Delivery drivers and take away orders ruin restaurant meals

Oh absolutely, no tears being shed for them at all. But did find it amusing as an example of big corporations that have effectively shafted themselves given how reliant it is on staffing resources.

You know their huge profits are just because the businesses are massive? It's a highly competitive market and they work on much lower profit margins than probably any other business - it's the sheer scale of the business that means they make the big profits.

The biggest reason for the recent price increases has been the increase in minimum wage. A supermarket making between 3% & 5% profit can't absorb a 28% wage increase between March 2022 and April 2024 without increasing prices.

It's a sign of the incredible wealth of the country to see how many people have takeaways.
If you're seeing them from the comfort of a restaurant rather than just looking out of the lounge window then good for you.

It this really a stealth boast?

https://www.unitetheunion.org/what-we-do/unite-investigates/new-analysis-rips-apart-dodgy-claims-of-squeezed-supermarket-profits/unite-investigates-food-profiteering-update-june-2023#:~:text=In%20their%20latest%20profit%20releases,gain%20from%20high%20food%20prices.

Poor, poor supermarkets and their inconvenient customers wanting deliveries.

That's interesting - but that's one where I wonder whether it'll ultimately go the other way, that it'll all be delivery and it's the cost of the shop they cut rather than the delivery service. No one's going to the supermarket for the experience, and we might one day wonder at the inefficiency of us all going in our individual cars to a big shop.

Ah, my heart bleeds for them and their fucking huge profits in a cost of living crisis.

Interestingly, I was watching one of those behind the scenes shows where a supermarket executive said that they've never been able to make home delivery or click-and-collect profitable with the slim margins supermarkets operate on. It started as an experiment to see what was viable, took off with customers and everyone jumped on the bandwagon and now they can't dial back from it because the first supermarket who does will lose a huge customer base to competitors. The basically said that they wished it had never happened.

True. It was a shame though. I've been there a few times over the years.

One of my friends did Deliveroo/Uber Eats in Covid. He got an order for a cup of tea from McDonalds to go from Stretford to Sale. I think the drink was 99p and the delivery charge was £6. The mind boggles that people have money to waste like that.

I think this about click and collect in the big supermarkets. You can't move for picking trolleys yet there's no-one on the till!

Yes, these certainly exist in our city. And not always on obscure industrial estates either. I noticed one recently in a former takeaway on a residential street not far from here.

It's a tricky one with lot's of different things going on. Some restaurants are raking it in but most aren't, especially the independents, and the costs of running a hospitality business are insanely out of control now - especially energy. Since the economy is hitting everyone, there's only so much you can raise prices or compromise on quality before damaging the business so increasing the volume of sales if the only option. That's fair enough but most restaurants just don't have the set-up or the space to accommodate the extra staff and/or kitchen facilities needed to do it well but it's either do what you can or go out of business.

Restaurant spaces were just never designed with this split business model in mind, the idea of a traditional restaurant even being viable as a takeaway didn't really come around until the pandemic. I'm kinda glad it did because it's given businesses a lifeline in the mess that's followed but it's a double edged sword.

Some places could definitely do more to improve the logistics to lessen the impact on sit-in customers but most are buggered from both sides.

My partner's restaurant is resisting takeaway. There's a function space downstairs with kitchen attached that only get's used at weekends but their menu isn't suited to travelling. It's in a city, in a densely populated neighbourhood that's historically been a food/night out hotspot and it's just getting slowly quieter. It's the same for all the business in the area. People just aren't going out enough across the week in some places.

Deliveroo have invested in Dark Kitchens

Not an issue where I live - there are not many choices compared to say, London, from where you can get food delivered, so I know exactly where the food is coming from. My favourite place now does its own delivery and is much cheaper than ordering through Deliveroo.

Also it is not noticed in larger chain restaurants as Deliveroo have invested in Dark Kitchens. Essentially kitchens on industrial estates or in shipping containers churning out food from well known restaurant brands. That comes with its own issues, for both the workers and the local residents.

Some places definitely don't get the balance right between customers eating in and those ordering food from home. They need to make the eating in experience worth bothering with. I expect some places will soon become takeaway only if that makes more business sense for them.

I'd rather get a takeaway and eat it in the comfort of home or in the garden on a nice evening. We have one once a week on a Friday evening but only rarely eat out - mostly on holiday and special occasions, and our household income is in the top 5%.

We live in a popular tourist area so this is a huge issue here. I have to admit that we've given up trying to eat (can't get into most places in the summer!) eating in and add to the issue by using just eat ourselves. Means we can eat in peace, no groups of holidaymakers (no issue with them in general, but they tend to larger groups, noisier and more likely to be sinking the beers - good for them and is their right, but not necessarily the best dining experience for us!), get food quicker and order from different places if we want to.

It is a problem though, I absolutely agree, and it's down to poor management. I guess they're just going down the business model that is most profitable for them and I understand that in this economic climate....but still frustrating when you're trying to enjoy a meal!

I totally agree. I went to a lovely, small independent restaurant recently and had a table by the door which I was happy with, until the door kept flying open and slamming shut with endless delivery drivers. There was nowhere for them to wait so they just stood around next to people eating with their massive bags. I'd been to the same restaurant one year earlier and there were no delivery drivers. I appreciate that their business appeared to be booming on that random Tuesday night and I was pleased to see that, but the atmosphere was ruined and we wouldn't go back.

I've also noticed it in places like Starbucks. A few times we've popped in quickly to grab a takeaway coffee thinking there's no queue, and then we've waited for a good 10-15 mins while they pack up endless Deliveroo and Uber deliveries. It's annoying, plus I find it a bit bizarre that someone is getting a coffee delivered.

You need to live in my (SW) town, OP. Uber and Deliveroo don’t exist here!

if you had been received better service and staff were more attentive when you visited then you might not have been as aware of the number of takeaways going out. I found when people were sitting being ignored that they had nothing to focus on and started to notice how much time the takeaway side of the business takes up.

This is exactly it. My lovely local Thai restaurant is going this way - it's another narrow-ish restaurant with tables either side of a narrow-ish aisle. The last couple of times we've eaten there it has taken forever for them to get round to taking our drinks and food order and I've noticed just how many delivery drivers are in and out (and, yes, leaving the door open is really obvious as well!). If they took our drinks order and brought our drinks over when we arrived, we'd be relaxed and chatting and much less likely to notice the takeaways!

But this way they got your food order for one, plus a food and drinks order for two - so they are up two food orders and one drinks order.

I'm not saying I agree with it - I often eat solo - but they don't want one person taking up a table that could have two people at it. And if they are refusing your booking, it means they are confident they would get the table filled.

@MoreDangerousThanAWomanScorned They charge a fortune, I made the mistake of getting a starbucks delivery once as was desperate for a bacon roll and had nothing in.. it was £20 for a coffee, bacon roll and sausage sandwich! Never again 😂 They're making a fortune from it
And I get what you mean about fried breakfast transported. I've never had the full breakfast delivered and not a fan of egg anyway so not sure what that would be like but I've had breakfast baps delivered and they were nice. There's a place round here that do very well delivering full breakfast though, in the evening they deliver roast dinners!

I agree, & not just with restaurants. In my small local Co-op I've had to wait quite a few times to be served while staff sorted orders for delivery.

I must be really rural because we have NO delivery services here apart from one local Chinese takeaway who runs its own service....which is pretty amazing as we are only a 20 minute drive away from the local big city in an affluent area. I would KILL for a macs delivery.