Delivery drivers and take away orders ruin restaurant meals

I fully agree with you btw OP that it sucks but I also feel really sorry for the restaurant staff who are stressed as fuck about it and wish Uber, Deliveroo etc would fuck right off. The delivery drivers can be rude and demanding but from their perspective they only get paid for each delivery they make, not the times in between where they’re waiting for orders to come through. So they’re under pressure too. Basically, all the low paid staff are going through this endless shower or shite, in person customers are understandably pissed off but hey the much higher up management types are having a great time…

And the gov wonders why so many people are off work indefinitely with stress, depression and anxiety.

I work in a convenience store so not the same as a restaurant but we do have Uber and just bloody eat. We have to “prioritise both the customers in store and the ones who have placed an order on the apps” according to higher management. At the same time. Along with online orders (eg Amazon for example that people pick up). No excuses, it has to be done, to a tight time limit and if it isn’t there are sanctions which then translates into bollockings from managers or actual disciplinary action. They also love to point out that if in app sales fall it affects our budget “so hours will have to be cut.” So there’s threats too. Yay.

I fully agree with you btw OP that it sucks but I also feel really sorry for the restaurant staff who are stressed as fuck about it and wish Uber, Deliveroo etc would fuck right off. The delivery drivers can be rude and demanding but from their perspective they only get paid for each delivery they make, not the times in between where they’re waiting for orders to come through. So they’re under pressure too. Basically, all the low paid staff are going through this endless shower or shite, in person customers are understandably pissed off but hey the much higher up management types are having a great time…

Yes, they are so annoying and seem to have permanent L plates

@PassingStranger agree with @Jayne35 they come in foil takeaway tubs and are still steaming hot, very popular around here but not tried one

We often order and collect a roast from our local pub (pre ordered a few days before), it comes in foil trays and is lovely, though pub is only two mins away. I wouldn’t order a roast through Deliveroo from the Toby though.

It's annoying to have delivery motorbikes coming on the pavements and then walking in a restaurant and being face to face by a man in helmet carrying a giant cool bag. Then constant comings and goings. However, some places do it much better and its nicely segregated and no problems at all.

Things have been so hard for restuarants in recent years though, I don't blame them.

My local coffee shop put in a takeaway window during covid, and did really well. But then they stopped takeaway as they felt they couldn't do that and also meet the needs of their in shop customers. Fair enough - but they went out of business within a year.

It's similar to starbucks, I think. I used to view starbucks as a reasonably pleasant atmosphere, but every branch I have visited in the past few months has been uniformly filthy. Tables full of unclean mugs and rubbish, and zero attempt to clear them. Not sure if it is staffing cut backs, or drive-through increases making staff too busy.

My local Indian restaurant/takeaway still have their own driver, although they’re on the apps as well. They’re the only place I know who who still does.

An area where i used to live - restaurants turned off mobile lrdering st peak hours so as not to disrupt dining room experience. But i was shocked last weekend to see outside of a tube station about 20 motorbikes sitting waiting for orders around 6pm on Friday.

i refuse to do delivery unless necessary necUee the mark up is crazy. When I was a kid we ordered pizza or chinese food - both had their own drivers. I miss that model!!

How anyone can get a roast dinner delivered in a bag is weird.
Roast dinner needs to be eaten in the place it's cooked and preferably at a table.

I worked in a restaurant that decided it was a good idea to go on just eat middle of 2019. I hated it!! Our in house customers were almost a non thought as we MUST KEEP THE TAKE AWAY CUSTOMER HAPPY. You are also kept to insane deadline; some one has to take a bake seat and its always the in house diners that do.
Fair enough do take away. But do either or. 95% of eateries are not equipped to deal with the sheer volume of food you must produce and as fast as possible. Both diners and take away suffers because of the pressure to get the food out and in a "reasonable" time.
You couldn't pay me enough to work in a restaurant that also does take aways. I get that they need the income but I've seen the awfulness and pressure to even attempt to stay afloat doing this.

I'm not sure how much clearer I can be. You linked your bad restaurant experience 'directly' to the 'explosion in takeaways'.
All I stated was that your premise is false. It's not due to that, but service and staffing levels.

In your example, there would have been zero problems if you'd gotten great service and your food on time. The presence of the delivery drivers have nothing to do with this. In your mind, if they were not there, the staff might have paid more attention to you. But, that's not necessarily true -it's just your assumption.

R.e. multiple going downhill, it's more to do with cost cutting. A very simplistic example , if 5 meals need 1 staff then 50 need 10... But if the restaurant does that they need to raise prices. So they just have 8, and this is the result.

Judgement of eating habits aren't relevant here. The sad truth is, the takeaways are the ones keeping the restaurant afloat, especially if regular. Not you and your occasional treat. If more people ate in it would be different.

If you want a good experience you'll have to pay more unfortunately - especially if it's an independent. The alternative to having lots of takeaways is the restaurant closing down, which even in big cities is happening at an alarming rate.

I hope Richard Curtis is on it now!

'four takeaways and an eat in'

Imagine a bloke taking his girlfriend to a nice restaurant to propose. He gets down on one knee..............then gets thwacked on the head by a big Deliveroo bag.

We had the same last winter. Small restaurant, only table available next to the door. We had to keep our coats on as it was so bloody freezing every time the door was opened every few minutes. Service to the diners was terrible because of all the takeaway orders

I think your last sentence sums up the problem totally

Take aways also prioritise drive through customers to customers inside.

I used to go to Tim Hortons reasonably frequently for a breakfast meal deal. If you order in the drive through then you get your food instantly but if you order inside it can be a 15-20 minute wait.

I couldn't even tell you the last time I ate out. I can't bear the thought of spending 50+ quid for cold food eaten next to a queue of food boxes and helmets.

And I'm so so sick of trying to dodge the dangerous mopeds carrying food boxes, that can't seem to see cars on the road.

I had to do an emergency stop last week because a scooter delivery driver exited right out of a side road into my path and to the left of my car(ie on the wrong side of me). Luckily for him I was paying attention and it's in a 20 zone.

Me and DH have experienced this a few times. In one indian restaurant we waited 40 minutes for our food (there were only 2 other occupied tables) while delivery drivers were in and out constantly.

We haven't really waited ages in any other restaurant but it is very annoying to have the drivers in and out, opening and closing the door (often not closing it!), knocking into your table or chair etc.

Just about everywhere we go to eat now seems to do delivery from fast food places to cafes to proper restaurants.

We have seen staff making up the delivery bags with as little as a sandwich and coffee. What cost of living crisis?

Your treat hasn't been ruined because of the 'game', i.e the takeaway model. It's been ruined because of bad management. Therefore YABU. It's not about anybody's fault except for the business owner.

Delivery allows restaurants to reach a wider audience , so a large number ordering infrequently still results in a crowd.

IMO one of the biggest issues apart from shitty transport is the cost of drinks. I like alcohol with a nice meal - this has become terribly expensive. Also, one of us has to not drink.

I've used Deliveroo a couple of times and although expensive it's still worth it compared to the cost of drinks and the hassle of going somewhere. I usually pick up myself but having it at home is much better

I mean, I can make some bad financial choices for the sake of convenience (laziness) but that's amazing! I could understand if they were craving some specific drink but I struggle to see how a Maccy D Tea is up there in the must-have category.

I’ve only ordered via deliveroo twice and will never do so again.
Both times the food was cold on arrival. The boxes the riders use are not insulated well enough and are too large, so there is a lot of cold air in there. If I collect my own takeaway, I wrap it in a blanket before packing into a cool bag. That way it is still hot on arriving home.

I’m also amazed by the number of takeaways being ordered during a cost of living crisis, especially as food cooked at home is almost always tastier with higher quality ingredients as well as considerably cheaper

When i was working in retail in 2003 i was told in no uncertain terms that the customer in the actual shop standing in front of me came first and if the phone next to me rang i was to ignore it and deal with the customer ringing later
How times change!