[itsbenweeks]

I wish it was just this. A friend of mine works in an upscale deli here in Boston. Their employer doesn't partner with DoorDash, yet GrubHub --interchanged because they both do this-- still lists them. What happens instead of a printed order from their system? They instruct the delivery person to place an order at the counter, wait for it, and then deliver it. All this seems fine, if DoorDash wants to hire people to proxy face-to-face interactions so they can up-charge 20% for a caprese sandwich on ciabatta bread, more power to them. I understand the value of it. But it gets squishy in places.

What happens if an ordered and paid for item is out of stock? My friend's deli has excellent ciabatta and it sells out daily. DoorDash leaves this problem to the delivery-person, and delivery people can't cancel orders.

Why can't delivery people on GrubHub cancel orders? For the same reason that Uber Drivers can't see their fare's destination until they get in the car. DoorDash doesn't want their delivery people to cherry-pick only the costliest orders with the choicest tips. That would leave a good portion of customers without food.

So, the delivery people are left to call whoever ordered on their phone about this. If there's any confusion from the delivery person and their ability to convey the nuances of this problem --that GrubHub promised something they couldn't deliver-- then the delivery person is left to pay for orders that DoorDash users don't cancel.

My friend has been given more than one upset delivery person's phone which has an angry GrubHub customer on the other end. So, while a DoorDash customer may have wanted to avoid a phone call, the customer is now hungrier and upset at somebody who would have been able to sell them their sandwich for 16% less and had actual knowledge about what kind of bread was still available because they wanted to avoid the phone call that they're now having. Usually not a big deal, but if you're already working a crowded deli-counter during the lunch rush; it certainly cements the uselessness of these platforms.

[ryanwaggoner]

It’s also a losing strategy long-term, because many of your existing customers will start just using GH to order, and eventually GH will own that relationship, not you. In the customer’s mind, “want food = Grubhub app”, not deli.