Since you offered, you're being paranoid.

You can tip the driver when you place the order. The bags are all zipped up by the restaurant and in the back of the car. The driver makes money by speedy service, and they're focused on getting your food to you. I actually trust those restaurant based drivers less. I live across from a popular pizza joint, and some of their drivers are sketchy. What are 3rd party driver's motivation to tamper with my food? Why would they want to kill me? If just makes no sense. The pick up the food, rush to my door as fast as they possibly can, deliver it and they're off to their next stop. End of story.

What's the difference between DoorDash, UberEats, Grubhub, etc. etc.?
 

I have used UberEats and Grubhub in the past but with the news of the Chase Sapphire Reserve free delivery option coming for DoorDash I have to wonder what the difference is between all of these delivery services. I know that certain restaurants might only work with certain services but is that the main differences between them? It also seems like DoorDash has more low-end fast food options that Grubhub and/or Ubereats. Or am I missing something? Will the prices for places that work with all the services be different from site to site?

Like I said, I have mainly used Grubhub due to the AMEX Gold $10 a month credit but now I need to figure out DoorDash.

Experiences vary by location I assume but in the SF Bay Area where I've used delivery services prolifically in the past year as I don't cook:

DoorDash: the most restaurants, reasonably fast delivery, good customer support, but I avoid using this app because total fees are higher than UE and the drivers always arrive at the back entrance of my apartment complex even though I input the front office address. And, yes, I do specify in the delivery instructions to please meet me at the front leasing office - and I have had multiple drivers call me and ask me what is a leasing office.

Uber Eats: many restaurants, the fastest delivery, frequent discounts, and outstanding real-time tracking of the driver from the delivery acceptance --> restaurant arrival --> delivery to you. Better hope nothing goes wrong because the customer support is a nightmare. Unlike DD, however, drivers always arrive at the front of my apartment as I request, and 85% of the time there is no issue with my food. The other 15% I chuck the entire delivery bag in the trash, suck up the loss, and re-order.

Grubhub: few restaurants, slow delivery, no GPS tracking -- I only use it for the AMEX credit -- the convenience of DD or UE is just so much greater.

My experience in the Boston area:

DoorDash: They are the worst. I only use them because the Chipotle app offers delivery, and DoorDash is their delivery partner. I can see that my order is ready, and that a Dasher is assigned to pick up my food. Then, it assigns a different dasher. Repeat 3-4 times and I start wondering whether my food will arrive warm. Sometimes the drivers are rude. DoorDash is useless, and I feel bad complaining to Chipotle (where they're always generous with compensation) because it's mostly not their fault.
UberEats: Best variety in my area. As others have mentioned, customer service is trash, but, they do have self-help menus. If I'm not satisfied with an item (ie doesn't match description) or didn't receive an item I ordered, the automated system simply refunds me for them with no human intervention needed. If the restaurant gets my order wrong, then sometimes it takes a customer service rep to fix, but I haven't had any issues that haven't been fixed to my satisfaction yet.
GrubHub: I was disappointed when Foodler was bought out by Grubhub. Grubhub isn't too bad, but I've had a few issues where I essentially had to threaten Grubhub telling them that the had one last chance to make things right before I go to the credit card dispute route. GrubHub was one of the original players in this industry, and unfortunately, they're also the dying dinosaur.

DoorDash gives their deliverers a pretty raw deal when it comes to tipping, (i.e. when they agree to a delivery, it comes with a set payout that doesn't increase if they get a good tip; have to tip in cash to bypass this), so we don't use them. Other than that, they aren't too different. You may find as other posters have that your local area has more or fewer places on one of the platforms. I also have noticed that the prices vary slightly for the same delivery across platforms (including a restaurant's own site if they offer delivery). UberEats in particular tends to be higher but on occasion Grubhub will be.

Speaking for SoCal too, the screwups were in the fullfillment end, not the ontime delivery end

Two months of Postmates Unlimited for free. Use promo code ATTTHANKS. I believe it's for new and existing customers.

I messaged a handful of friends last night looking for a Grubhub referral and only one friend came through.

I haven't used any of the food delivery services before and only subscribe to Uber Eats by default. Wanting to support the restaurants in town, I am going to start ordering food at least twice a week through this pandemic. I bought Grubhub and Uber gift cards using the 20% off Discover redemption promo and am ready to give this a try.

LOL, you should've messaged me. I would've sent you a a referral for Grubhub, DoorDash, etc. :D

This is a stupid question, but... Do these service apps allow rating / tipping after the delivery is made like Uber after the ride is done?

You may know this already, but for the sake of saying it, check the restaurant web sites first to see if they delivery. There will still be plenty that don't, where you'll get to use the gift cards. The delivery services charge the restaurants exorbitant rates to deliver, and at least a portion of these are usually passed on to the customer. Neither you nor the restaurant win, as they are likely absorbing some of that fee too. So the best support you can give a restaurant is to order directly from them and tip their delivery driver or pick up your order yourself. Or use your gift cards first and then order direct :).

Plus, it's more satisfying. Last night at my local Greek place, I picked up dinner from the old Greek man who owns the place. He said "thanks for your business", and I said "thanks for staying open through all this". I think he was surprised, and his voice shook a little when he simply replied "thank you".

Postmates does. Uber Eats allows you to pre tip but gives you a window afterwards to adjust that tip.

I use uber eats 3-4 times a week and love it. I like the ability to track the car too.

I've used DoorDash twice. I'm loving it, because where I live, many of the restaurants would not otherwise deliver to me.

I made my first food delivery order. Grubhub has a $10 off $30 participating restaurants promo. It's unclear to me if this is a first time only/new customer or a multiple use promo. I've seen it worded both ways. The 20% tip amount was auto set at $8.18 and I left it alone. The enchiladas, chicken mole, and chile verde should be here in an hour.

True This. NYC is currently debating capping the fees that the delivery companies charge to the restaurant at 20%. IIRC 15% Delivery and 5% "Marketing". A couple of restaurants that I have spoken to have said that it can get as high as 40% if you want a favorable listing on the app.

Also note that if you call the restaurant from the app, the delivery company still charge referral fees. In some cities the restaurant's phone number via an app is actually different from their direct line.

We try and go directly to the restaurants to order by using their websites and calling their phone numbers. We're trying to keep as much of our spend local.

I saw a story on CBS This Morning that more cities are looking to cap fees to the restaurants with local legislation. The Companies are saying it will cost more to the consumer as they will pass those fees to them instead of the restaurant. IMO, if the restaurants feel the fees are too much, then they should cancel the contract for the deliveries. I only use restaurants that have their own drivers and have dropped a few who decided to forgo their own drivers for these delivery companies. I use to be a part-time driver in my younger days as well as a restaurant manager. I can understand removing the drivers from their payroll as it reduces costs including having to carry insurance in case the driver gets into an accident. As usual, it all comes down to the bottom line as it cuts into the real reason the restaurant is in business- MAKE MONEY

I can understand not having delivery drivers for other reasons. In my area, most restaurants don't do enough business for delivery to make having a delivery driver worthwhile. DoorDash and GrubHub have been great because drivers can drive 5-10 miles away and pick up orders from restaurants that would otherwise not deliver to this area.

My biggest gripe with Grubhub is that they don't disclose what the delivery fee is until checkout.

My biggest gripe with DoorDash is that they're terribly dishonest and their business practices are borderline fraudulent. I will definitely be complaining to regulatory authorities on this one.

Here is what I mean.

Scrolling through the front page, it shows "Free Delivery over $10" with no disclaimer, asterisk, or logo indicating that there's a catch.
https://i.postimg.cc/tJBL7FCS/IMG-7514.png

Tapping on the restaurant will bring up the menu, which also says free delivery over $10 inside of a box.

https://i.postimg.cc/jdjpm3ZG/IMG-7515.png

But when I go to check out, I am charged for delivery

https://i.postimg.cc/xC3rDwrS/IMG-7516.png

I contacted them and this was their response

https://i.postimg.cc/y82WkZD8/Screen...1-33-25-PM.png

Ugh. It’s not a fun situation. I only used caviar, who I believe were recently bought by DoorDash. I loved caviar but fees aren’t ever cheap - best when buying a bunch Of food that I could reheat, like Asian, to offset the high fees. Paying $20 in fee / tip for a single meal felt high but paying $40 in fees/tip for 3-4 meals felt fine and I appreciated the convenience. My last caviar was late February when I hosted a poker night and I had 3 big pizzas for like $130 total including fees & tip and it was worth it to me because I didn’t want to spend 10-20 minutes with fetching it and I was cleaning & prepping for the party.

That's better than Uber Eats, who I use 99% of the time. Same monthly fee but delivery is waived at $15 and above not $10 like Door Dash.

I know DoorDash allows pick up instead of delivery for certain places, but anyone know of other apps that allow it too?

Uber Eats and GrubHub have pick-up options as well. The restaurant has to opt in though. There's a restaurant two blocks from where I work that will deliver, but I can't select a pick-up option. I suppose I could call in the order, but I'd rather order through the app because it's easier.

This.

Especially when it's a food item that is customizable, listing every ingredient over the phone is tiresome.

and sadly I fear there’s too much potential for human error with the phone conversation. This is separate from the human error with the food preparation.

caviar also has a pickup option. i assume they’re not nationwide.

Caviar has been acquired by DoorDash and will be integrated into DoorDash soon.

due to Covid, I started to cook; thankfully just in time. I loved caviar but won’t miss it; I love all of our cooking.

This. I've also had issues where the human answering the phone did not understand my order or where we were placing a large group order and it took ages to list each item.

Then, of course the establishment runs out of something. Better ask that person who ordered it to now come up with something alternative. :D

Yes!

I am going to use my CSR DoorDash benefit for 2020 and 2021 until the credits run out. But no more after that...

I had no idea that these services charge the restaurant AND the customer. I was getting caught with the Outlook sections of the WaPo and read a story about a Chicago pizzeria with a $1000 order for delivery, but Grubhub took an almost $700 fee. I can't imagine I am supporting local business with such exorbitant fees charged by the delivery providers. I don't mind driving 5-10 minutes to support a local restaurant!

EDIT: I stopped at a relatively new Vietnamese restaurant on my way home from my VFD; probably opened just a few months prior to the pandemic. Since I was the only customer waiting for food, I was able to stay inside and speak with the (owner?) manager for a few minutes about this subject. She told me that while these services were expensive to use (she uses DoorDash and Postmates), she thought because these services are available, she was able to survive the pandemic. She tried hiring drivers, but it is a very complex area address-wise, the drivers were not reliable - got lost primarily; whereas the services have done quite well and allowed for an increased delivery area.

Went to use Door Dash to order from a restaurant that was 2 miles from my house. Thankfully, my CC was declined. They wanted $71+ for the order with "free" delivery. I ended up going out in the rain to order and pick it up from the restaurant directly. I only had to pay $50 for the same exact food. It was only the second time I tried to use the service directly through their app. I have ordered from restaurants through their app and they use Door Dash as their delivery company, but the prices in the restaurants' apps were only a small percentage (1-3%) more than if you were to order and pick it up yourselves.

Sounds about right unfortunately. I just use these benefits for "pickup" orders only -- all the restaurants we order from are within 10-15 minutes of my house so it's not a big lift and it saves the "free delivery charges + tip" -- and there are still a few restaurants that don't add the extra % to pickup orders.

These services are great when needed and worth every cent. However, I no longer use them because I reduced restaurants and my overall needs changed.

Best example was our thanksgiving 2018 Chicagoland visit when our taxi fetched us at ORD and drove us to our Vrbo rental house. We used DoorDash or post mates to get a 9p late supper and then an 8a breakfast, because we weren’t planning to fetch our rental cars until 11a (via lyft) for the weekly rental/return. It was cold weather and our rental wasn’t near any quality food by foot in the cold - definitely a stereotype about suburbs. I was super thrilled with the service and I was very happy to give the person a $10 bill for the $50-ish meal (before taxes & fees)

When I was in quarantine with COVID, these services were a life saver because we didn't feel like cooking but going and picking stuff up wasn't an option.

exactly! This is perfect for a contact-free delivery service. Once in 2018 or 2019 I was feeling blah, and getting chicken pho delivery was so needed. There are so many great times and places for this service.

I've noticed quite a few more restaurants have started to offer their own delivery service, or sometimes private branding Door Dash to deliver for them, since the beginning of the pandemic. We always order from the restaurant directly first, and a couple times after ordering we've seen that it's being delivered by Door Dash...without all the customer markups. Although I'm sure they're screwing the restaurant on delivery charges, at least it's not me.

At this point, we use a delivery service by choice only once per month, to use my $15/mo Amex Uber credit. Don't need it for rides these days. The $15 credit, in most cases, gets us to the normal price of the food as it covers the markup.

I use uber eats every week. When you are the only (or first) stop it's great, if you are the second stop the food is cold hence voiding out any benefit of food delivery service.

They pull a bait and switch too. When the quote you for example 10.20 pm delivery last night and all of a sudden at 10:10 you see the delivery time is pushed back 15 minutes to drop off at someone else's house first. :mad:

Every week? The huge markup on menu prices turned me off from that a while ago. Sometimes, the markup and additional fees, can double the cost. And that's even with the eats pass thing that I get free through my Amex.

The one thing I haven't seen with Uber is the delivery push back you described. I have seen it with DoorDash though. In fact, the last time they delivered it ended up nearly 45 minutes later than the original time we were given. The food was ready on time but not picked up...and cold when it arrived. That was the last straw. In fact, even if they are a private label delivery service for a restaurant, I refuse to order from that restaurant about 80% of the time now (usually it will say "delivered by DoorDash" or similar when you get to the confirmation page.

I guess, in short, I'm pretty much done with these services until they come up with a better model.

These delivery services are great and their costs reflect greatness. Convenience is huge. When our child was younger and my spouse and I were super busier, I loved the convenience and service and felt that I always received exactly what I was paying for with premium prices. Now that we are less busy and our child is older, it’s less difficult to fetch carryout. But boy did I see the joy of delivery services on rainy dark nights :-)