Cooking is probably my favorite pastime. While I do indulge in the occasional delivery if I’m not feeling well, I could not imagine spending hundreds of dollars a month on Door Dash.
A few weeks ago, I was out at my local pub (which doesn’t serve food) and a few of us wanted Popeye’s chicken. Yes, I know, but it’s an occasional guilty pleasure and it does taste good with beer. To have it delivered was nearly twice the cost of pickup. It was a bit too far to walk, so a friend that was meeting up with us later picked it up for us after I ordered everything in the app.
Our local Chinese takeout only charges a $2 delivery fee, and the pizza shop doesn’t charge at all.
I’m one of those people who thinks that if someone is bringing food TO MY HOUSE then the delivery person deserves a generous tip, especially in inclement weather. But another 20-30% fees on top of that plus an inflated menu price? That’s getting out of hand in my book.
I have only had food delivered maybe 8 times in my 52 year life. I have had pizza delivered once in the past 12 years.
I currently pick up all my own take-out.
Over the past year, I have only been ordering online from places that allow ordering through Ambassador, Clover, other POS, or places take orders over the phone, by email, or in person.
I had been picking up some orders placed through UberEats and Ritual, from 2020 to early 2025, until I realized, in addition to any service fees charged by the apps, about half the places in Toronto and Southwestern Ontario were charging more for each individual dish, than if I ordered in person or over the phone. I had been tipping on top of that. I realize it’s because they were pinched by the apps, but it really isn’t fair for people who pick up the food themselves.
I also had issues with 2 indie Indian restaurants in Woodstock, ON, and in London, ON, that took my orders and payment, then called to let me know they didn’t have any of the dishes I ordered, resulting in last minute substitutions and general disappointment. Those substitutions reflect the restaurants more than the apps, but those experiences turned me off trying other new restaurants through online orders or apps.
Well, the delivery service still has to pay the delivery driver the incredibly generous base pay of somewhere near $4 /s
We usually pick up our own food, with the exception of poker games when it’s simply more convenient for us to order delivery. Very few local places have their own drivers, unfortunately. I hate supporting these shit gig economy giants that squeeze both the restaurants and their contractors.
Like you, I love to cook. I might not be fancy with all my meals, leaning a lot to comfort foods, but cooking for myself is my preference. It’s my “me time”. Now, if I had to cook regularly for a spouse and kids? My tune would probably change a good bit.
I had to do takeout a few times for about10 days around Labor Day 2023 when when my row of townhomes lost the majotity of our electricity. I think I went to a local salad bar one night, got a sandwich another night, and went for a hot meal the third time (during a heat wave, mind you, but I desperately wanted a hot pasta meal!). But each time, i went very local and picked it up myself.
I don’t have any of the delivery apps, nor will I ever download and use them. My parents rarely ordered delivery back in the Dark Ages when I was growing up (I think I had delivery pizza twice growing up), so I never got in the habit.
I’d honestly make scrambled eggs and a toasted English muffin or pour a bowl of cereal before ordering takeout. Yeah, I know. I’m weird.
I’ve had delivered restaurant food twice in my life. The last time 20+ years ago, and the delivery guy was surprised by the tip. But it was pouring outside. I had instacart a few times during the pandemic but that was groceries and it was the first year when everyone was freaked out.
My thing about delivery is the food is often cold or doesn’t travel well, and I really don’t want the wrong order. Also when living in SF, it was a pretty common thing to drive home and pick up something on the way, or near the main drag coming home from public transit. When I moved to Berkeley and then Oakland things changed, not as many places on the way…and a mortgage. First few years were tight. Now it’s just habit, and geez, the prices and the service fee if it’s an app. I also don’t believe in being lazy unless there’s a good reason, illness, kids, etc.
We’ve used delivery a few times in Berlin, and were surprised at the excellent temp, texture and quality of the cumin lamb hand-pulled noodles.
But when in doubt & it’s doable I’d rather pick up the order myself than rely on a delivery driver who likely has several other orders, with mine not necessarily being a priority.
Food delivery in China is super efficient, and affordable.
20 minutes to our room from time of order from nearby KFC. Hot and neatly packaged. Less than usd$0.50 delivery charge. Hotel robot does not accept gratuities.
In college (midwest winters) pizza delivery (either super-cheap Domino’s or Pizza World, or the slightly pricier Papa Del’s) was a pretty normal thing. Post college, though it just never made economic sense. I have gotten delivery exactly 3 times. Once when I was stuck at home, not in any condition to drive (cough) I ordered Jimmy John’s. I tried getting sushi delivered once after getting a free GrubHub coupon (or similar). And I got Chinese delivered once in Vancouver when the ice coated the alley behind my apartment and I couldn’t get my car up the incline.
I am virulently anti-gig work. I loathe Uber and DoorDash and the like. I loathe the extra fees they charge, I loathe the way they armtwist smaller restaurants, I loathe the way they cheat their workers and slime their way around labor, environmental, and business regs. I try with all my might to never use them.
I’m lucky to live in a neighborhood with many excellent food/takeout options within a 5-10 min walk from my crib and I still have my mobility.
I’ve never used any of the food delivery apps, but I begrudge no one that uses them. Occasionally when we have a family get together, we’ll get food delivered, but never with a food delivery app. Most restaurants rely on these apps just to stay afloat, even though the service fee’s are pretty outrageous.
YMMV.
I love to cook too, but especially on a Friday night if I’m home, I’m not cooking. And – it being Friday – I’ve probably had an adult beverage by the time I start thinking about dinner. There are no places within short walking distance, especially when it’s 4 degrees outside. So delivery it is. I think we do in fact spend hundreds of dollars a month from this, but I don’t think that’s really due to delivery markup; we usually order sushi or Indian food and they’re super expensive anyway.
I do pay attention to the price differences across platforms, and I won’t order delivery from a place if the price is really increased online. I try to order directly from restaurants, but fewer and fewer seem to support that anymore. (In my area I think it’s down to just one Thai place and one pizza place.) So I usually have to use Grub Hub – free delivery if you have Amazon Prime – which seems to have somewhat less inflation than Uber Eats. I haven’t tried Door Dash.
I have some younger co-workers who get food delivery sometimes multiple times a day, including one who lives in midtown Manhattan and has ready access to about a million places in a 3 block radius. That’s just insanity IMO…
Not weird at all! I do the same thing. I’ve even made a big bowl of popcorn for dinner a few times.
Ordering a large amount for a group makes more sense than just ordering for one. When we have Dart Night at the pub, we have 4 or 6 pizzas delivered from the local shop.
I know a young person who will Door Dash a latte from Starbucks at least once a day. Now that is not something I can wrap my head around, especially when there are other very good coffee options within a block of where she works.
This is true. But before all the delivery apps, what did local places who wanted to offer delivery do? They paid some neighborhood kid with a car $20-30 per day to deliver and let them keep all the tips. No gouging the customers, no strange fees. And the drivers usually did pretty well, especially on weekends. @Lectroid I definitely see your point. I’m not anti-gig work–it can be a good source of income for many. But these apps do nickel and dime everything they can and that’s where I see the issue. I’ll happily tip the delivery person well when I know it will stay in his/her pocket.
I can attest to the good old days! One of my first jobs out of high school was delivering pizza for a local joint in my hometown. No smartphones, no GPS, decent hourly pay plus tips
And often a miniature calzone from one of the pizzaioli at the end of my shift
There are a handful of places serving Chinese food and a handful of indie pizzerias in Toronto that still hire their own drivers. The question gets asked on Reddit every few months. If I was going to order delivery, it would be from one of these businesses.
One Lebanese restaurant also used to deliver to my old apartment, so I ordered delivery from them a few times, before 2013. I think they since have switched over to using a third party delivery app.
Same here – but I keep instant ramen for those nights when its just me and I don’t feel like cooking. Throw it in a bowl, microwave 5 minutes, drain off some the water, add the flavor packet and eat.
My actual first job started about a month after getting my driver’s license at 17: driving deliveries for a pharmacy in the town where I grew up. My mom told me she’s take me out to learn how to drive in the snow once it did that. Guess what it did on my first Saturday delivery day? Let’s just say I learned quickly on my own.
Had to look up addresses on a map in the pharmacy (and had a Rand McNally spiral bound map book in my car!); plan my route for the easiest way to make all deliveries.
My best tip was an old guy just down the street…a gold-plated silver dollar. But I also got a $2.00 bill twice. In '76 and '77, those were great tips!
