to turn away my takeaway?

[FlayOtters]

Opinions please! My friend thinks me and my husband are being completely ridiculous but I'm adamant we're in the right (but happy to be told otherwise!)
Ordered an Indian takeaway on ubereats for tonight (50% off woop woop!). Asked for scheduled delivery 7.40-8. All good, order accepted, confirmation email, your order will be delivered at 7.40.
Come 6.10 there is a ring on the bell and it's our food! We were just starting to try and calm our 5 and 2 year olds down before bedtime started, and were basically nowhere near ready for dinner! So we said "no". The man just stood and stared at us like we were utterly insane. After about a minute of silent staring he went back to his car to call his manager and then yelled out of the window that he'd come back later and drove off.
Now I know there is a reasonable chance he'll just being the exact same food back (possibly with added spit), but I think the principal remains. What is the point of being able to schedule delivery if it's totally ignored?? We wanted hot, fresh food at about 8 after the boys were asleep and we could relax. My friend happened to call a minute ago and basically said that I was being ridiculous and should've just taken the food. Who's right?
YABU - just take the damn food whenever it comes, Otters!
YANBU -you paid for the food to be delivered at a certain time, it's reasoab to want it at that time.

Annoying, but I just would have stuck it in the oven, and then leave contact the restaurant for better service next time. Bit silly to refuse.

Yes either decline the delivery and reorder (I would use a separate service if you have options to avoid added spit). You might have to fight for your refund and you needed to have explained to the driver that it’s the wrong time so he doesn’t think you are mad. Or just reheat it if you can’t be bothered with all that faff.

When the robots take over we’ll all get our food deliveries right on schedule, but as of now we sadly still have to deal with human incompetence (and spit).

I would just have taken it and reheated later. But probably would not order from them again.

Yes it’s really annoying (and has also happened to us mid-bedtime) but I would have accepted it and heated it up.
It’s now being driven around for a few hours being kept at perfect bacteria multiplying warm temperature… and you might not even get it back on time.

Let us know if it arrives and at what temperature!

So what was the outcome? Did you get cold food? At the right time?

I understand your frustration but I would have taken the food. Delivery drivers are usually on minimum wage and poor working conditions. It’s not his fault and it sounds from your OP that you were incredibly rude to him. It could have been a one off, but if it’s a repeat offence then you’ve got a case against the restaurant, but still not fair to take it out on the driver.

By the letter of the law you're right. But sometimes in the real world things don't go quite to plan, by far the best solution all round would have just been to take it then and there, reheat it later and accept it as one of those things. You made extra work for the delivery driver and made yourselves look a bit arsey in the process, I don't think I'd have enjoyed my redelivered takeaway very much after all that palaver.

Why didn’t you just take it In and keep warm

Of course you buzz them in and accept the food, like previous people say, heat it up when ready to eat.

They're not at your beck and call, OP!

I think everyone should have a stint as a delivery driver and only then can they criticise a difficult job

I’d have politely explained that it was 1.5hours early, appreciate that it wasn’t his fault, but not able to accept it. And I’d have pushed the takeaway place for a refund and ordered elsewhere. Some food I’d be happy to reheat, but not necessarily everything.

I said you’re not being unreasonable, however I would have accepted the food. They got in wrong, things happen. You could give feedback but my thought would also be how the service industry are particularly suffering with cost of increases, and you did get 50% off so on that basis I’d say you’re unreasonable.

What time did they redeliver?

I would have done the same as you. 30 mins I'd accept but not an hour and a half.

I’d have accepted the food and put it in the oven on a very low temperature to keep it warm and enjoyed it once the kids were in bed.

I’d then have complained to the restaurant about the time. The Uber Eats driver probably won’t get paid and it’s not his fault your order time was mucked up.

I'm amazed at the responses you've received here! You've paid for an advertised service and you are within your rights to expect to receive it. I have sent food back in similar circumstances because it was just no good to me at the time it was delivered. 10-20 minutes early would be ok but 90 minutes is ridiculous. If they have an option to schedule delivery they should stick to that.

Having said that it wasn't the drivers fault so if you were rude to him then YABU.

I’ve done this before when I’d scheduled to pick up after picking up DH from the train - it was their mistake and all communicated nicely

Yanbu This is why I never dare pre order takeaways anymore its so annoying. I ordered at a specific time for a reason if I wanted it sooner I would of ordered it for sooner.

I’d have accepted the food and complained to Uber about the time mix up. Reheated it later. Not ideal but there wouldn’t be spit in it either.

I think you were being unreasonable to be rude and stare at the driver rather than explaining the situation and that you had pre ordered for a certain time slot. I might have even fibbed and said it was to eat with guests and they weren't even there yet. They were unreasonable delivering it so early, but mistakes do happen.

I think where all aware its not the delivery drivers fault and its the restaurants fault. But that doesn't mean op should of just accepted the food

Sure. It might have been mildly irritating that it came early but not a big deal., I certainly wouldn't have turned it away. Just reheat, simples.

for this reason I would never order a takeaway ahead of time for a particular time slot. I don’t think most restaurants are really set up to work in that way - they’re mostly focused on getting them all out asap. I know uber eats and just eat etc offer the functionality but i am not sure how it looks at the front end, if the desired delivery time is obvious. If I did I would prob phone the restaurant after I ordered to check.

I also would have taken the food and reheated as rather that than it sitting in a car for 90 mins…

The Indian we use is really popular especially at weekends so we always order early. It's a cuisine that's happy to sit in a warm oven while we drink wine for a little while.