Would you order food online?

[Federico.Gimeno]

If I had say, a fast food (tacos, hamburgers, pizza whatever) business with an online facility to make orders, in addition to the conventional ways, would you use it? If you were the business owner, would you charge an extra fee for this?

 

[Digsby Trace]

Some restaurant already offer online delivery. Domino's Pizza has this convenient online ordering system that I love using. They don't charge extra for a minimum amount but offer discount instead. I tried to analyze the logic behind this. I think it's because you don't use their facilities.

 

[setupdisc]

I would. Something unintentionally humorous here is that there is a place out on the west coast called Federico's that is a really delicious taco shop (they sell burritos, chimichangas, enchiladas, and other dishes) and are 24 hours. They would make a fortune if they did delivery as you suggest, but at the present time they don't. As Digsby mentioned, there are restaurants that deliver online, and even the ones who don't often are handled by third-party services where a driver will order your food for you from a restaurant that doesn't offer delivery, and then deliver it to you for a slightly marked up fee.

Most restaurants are totally ok with this and love being able to have a freelance driver that will deliver food for them as an independent contractor. There are some which are really petty, though. Almost as bad as Metallica's lawyers, if not worse. In N Out Burger is one of them. They actually tried to sue the freelance drivers who were ordering food and delivering it to people that people requested from their online site, claiming that it was "against the business and model for In N Out". I couldn't believe they were really going to go after the drivers and the third-party company for helping them deliver food when they didn't already have that service available to the public who wanted it from them, and they charged the restaurants nothing to provide it. Sure enough, they did. It wasn't like the driver was competing with them in any way. They didn't bother to launch their own delivery service, or even cite that he was preventing them from doing that. They just simply didn't want them delivering.

So if you decide to offer your own brand of tacos and meals via delivery, I think it's a great idea! I would order if you were local and try it out. If you deliver for a third party, just make sure you get things in writing and don't let the situation that happened to these guys happen to you: In-N-Out Burger Sues DoorDash for Delivering Its Food Without Permission [Updated]

 

[dyanmarie25]

I do order fast food online since they are pretty convenient. I don't have to go out of the house to buy takeout food anymore. Well, if I were a business owner with that kind of facility, I wouldn't ask for a delivery charge.

 

[Pop]

I order food online all the time, either directly such as from pizza stores or via a service like GrubHub. Of course these is a delivery fee just like if you ordered over the telephone, and a tip for the driver. But I would not consider this at all a new idea. I have been getting fast food via online ordering for almost ten years now. There has never been a problem and you can be sure they received the correct order (I have an accent that can get in the way). I don't really like talking to people on the phone so it is perfect for me.

 

[Vinaya.Ghimire]

I prefer to call the restaurant and order my food instead of ordering online. I like to give detail instruction about the food I am ordering, therefor, I feel more comfortable with phone ordering.

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

Here in the country of my husband where we migrated the people order food online and the eating places here offering this kind of food services 24 hours and are everywhere. My husband always order food online especially at times when we got hungry at the hour 1 am early in the morning if we are still awake while watching the television because there is no work the following day. And the owner of this establishments does not ask for a delivery charge and that is the good thing.

 

[bria1]

To my experience this is already a working entity in itself. There are many restaurants who offer this service, and I must say it is very convenient. I work from home, and basically am on my computer all day, so ordering lunch by opening a new tab to pull up the website and placing an order is more than great. I would think this would make the food more fresh as oppose to standing in line and forcing the people to make your food as fast as they can.....ready.....set..go. This is why when I go to McDonald's I order unsalted fries, just to make sure they are fresh and hot.:BizWarriors:

 

[Arken June Malvecino]

Probably, yes. It would be for their customer's convenience. I see no problem in online transactions.

 

[rz3300]

I am pretty sure that it exists to certain extent with many places out there. I know a lot of the fast food pizza places do online ordering for deliveries, which is essentially the same thing. I have used it a couple of times and it worked great, so I cannot see a problem. In terms of ordering things that need to be shipped a long distance though I would have to worry a little bit about.

 

[loverman99]

It totally depends on a certain situation. I don't live in the center of my city. However, there are still tons of different shops and restaurants. So, I'd rather take a walk than sit here and wait. However, If the place is far I'd certainly make an order online or via phone. The only thing that make me frustrated is a slow delivery. Sometimes it's way easier to take a taxi to that place and buy food there on my own.

 

[Cleveland76]

Absolutely, I do this all the time as a matter of fact. I think the key would be to make sure the customer can see and track their order as it's being prepared and when it's heading out for delivery. Don't just make it some basic form that they fill out, then leave them in the dark indefinitely until their order arrives. Domino's really led the way with their online ordering, and if you've never tried it before, you really should, to see how slick it is. They keep you updated the whole time your order is being prepared, even showing you when each step is completed and who is working on your order, as well as when it's out for delivery and who is delivering it to you.

Another service I use is called DeliverMeFood - they are a local company who will go pick up orders from a number of participating restaurants near you, and bring it to you directly. They charge a standard gratuity (18% I believe), which is what you would pay anyhow if you were to go out to eat at these places, in addition to a flat $5 delivery fee. $5 to have food delivered to me is fine by me. Especially if you would have had to pay for parking as well, such as in a downtown area. It's nice being able to enjoy food from some of your favorite local fine dining places, in your PJ's in the comfort of your own home, instead of waiting in long lines to be seated in a crowed place.

 

[guitarmom1279]

I have placed orders for pizza online several times. I am not sure if I would feel comfortable purchasing 2 or 3 course meals though. There are so many things to consider. For example distance from the restaurant to home, and is it an item that will be safe to eat after so long,and if it is an item that would be just as good reheated.

 

[Jack Benoit]

I'll оrdеr оnlinе pаrtiсulаr ingrеdiеnts, pаrtiсulаrly fоr еthniс fооds thаt I еnjоy сооking, but аrе nоt аvаilаblе lосаlly. I might аlsо оrdеr fооds thаt I grеw up оn thаt аrе еithеr nоt аvаilаblе in my gеоgrаphiс аrеа оr аrе nоw niсhе itеms.

I nеvеr оrdеr bаsiс grосеriеs, bаkеd gооds, dаiry, mеаts, fish, оr оthеr things I саn find rеаdily in thе vаriоus mаrkеts in my tоwn. Thе high shipping соsts аssосiаtеd with shipping pеrishаblе fооds is nоt оffsеt by whаtеvеr mаrginаl 'bеttеrnеss' is prоmisеd

 

[rz3300]

I have actually heard a couple of ads on the radio on television the last couple of weeks for some services here locally that are teaming with stores and restaurants to deliver meals, so I guess that means that the market for these services must be growing. I am not really sure why, but somebody must have noticed something. I am still a little weary when it comes to ordering food online, though, and it may take some time for me.

 

[Bonyi]

No I will rather order other things online like clothes, electronics, devices than food. There are restaurants everywhere I am, so why order online when I can walk into a restaurant close by to eat.

 

[remnant]

On face value, I can't order food online because of the functional risk involved for example, contamination or spoilage during transit. Some foods can be ordered online for example dried vegetables and fruits as well as canned foods. It also depends on the service provider in terms of reputation and track record.

 

[scotbiddick]

No. For me it's just a different medium. But still functions as the same as the one in the physical counter.

 

[Gemma]

I use these services often and since I'm usually too busy to go out and pick up the order myself, its really convenient to get a delivery. Most of them don't charge a delivery fee but I wouldn't mind paying a bit extra for the service.

 

[AJ Lopez]

This is already a very saturated industry. Postmates, Favorly, Uber Eats, GrubHub, DoorDash, and many others all allow you to order food from nearby restaurants on your phone. The food is delivered by a delivery driver that works for the service, not a specific restaurant.

That being said, maybe you could improve on their ideas.