John Oliver discusses food delivery apps, how they are both helping and harming restaurants and workers, and why starting an orphanage definitely should not ...
  • phoenixz@lemmy.ca
    1·
    6 months ago

    I disagree with his final conclusions… If we all try to be nicer to the driver, give them 5 stars, they’re still being abused.

    You need better laws to protect them.

    Also, don’t become a gig worker, you WILL be abused

  • TheKMAP@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
    0·
    6 months ago

    I’ll cook as part of a date night, but for general sustenance it’s a huge hassle for me. I’ve done meal prep but shopping for groceries and keeping track of inventory (to see if I have enough, or to if something is expired) is a huge hassle too. So when I cooked it was basically to do the same keto recipe which only had like two ingredients and made enough to last five or so days. I don’t mind eating the same food every day, and in fact that kind of discipline was useful for losing weight.

    Now I exclusively use DoorDash. My credit card gives me free delivery, and while I’m sure door dash increases the prices of the menu item, I actually compared total cost of DoorDash vs the restaurant’s in house delivery and the in house delivery is less than a dollar cheaper. And that price is only valid at the restaurant for a first time order. On the DoorDash side I can trigger door dash discount (a flat dollar amount not a percentage) by hitting a certain dollar amount, which I just barely hit it using the items I order, getting maximum (percentage) discount. The items I order are also pretty filling (meat and fat not carbs), so it all works out very nicely.

    For that extra dollar I get to use the door dash app which is really convenient not just for easily re ordering food (or getting a double dash) but also so I can track eta, and text the driver one-time-use elevator codes so they drop it off right at my door.

    Grand total for two burritos? 26.36 and they’re big enough that usually I only eat the second one on the same day if I exercise.

    That one guy who said millennial subsidy is right. At least for me, I am getting a huge value of the service.

    I order basically every day and I never tip, and you could flame me however you want and I’ll never care.

    My old place was difficult to deliver to and I left detailed instructions. Anyone who can’t read it got one star. I don’t understand the whining about ratings. They are there for a reason. The app also separates food rating from driver rating so that concern mentioned by that one lady is a non issue.

    If you are too dumb to read delivery instructions on a DoorDash you absolutely deserve to get fired. That is not some evil algorithm, it’s simply a performance review.

    • Jesus@lemmy.worldOP
      1·
      6 months ago

      The argument isn’t that the services aren’t convenient. They are absolutely convenient. Moreover, I would argue that convenience hits pretty hard when you consider most households under the babyboomer generation are working more, and can’t afford to have one adult at home doing meal prep while their spouse is paying the rent / mortgage.

      The point of the piece is that these services fuck over workers and restaurants.

      • TheKMAP@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
        1·
        6 months ago

        The workers aren’t fucked because of DoorDash. The workers are fucked because we don’t have universal health care, so being a contractor means you don’t get health care. But that’s not DoorDash’s fault.

        Restaurants aren’t fucked either. They can choose to not hit the “accept order” button if they are swamped or don’t think it is profitable.

        • JohnnyH842@lemmy.world
          1·
          6 months ago

          That’s not true. I worked for a restaurant that was unwillingly put on the DoorDash site/app. Consumers put their order in through DD and DD would put it into our online ordering system. We had customers calling about delivery times and cold food, but we didn’t do delivery. This is even in the video - Chipotle sent them a Cease & Desist.

          There’s more to the business than just placing an order and cooking food. The restaurants reputations are in the hands of these services because the consumer is interacting with the service, not the restaurant.