Uber has revolutionized the car service industry, no doubt about it. (They are in a war with Mayor DeBlasio at the moment about his restrictions on them, so much so that they are advertising heavily and there is an area on the app called “DeBlasio” to email your protest!) Nevertheless, with UberEATS, they are threatening to do the same with food delivery. Here’s how they sell it on their website;
“UberEATS delivers the best of New York City right when you want it. Our curated menu features dishes from the local spots you love. And the ones you’ve always wanted to try. It’s the same cashless payment as an Uber ride. So just tap the app, meet your driver outside, and enjoy.”
My place in New York has a street entrance, so it’s pretty easy, even in gross weather, to get a car to my door. Now with the touch of an app, my lazy ass could order lunch –that is IF I was inside their delivery zone, right now it’s between 14th & 59th street, which focuses on midtown offices. (Not sure how convenient it is in midtown to meet a car on the street if you are in a 32 story building, but I have a feeling a LOT of assistants will be finding out.) You can check out the menu here, if you are in the few select cities of Barcelona, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago & Toronto. As you can see from the pricing that it’s not really that expensive –unless they begin to adopt “surge pricing” for the lunch rush.
But how does this work, it seems impossible. The trick is, rather than waiting for customers to place an order, waiting for the restaurant to make the food, and then battling traffic to deliver the order —a process that can easily take 45 minutes— Uber drivers pick up batches of orders from participating restaurants in temperature controlled bags. Then they drive around as they always do, waiting to make a delivery to the nearest willing customer.
Below are the real meals for New York City, today, Thursday and Friday. That ice cream looks delish. Wait!? –ICE CREAM delivery in midtown Manhattan on a Friday afternoon? Do all the drivers have ice chests in their trunks? If not, I’m picturing lots of crying assistants with melted treats… (Hey L.A. pals & World of Wonder buddies in particular –Uber is delivering ice cream goodies on Friday in Los Angeles too! Order some and take a picture when it arrives. I’m curious.)
The post #MealswithWheels: UberEATS Is Changing How You Get Food Delivered (How Do You Feel About Melted #UberIceCream?) appeared first on World of Wonder.