Food Delivery Diary of a Restaurant Consultant – Chapter 6
by Andrew Parr
At Best Served, we are committed to delivering content that you can watch, listen, and read. This piece is the sixth of an eight-part series that is tied directly to Best Served Custom, Ease of Ordering Volume 1, Episode 6 – Why I Use Food Delivery Apps. In this series, we explore the customers’ perspective by having conversations directly with them. These written stories are reflections of my own experiences and what real customers have shared with us.
Catching everyone up from the first 5 chapters: Each of the last two weekends, my wife and I snuggled up on our couch, scrolled social media to explore dinner delivery options, and ordered from local, independent, neighborhood restaurants. We found restaurants that were telling us their story and that had promotions that bring value. We also found restaurants that had some questionable user experiences (UX), clumsy online ordering quirks, and excellence with curbside pick-up. Today we look at “Why I use Food Delivery Apps.”
Far more often than not, I will go to a restaurant to either dine outdoors in a properly distanced setting or pick up my food. I both enjoy getting out of the house and saving the restaurant the significant cost of delivery on their end. There are, however, definitely times I’m willing to pay full boat on the “convenience fee” of having food delivered to me either through a 3rd party app or through whatever service a restaurant may use on their website. The main reasons I will order delivery are: 1) The weather is shitty, and I don’t want to leave the house, or 2) I have had a cocktail or two and there is no way I’m getting behind the wheel.
One of the restaurants we ordered from allowed us to order from their website, yet also encouraged us to download their app and order from there (which we did with the enticement of 15% off our first order). The order was delivered through Door Dash Drive. This shines a bright light on one of the problems with the ordering process. How many apps do I need to download? Apparently, all of the 3rd party delivery services that operate in my area, as well as all of the restaurants I want to support who have their own apps. That’s a “big ole” folder full of apps. And how do I know which restaurants are on which platform? Do I really need to create a spreadsheet to track all of this? I mean, I do love building a good spreadsheet, but seriously…
Our panelists had some other thoughts on why they use 3rd party apps for food delivery. Convenience and time are at the top of the list. Maybe you are too tired to cook and the thought of getting back in the car to pick up food is dreadful. Perhaps it gives you more time with your family and kids. Another reason is that delivery allows you to continue to safely patronize your favorite restaurants. Finally, there is the simple motivation of instant gratification. We live in an on-demand world and we want to be served what we want, when and where we want it. The biggest take away here is that restaurants should celebrate every customer who wants to spend money with them, regardless of how they choose to spend that money.
To learn more and join in, check out the video podcast, listen to the audio podcast, or explore the playlist for the entire series.
Relationships extend far beyond the four walls of a restaurant and include employees and customers. Best Served is excited to partner with 7shifts, underwriter of Best Served Custom, whose commitment to employee engagement provides a real time feedback loop, building a strong culture and customer experience.
Andrew Parr is Best Served Creative’s “Herald of How,” AKA Chief How Officer. Understanding why we do what we do and who we serve, Andrew digs into the nuts and bolts of how we get it done. He craves one-on-one interactions and thrives with the written word. The ability to contribute to our Read channel by penning articles covering a variety of subject matter and running down rabbit holes for research quenches his desire to learn.
Andrew has over 25 years of restaurant and hospitality industry experience and his education includes a BA in Psychology and History from the University of Wisconsin along with a JD from Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Andrew was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI, and currently resides in Denver with his wife Jody and their dog Cooper.
