are two types of these services: one puts your menu on the web and charges 150-500/mo (ie ChowNow, Bento), and you also need a merchant processor (ie Stripe). The other type (Grubhub, DoorDash, UberEats) do not charge you a monthly subscription/hosting fee, and instead just take up to 20% of your revenue. Most restaurants want to have both. The first is a destination for people who are looking for you. The second is the third-party marketing your food. Business hope the latter does not cannibalize sales from the former.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- xboxnolifes 3y ago
  I'm not in the food business. My guess is discovery. GrubHub/DoorDash/UberEats are not just apps that process your payments and deliver food. They also serve as an avenue for people to decide where to order from. Most of the time when I want to order food, I look at my ordering apps first. Like opening Netflix to decide what to watch. Weborder.net also isn't just some basic webpage that processes payment, It's part of an entire POS system. The kind you sign for multi-year contracts with.
mynameisnoone 3y ago
My experiences with DoorDash, etc. drivers are that no amount of tipping ($15-20-25-30-40 for $20-60 orders) ensures they follow directions or give a shit. So I refuse to use the bad gig-based services because their drivers aren't paid properly and aren't incentivized to do an adequate job. Amazon delivery drivers are third-party and apparently ran similarly. Most of them can't be bothered to ever follow directions, even written in both English and Spanish. The simplest solution for me is to not use such services if they suck so badly because their process creates a bad outcome. The result is not always or completely the driver's fault, especially if they're given too many tasks and not given the tools and support to accomplish the mission. Another issue is that many things and work ethic in American continue to get worse and crumble, and most Americans just shrug and accept it because raising it is widely considered a modern faux pas.

paulgb 3y ago

And yet DoorDash itself is losing hundreds of millions per year[1]! It's quite remarkable how the gig economy has taken two-sided markets where both sides were reasonably happy and turned them into three-sided markets where nobody is happy. [1] https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1792789/000162828023035973/dash-20230930.htm#i696a47a8308e4ede884459265f14c93d_25 https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1792789/0001...

oefrha 3y ago
I’m sure the executives and employees collecting fat paychecks and stock grants are happy enough. The company losing hundreds of millions per year doesn’t really affect them.
Laaas 3y ago
When was it two-sided?
- paulgb 3y ago
  When it was just the customer phoning the restaurant and making an order.

Solvency 3y ago

What I don't get is... why do businesses use it? My local podunk pizza joint uses this insanely basic, yet fully sufficient service called "weborder.net". Feels like it's straight out of the movie The Net. There are NO added fees. It accepts every card type. It emails you confirmations and notifications. Everything i'd want from a "modern" delivery experience. It seems like there are no shortage of alternatives to DD.

xtiansimon 3y ago
From my experience with food service biz, there are two types of these services: one puts your menu on the web and charges 150-500/mo (ie ChowNow, Bento), and you also need a merchant processor (ie Stripe). The other type (Grubhub, DoorDash, UberEats) do not charge you a monthly subscription/hosting fee, and instead just take up to 20% of your revenue. Most restaurants want to have both. The first is a destination for people who are looking for you. The second is the third-party marketing your food. Business hope the latter does not cannibalize sales from the former.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
xboxnolifes 3y ago
I'm not in the food business. My guess is discovery. GrubHub/DoorDash/UberEats are not just apps that process your payments and deliver food. They also serve as an avenue for people to decide where to order from. Most of the time when I want to order food, I look at my ordering apps first. Like opening Netflix to decide what to watch. Weborder.net also isn't just some basic webpage that processes payment, It's part of an entire POS system. The kind you sign for multi-year contracts with.

mynameisnoone 3y ago

My experiences with DoorDash, etc. drivers are that no amount of tipping ($15-20-25-30-40 for $20-60 orders) ensures they follow directions or give a shit. So I refuse to use the bad gig-based services because their drivers aren't paid properly and aren't incentivized to do an adequate job. Amazon delivery drivers are third-party and apparently ran similarly. Most of them can't be bothered to ever follow directions, even written in both English and Spanish. The simplest solution for me is to not use such services if they suck so badly because their process creates a bad outcome. The result is not always or completely the driver's fault, especially if they're given too many tasks and not given the tools and support to accomplish the mission. Another issue is that many things and work ethic in American continue to get worse and crumble, and most Americans just shrug and accept it because raising it is widely considered a modern faux pas.