Why Now?
With so many dining options, staying competitive is one of the primary challenges restaurant owners are faced with. Roughly thirty years ago, each town had one Italian restaurant, one burger joint, one restaurant that served Mexican cuisine – you get the idea. “Eating out” was simple; you wanted to eat out? You pick a restaurant and travel there to eat your meal- with the exception of Chinese and Pizza restaurants which offered delivery. That was the decision process. Fast forward 15 years, and the dining experience added another component delivery service funded and operated by the restaurant.
The advantage of having your food delivered by your favorite restaurant was new and exciting. You no longer need to leave your home to satisfy your cravings. You could simply put on your comfy clothes, flip through the phone book, call the restaurant, place an order, then wait about 45-60 minutes for your food to arrive at your door. As you patiently waited, you would count your money to ensure you had enough cash (yes, cash) to pay and tip the delivery driver. Food was usually delivered in a cardboard box that was most likely previously used in some other capacity at the restaurant. There weren’t Insulated Food Delivery Bags to ensure food was the same temperature when it arrived as it was when it left the restaurant.
Despite the clear benefit to customers, restaurants often found it difficult and expensive to manage an in house delivery operation. Restaurants struggled to make it easy and financially viable for customers to browse their menu items, pay for it, and schedule a delivery time. How would Restaurants account for downtime for their drivers? The technology to solve these problems did not quite exist yet.
Let’s skip forward another 15 years, where as a society, we have fully adapted to a life built on convenience and instant gratification (Thanks to Amazon Prime). Almost anything we want is available within the reach of our fingers on our smartphones, including ordering food from our favorite restaurants and having it delivered to almost anywhere; home, office, hotel, etc. Technology has advanced to the point where we don’t even have to talk to another person in order to have our favorite dishes delivered to our doorstep. There are countless apps (growing every day) that make it convenient and financially viable to deliver your best dishes to new and existing customers. If you are looking to stay competitive, it is something you should consider adding.
But Beware..
A recent survey on usfoods.com shows the number one complaint from consumers when it comes to food delivery is the food not being warm and/or fresh.
Granted, there are lots of variables when it comes to delivering food – many of which (unfortunately) are out of your control once it leaves your kitchen. It’s important to focus on what you can control, over what you can’t. It’s no secret that a lot of companies live or die by reviews, especially restaurants since everyone seems to love being a professional food critic. As noted above, having good insulators to transport food is key. A delivery bag isn’t always enough – the further the distance, the less likely the food is to stay warm. Having an additional heat source such as a heating pad is an extra step that can be taken to ensure the customer’s food stays warm on arrival.
The same survey on usfoods.com ranks food being shaken or disheveled as the 6th most complaint. With the majority of restaurants offering delivery service, what sets one above the other, might be as simple as the way food is transported. During winter months, soup is one of the most ordered items so you will need to minimize the risk of spilling. With containers typically being taller, they are more likely to tip over – creating a need for delivery bag dividers.
One downside to food delivery is the increase in the number of takeout containers. As restaurant owners work hard to do everything they can to stay above the rest, it’s important to take note of the various materials takeout dishes are stored in. We all know that styrofoam is not biodegradable and therefore can’t be recycled. It is also true that plastic is not biodegradable – however, it can be recycled, making it the more environmentally friendly option. Going green is a popular trend, and consumers may choose between one dining place over another (for delivery), simply by looking at which restaurant is more environmentally friendly. Therefore, many will choose plastic “to go” containers over styrofoam. Taking it one step further, many restaurants are using eco friendly containers to deliver food in. To a lot of places, these might seem like insignificant things, but consumers pay attention to the details.
If you’re a restaurant owner and are not part of the food delivery world yet, you might want to consider trying an option that best fits your business. Uber Eats, for example, has major brand equity, due to its connection with the original Uber ridesharing service. If you’re considering UberEats, you can read information here.
Who to choose..
With super giants like Uber Eats and GrubHub (merged with Seamless in 2013), it may feel like a two horse race. However, according to urban tastebud, the #1 food delivery app is DoorDash – thanks to their flat delivery fee of $5.99. Consumers don’t like surprises, especially ones that cost them money, which is why DoorDash is so popular.
As mentioned above, GrubHub is one of the most popular food delivery services. With the convenience of typing in what kind of cuisine you desire and large network of over 50,000 restaurants, it’s no wonder why GrubHub is a popular choice for consumers. People always like feeling as if they are making a difference. That’s why GrubHub is part of Donate the Change and partnered with No Kid Hungry.
Postmates is another popular choice, especially among non restaurant food service operators. They’ve worked hard to develop relationships with Partner Merchants, which offer lower delivery fees if customers choose one of the “green check” retailers for their shopping. Yes (shop), you read that right. Postmates has over 10,000 retail shops on their app so they are able to deliver not only fresh made food, but anything from groceries to alcohol. One might argue the best feature of Postmates is it’s free unlimited delivery. Check out what your options are here.
Delivery.com , like Postmates, also deliver alcohol and groceries in additional to food. They have taken their service one step further and deliver gifts and laundry as well.
If you are considering adding food delivery service to your restaurant or switching from your current one, do as much research as you can on the various services available. As a restaurant, once you’ve signed up with the delivery provider of your choice, it’s time to set yourself apart by focusing on how you showcase your food; transport bags, containers, napkins, and cutlery.
To shop for the most popular supplies and equipment for your specific cuisine, check out Action Sales Restaurant Supply.