Serious question. Are food delivery apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash worth it? I don’t want to sound like some old man screaming at kids to get off his lawn, but I don’t see the benefit of these food delivery apps.
I’m not one to tell people what to do with their money and I never will. I’m trying to figure out if people use these apps because of convenience of them not wanting to or knowing how to cook. Or is a time thing, where they just don’t have enough time to go to the stores to buy food and cook it?
All I see on social media is people bashing these food delivery apps and their “couriers” for being late, stealing the food or just not delivering them.
I had a coupon to Uber Eats once to try it out and I did. Well, I didn’t go all the way with it. I wanted Popeye’s Chicken which was a 5 minute drive from my house. I went to the app, selected the food and once I saw all the fees, tips and wait time, I was like nope. Not worth it and I drove there myself and got my food.
I’ve been trying to figure out what the big deal is with people always using these apps?
Where is the Convenience?
Let me understand this. You’re hungry you order from the app and it will take 45 minutes to an hour to get there, but the restaurant is a 10 minute drive from you. Wouldn’t you rather just drive and get the food yourself and skip all those extra fees and tips these apps require? Won’t your food be cold when you get it?
Are you happy spending more money and waiting longer for your food? Is the convenience the fact you don’t have to get the food yourself?
Are Food Delivery Apps Cost Efficient?
I know people who order from these apps morning, noon and night. Their idea of cooking is throwing a microwavable bowl of mac and cheese in the microwave for a minute or two.
Is ordering from these apps every day cheaper than cooking yourself?
I know grocery prices are out of control. Greed by these companies and manipulation of prices are the reason why prices are crazy and with these same companies “regulating” themselves it will only get worse. Not to mention the fact that number of monopolies owning everything food wise is another reason why prices are so high; no competition.
I’m not one of those people who think if you don’t buy a $5 latte every day you could afford a house. Who the hell can afford a house, let alone rent these days. And that brings me to my question; are these apps cost efficient? Do you save money in the end?
And what does the cost look like for a family of four to order food all the time?
Did We Forget How to Teach People How to Cook?
I’m a Gen Xer, not a boomer, but I have to wonder if using these apps is a generational thing. We’ve done so much for our kids that have hindered their development like giving everyone a participation trophy so they now feel entitled to all the recognition with little effort put in.
Have we stopped teaching our kids how to cook because we’ve done it for them their whole lives and they just expect someone to always cook for them? I’m being serious. Do they not teach home economics in school anymore? I know we don’t teach them about finance, credit or loans. Maybe it’s a concerted effort to have them dependent on companies and businesses exploiting them and taking their money at every turn.
Do I sound like a conspiracy theorist? Maybe I am one. Besides there is no conspiracy in saying that the wealthy are getting richer and the rest of us are fighting over scraps because it’s true.
Why Complain All the Time?
Why do people continue to use these apps if all they’re going to do is complain about them all the time? Their food was missing. They never got their food or it was delivered late.
If you’re paying for a service and you’re never happy with it, why do you continue to use it?
And I wonder if the answer goes back to a topic I asked about earlier and that is people no longer know how to cook.
Or is it cool to bitch and complain online all the time? Maybe people are just looking for attention. Who knows, but if I’m paying for a service and it’s bad, guess what? I’m never using them again.
It just seems that using these apps are more of a headache than something that is beneficial. I could be wrong but if cost doesn’t equal value than it’s not worth it.
Photo by Marques Thomas on Unsplash
