We’ve all been there: we’re too lazy to cook, or we’ve had a long day, so we cave in and order take out. But now, in 2018, the word “takeout” means a lot more than just picking up Chinese food or ordering in a Pizza. A plethora of restaurants and fast food chains are now opting to partner with delivery services such as Uber Eats, GrubHub, and Delivery Dudes, among others. Are we really too lazy nowadays to cook food or make the trip to a restaurant? Let’s take a look at the amount of extra money we spend on these applications.
First off, let’s talk about my personal experience with UberEats. Not only do they always charge a 5 dollar delivery charge as well as the option to give your driver an extra tip, every time I have ordered something from this app, my order is either missing something, doesn’t show up, or the driver is just plain rude. The extra convenience is not worth the sacrifice I make when using UberEats.
Grubhub has a $3.99 delivery fee, and Delivery Dudes’ fee varies based on the restaurant you choose, which is why it seems to be my favorite. But let’s take into consideration that even ordering out from one of these apps once a week, you’re paying an extra service charge to wait 45-60 minutes, have your food arrive cold, and it’s all because you didn’t want to get off the couch.
In practice, the idea is great. It creates more jobs and allows for people who are busy to get food delivered when they don’t have time to go out. However, at the same time, our society is too heavily reliant on these applications for the added convenience without taking into consideration the extra money it takes to get this food, as well as any added strain from missing orders or confusions. Sometimes the drivers can’t even find your house.
So, in essence, you sacrifice quality for convenience. You spend more money for a less enjoyable experience. And yet the popularity of these apps grows more and more by the day. Do we need a reckoning of food delivery apps to get us back to cooking our own meals?
