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points by browningstreet 13 hours ago | 0 comments

I’ve literally never ordered from any of these 3 companies.

I do wonder what percentage of their orders are McDonalds. I lived near one and the car traffic of vehicles with delivery placards was significant.

Which makes me wonder about pricing pressure that is often reported re: McDonalds, and yet people end up paying $30-40 for a $15 McDonalds order.

Don’t get it.

[–] nonethewiser 12 hours ago

I did it a few times years ago when they had huge promotions. And even still I found it to be too expensive on top of being a bad experience.

I do get it. If you just really dont want to spend time on getting/making your own food, dont care about the cost, and are willing to put up with the experience then it serves a purpose. There is also a difference between doing it regularly and rarely.

I'd wager most, although not all (reread this before replies of "but I ..."), of those people doing it regularly are lazy and making a bad financial decisions but thats on them.

[–] MisterTea 12 hours ago

> I’ve literally never ordered from any of these 3 companies. ...

>Don’t get it.

I get that it takes full advantage of human tendency to be lazy. A friends stepson works a crappy job seemingly to pay for his door dash. The kid saves almost no money and is always asking his mother for money here and there while living at home with no expenses outside of his door dash and video game purchases. He couldn't afford to buy a bicycle.

[–] pcan77 12 hours ago

do any of you have young kids and dual, heavy stress jobs? DoorDash and Instacart are godsends for families on the go who don't have time to do all this stuff anymore. My wife and I BARELY have time to go grocery shopping and will probably use this service once a month, doordash more than that when we don't have the energy to cook dinner and don't want to wrestle our kid into the car and constantly entertain them at a restaurant.

[–] rcpt 11 hours ago

With 3 kids and both parents working we still never use these things. The few times I tried the food takes a long time and arrives kind of slimy.

The way I see it: customer service sucks real bad now. In San Francisco it sucks incredibly bad. Adding another layer of it is another place for things to get worse.

I completely understand how door dash is useful. But I've been so disappointed that I just don't consider it anymore

[–] oblio 11 hours ago

Do whatever it takes to handle things, but for this:

> My wife and I BARELY have time to go grocery shopping

If you can, take them grocery shopping with you. One parent stays at home doing stuff, the other goes grocery shopping with at least one kid.

In my experience kids at least 12-18 months old LOVE grocery shopping.

Get a big shopping cart, put them in that special seat facing you. Keep it concise, don't shop for more than 1 hour per round. Talk to them, explain what you're doing, give them harmless things to play with (a carrot, a celery bulb, a bag of rice, whatever). Have a little fun with the produce, they will love random things, for example that weird looking tomato.

It becomes even easier as they grow a bit.

[–] s3graham 10 hours ago

My daughter used to love sitting in the cart while perusing the books they sold at Costco. But maybe we didn't buy enough, they don't seem to carry many anymore!

[–] zeroonetwothree 8 hours ago

Works with some kids but not all. All these threads always end up “I’m shocked that someone else has a different life than me!”

[–] oblio 8 hours ago

In my experience routine trumps almost everything. And considering language learning, religion, accents, etc, routine probably trumps everything, period.

I've seen enough parents carting bored kids through supermarkets, while walking sullenly and silently, to know that some people aren't even trying.

[–] sbarre 10 hours ago

But wait, where's the iPad in all this? /s

[–] vorpalhex 12 hours ago

I'm going to give you the most important parenting advice you didn't ask for:

Stop entertaining your kid.

Your kid doesn't need to be entertained. They don't need the tv, a tablet, or a scheduled production put on by their parents.

Let them be entertain themselves. They are great at it.

They will be better behaved, they will be happier and more independent. You will enjoy spending time with your kids again.

Take them out. Let them wait in line. Let them sit at the table a bit. Do slow restaurants that aren't kid friendly.

Let them bring a few small non-electronic toys or a little book, or paper and crayons.

[–] MattGrommes 10 hours ago

First, the only useful parenting advice is Every Kid Is Different. All other parenting advice needs to be evaluated with that lens.

Also, entertaining is not always putting on a show for them or giving them an ipad. Just chatting with three small children sitting around a table while they color can be difficult and you don't always have the energy.

[–] vorpalhex 6 hours ago

There is no kid who benefits from an ipad instead of being allowed to self entertain.

Conversing with your kids is great. Coloring is great.

[–] xXSLAYERXx 11 hours ago

While I agree with what you are saying I'm surprised at how confidently you can say it to someone else who lives, or grew up in, a different environment than you. How do you know theres no mental illness? How do you know if they're trying to shield their kid, via entertainment, from the brutal reality that they might lose their house? Maybe one works nights and one works days?

[–] apsurd 10 hours ago

but then no one can say anything to anyone about anything.

its ok to say what you mean and have it land in different ways for different people.

[–] cwillu 9 hours ago

> but then no one can say anything to anyone about anything

I was going to say that this is an absurd leap, but going off your username I suspect that was the point.

[–] vorpalhex 6 hours ago

What if your kid is a three legged midget in a horse costume? What if he's just a Claude operating a child sized robot body? What if your kid is Benjamin Button and has a crippling addiction to internet porn?

You probably shouldn't still be "entertaining your kid". Your kid can almost certainly still entertain themselves. You are not helping them by shoving an ipad in front of them.

I spent several years as a young kid with a peer who was severely disabled both physically and mentally. This kid was also very happy to entertain himself, especially with shoelaces. He loved untying and tying his shoes. He also deeply loved picture books.

Don't use people with disabilities as an excuse to be lazy.

[–] strulovich 11 hours ago

That’s a horrible advice.

Things that work for your kids don’t necessarily work for all kids.

[–] oblio 11 hours ago

I'd argue that OP is directionally right and:

1. only some specific circumstances for regular kids

2. special needs kids

should warrant exceptions.

[–] vorpalhex 6 hours ago

Parents who use digital pacifiers (ipads, etc) do it because they think it will make their life easier and their child happy.

They are wrong on both counts. You are stealing your kids opportunity to develop an internal world, an attention span and to self stimulate.

And your kid, who is probably fairly smart and good, will always be "difficult" in social situations. You will dread taking them out. A dead ipad will be your doom.

I promise: your kid is smart, great and can self entertain. It's never a problem in the kid, always the parents.

[–] rcpt 11 hours ago

> Stop entertaining your kid.

> Take them out.

[–] apsurd 10 hours ago

synchronous vs asynchronous entertainment.

I took the advice as to remove the stress and pressure of assuming kids need synchronous attention to stay entertained. They sure will want it. resist.

[–] saghm 11 hours ago

I'm not sure what the third company you're referring to is (I've read through the article twice and only see DoorDash and Instacart (which I guess is incorporated as "Maplebear", but not a separate company from what it sounds like), but I've ordered from both of them, albeit not recently (my wife and I have been using FreshDirect lately). The value proposition of getting groceries delivered for us is that we don't drive (or have a car) and the grocery store is over 20 minutes away walking distance from us. The extra cost to have them delivered is far less than the cost and maintenance of having a car, and the convenience of being able to have it done even during times when I'm busy working from home is added bonus. My wife also has a condition where the treatment is essentially turning off her immune system every six months, so the safety of not exposing her to something by doing shopping in person is not something I'd ever want to give up.

I guess I could like, get a shopping cart and spent an extra 40 minutes hauling stuff back and forth every time we wanted groceries, but even that would be somewhat dependent on weather; a delivery driver is not going to have to walk 40 minutes in heavy rain and can bring frozen goods in an amount of time that doesn't result in them being soggy or completely melted messes by the time they reach us.

[–] bobthepanda 10 hours ago

not an instacart user, but as a carless person an ebike has really saved me hundreds of dollars on DD fees just by doing pickup, and it really shortens the amount of time; even a very slow biking pace of 8mph is orders of magnitude faster than walking. and with bike panniers you can carry two grocery bags' worth of stuff. a decent ebike assists up to 20mph.

basically the only things i bother online delivering grocery wise are bulky dry goods (e.g. paper towels)

[–] esikich 13 hours ago

I just paid $20 for a $15 McDonald's order with the annual subscription. It all depends on the restaurant too. I also haven't gone grocery shopping since 2020.

I literally order from all of those companies as do 10s of millions of people if not more.

[–] agoodusername63 13 hours ago

My man, bragging about paying 33~ percent more for a bottom tier burger joint on top of a subscription is not the statement you think it is.

You couldn't torture that out of me.

[–] angiolillo 12 hours ago

> 33~ percent more

I haven't eaten MacD's in decades, but why does it matter as a percentage? How much you're willing to pay should be dependent on how much it costs you to acquire the items yourself. For example, if the store is a 10 minute round trip and you value your free time at at least $30/hr then paying $5 for delivery is rational, regardless of the item's initial cost. Better than rational even, when considering fuel and vehicle wear-and-tear.

(Of course if you have a kitchen, equipment, and time then buying bulk ingredients and making your own meals is sometimes more efficient, but thats an argument against buying prepared food in the first place, not against getting it delivered.)

[–] zdragnar 12 hours ago

If you're working hourly from home and it saves you 30 minutes, or sick and can't leave the house, or the baby is napping and you don't want to wake her up, etc etc, it's more than paid for itself.

That's not to say it is worth it as an axiomatic rule, but it's something some people will choose from among the options available to them, which may be many or few, as dictated by their circumstances.

[–] nonethewiser 12 hours ago

>If you're working hourly from home and it saves you 30 minutes, or sick and can't leave the house, or the baby is napping and you don't want to wake her up, etc etc, it's more than paid for itself.

Compared to what? Pulling left overs out of the fridge? Or driving to get takeout? Driving to get takeout was never the financially savy decision in the first place. You are simply paying more for enjoyment. So let's not set that as the baseline.

In terms of time, if you spend 40 minutes on a batch making 8 meals you are spending 5 minutes/meal on preparation. You're going to take that much time with your doordash order so there is not even a time saving.

Doordash buys you enjoyment and impulsiveness. You can spend your money on that. But don't fool yourself into thinking its a time or especially a money saver.

[–] yawnxyz 12 hours ago

nah you dont always have the luxury of meal prep (or planning/grocery store runs) when you have a newborn - besides this takes up so much time and energy

[–] nonethewiser 11 hours ago

sure you do I've had several

[–] fwip 10 hours ago

Sure, if you want to eat refrigerated burger meal 8 times this week, you can do it for 5 minutes per meal.

[–] nonethewiser 12 hours ago

>If you're working hourly from home and it saves you 30 minutes, or sick and can't leave the house, or the baby is napping and you don't want to wake her up, etc etc, it's more than paid for itself.

Compared to what? Pulling left overs out of the fridge? Or driving to get takeout? Driving to get takeout was never the financially savy decision in the first place so let's not set that as the baseline.

[–] tredre3 12 hours ago

The baseline is: I want a burger and I don't want to cook it (or I enjoy this particular restaurant's recipe).

That's it. The comparison is indeed burger delivery vs drive-through/takeout. Cooking is irrelevant in the equation.

[–] nonethewiser 12 hours ago

Right so doordash buys you impulsiveness

[–] ssl-3 11 hours ago

So what?

Do we not have the freedom to be impulsive?

[–] mcmcmc 12 hours ago

How do you possibly interpret that as bragging?

[–] apsurd 10 hours ago

what does that even mean?

you’re bragging about being above mcdonalds. on an internet forum.

chill

[–] atomicUpdate 12 hours ago

This is why all the “everything is too expensive” complaints fall on deaf ears. The fact that these companies are used by so many is an easy indicator that all the “K-shaped” doomerism is just that.

[–] throwitaway222 11 hours ago

It's true. The fast food restaurants had all been locked into competition without these services for years. Then they found out people will pay 2x, and not only that, will be a large percentage of their base. So at risk of doordash prices going to 3x, the restaurants raised prices 2x anyway figuring either people will drive in or door dash will split the difference. Which is what happened.

[–] oblio 8 hours ago

> I also haven't gone grocery shopping since 2020.

Do you have regular groceries delivered?

[–] esikich 7 hours ago

Yes.

[–] gamblor956 10 hours ago

For $20 I can get a nice burger at a sit-down establishment, and be finished eating the burger before the Doordash delivery would have arrived.

[–] apsurd 10 hours ago

Different people like different things at different times.

[–] esikich 7 hours ago

It took 15 minutes.

[–] Theodores 12 hours ago

Curious, isn't it?

I don't order artificial food on apps or go anywhere near the golden arches, but it amazes me that the majority of the app orders are for these chains that sell utter garbage.

It is a bit like a phone, you could open a book to read classic literature or you could doom scroll AI trash all day. For some reason the latter option is invariably chosen over the former.

The money is also ridiculous, I am not sure of golden arches prices with delivery and tip on top, I just don't live like that. However, I always cook from scratch with no animal products, just stodgy vegetables, and I am sure that my weekly food bill is going to be less than one delivered cold and late burger meal of no nutritional value.

Also shocking as a cooking person is how few McDonald's orders are sit down with people. We have ended up with people eating with their fingers in their solitary confinement cars with the worst junk food possible, whereas we once had dinner parties with a proper table, home cooked food of nutritional value, valued company, crockery, cutlery, etiquette and prayers to an imaginary god.

Even stranger is that there is no free healthcare in the USA. Eat this garbage and you have a healthcare bill coming for the obesity, saturated fats blocking arteries, cancer and the rest of the chronic diseases that go with artificial food.

This situation is a product of American corporate ways of doing things and hard to unpick, but with these delivery apps now worth billions, there is now another barrier between healthy eating since this silly gig economy now needs to be kept in existence since jobs and corporate profits depend on it.