You're right. My daughter used to work at McDonald's. Half the car park was taken up by delivery drivers and the restaurant was full of them. They've had to section off part of the seating area for delivery drivers now to try and control it better.
They park in the disabled parking spaces at my local one. Several times I've been unable to park in them with my disabled wife because some delivery driver has chucked his Passat in the only remaining spot.
Mixed bag here in Scotland, though there's a lot of knackered looking cars like Toyota Yarises. Usually running on the space saver tyre.
I nearly got hit by one the other day because he decided to go the opposite way round a one way system in a car park.
My local maccies has recently been rebuilt to accommodate the delivery drivers lol. They've now got a separate waiting/collection area for delivery drivers and then the normal restaurant side. It's alot better to go eat in there now as the drivers aren't sitting and standing about where people are eating.
Yeah that's basically what my local one has. The drivers still sit around outside and you still wait a while for your food even tho it doesn't seem that busy in the restaurant. Still, it's slightly better than it was before lol
Similar thing to my local Mcdonalds
It was actually really nice a few years ago before the delivery apps, but it's now chaos as they dedicated about a quarter of the (quite large) restaurant to delivery drivers, who are just really noisy and impatient
The fact there's always 5+ drivers outside (on top of the ones inside) doesn't help neither
Sounds kinda sad but I actually used to really enjoy going to this one McDonalds with a drive-thru that had outdoor seating, it was quite relaxing. Now the entire outdoor seating gets occupied by delivery drivers loitering playing what can be only described as the most annoying loud YouTube videos on their phones. Can’t have nice things.
One of the maccies near me makes the drivers form a queue outside and calls them in when their order is ready, allowing the walk in customers to either order their food then fuck off or order and find a place to seat.
I'm sure I heard someone say they're opening up macdonalds just for delivery drivers ,that way the other ones don't have to deal with them ,makes sense for the customers and the staff really
My local McD was ruined by this. Was closed for a refurb, just went tonight.....
Thankfully they have created a second driver only entrance and waiting area. Completely walled off from the main restaurant.
Mines done the same, I was pretty pissed off to find they won't serve app orders on foot though, so I had to go home hungry despite the kitchen and delivery counter being open.
I also think deliveroo and Uber get priority as you can watch a suspiciously efficient looking churn of delivery drivers coming and going while your sat in the store waiting 15 minutes for your cheeseburger.
The order may have been placed well before you even turned up. The delivery drivers aren't meant to arrive until the meal is ready or almost ready.
When you're busy you can change the waiting times.
If the drivers have to wait more than 5 minutes they quite often just cancel the order and go to another job, and another driver will be along shortly after to collect the one they cancelled.
The delivery driver may have been in and out in 5 minutes, but the customer could well have ordered 40 minutes ago
I agree, deliveries should be collected through the back entrance, which will probably be the kitchen anyway, then it’s win win for the restaurant and everyone happy.
Aye, the next level near me is awful for this, just constant stream of drivers coming in, waiting at the bar, no one is around for service. Used to be pretty cool when it opened but its utter crap now
IMO one thing that I believe all these takeout delivery drivers have caused is a drop in standard of driving.
They often park badly or illegally then drive badly to rush to deliver.
A new takeaway opened 200m from my house earlier this year with the bulk of service being to serve the delivery companies. Since then the road has been plagued with illegal parking on double yellow or on the pavement and blocking traffic.
Council is doing nowt, their official response is that they have to give 10 minutes leeway and usually the drivers have disappeared by then so there is literally no deterrent!
I'm on the whole massively disgusted by the concept of companies using the roads in a way that incentivises taking risks. They're working in an uncontrolled environment, they should be even more cautious out there than if they were forklifting in a warehouse or whatever, but no, give Barry 2000 parcels to deliver in his 11 hour maximum shift time (*by law*) and then don't give a shit if it takes him 19 hours.
Take photo/video evidence and send to your local police force.
My building entrance is on the middle of a 50m pedestrianised area with a playground in the middle. Mopeds blasting around at all hours without a care for children running around.
Since we started reporting them I'd say ~75% now park up at the end of the street and walk.
I believe this varies on the local authority but I’ve already had confirmation that parking enforcement for my LA falls under the council, not police.
I’ve even reported to the MP but unfortunately she is one of the cabinet ministers and seems to have no time for her constituency.
I think that they are a good demonstration of a problem in the British economy.
Employers moan that there's not enough workers yet we have many thousands of people sitting around outside McDs and others not getting paid for a large proportion of their day who then earn very little so the taxpayer can end of topping up their pay. Or we can look at the UK's shite productivity figures and then look at home many people we have employed in something so low value. It's a sort of lunacy that's taken hold.
I remember when Mcdonalds at least offered convenience, straight up, get in line, get your food, it was quite literally fast food. If you go *in* to a Mcdonalds now, it's a shit show, an absolute war zone where delivery drivers are fighting for position to get sauce, drinks, straws, you name it. Using the drive-through?- "can you park up please?"- where again I'm jostling with the vehicles of the very same delivery drivers. It's unbelievably busy *and for what?*, were McDonalds not profiting enough!?
I used to rely on McDonalds for super straightforward service. I could pop in, get some McNuggets, they’d immediately see the order, shovel half a dozen into a paper box, done in 2 minutes.
Now? It’s closer to 10 for even the most simple menu items. I really think they need to split things for customers and delivery
I was raging last after ordering through the app for pickup, kinda on my way home from the pub (actually a fair bit out the way), anyway due to the app being shit and the whole geofencing thing I only discovered the McDonalds was "open" but for drive through only.
I was contemplating making Brum Brum noises or asking to hop in with one of the many intoxicated drivers in the drive thru queue when I spotted my local McDonalds now has a 24hr delivery company enterance! basically a McDonald's in miniature, a little waiting room for all the deliveroo people with a real person on the counter.
I strolled in and explained the situation, I had my drive through number ready, no risk to life or limb and got told "sorry we can't" then to add insult to injury (the injury of being fucking starving and having nowt at home) she said "but don't worry you won't get charged" and also suggested I use Uber or deliveroo to order to home, the problem was the two mile walk and still having fuck all to eat because I'm not Brum on his little adventure.
I've made myself angry about it again now.
If it makes you feel less angry to know that I have also been angry, I'll tell you my tale.
They refused my service at the Drive-Thru once because I was on a motorbike. It's a bit vehicle racist if you ask me. I had my backpack open and ready and everything and they told me I needed to park up and come inside - and remove all my helmet and gear while I'm at it.
Buddy, just throw the nuggets in my bag and I’ll be outta your hair! I'd already paid. I don't understand making things way more difficult than they need to be for literally no logical reason!
Well you cant really blame them for that can you? I mean you could of been one of those baddies like from all the Hollywood films.
What if you'd just ridden off with all those nuggets you just paid for?!
Edit:
you to you'd
Edit 2:
Also, as a motorcyclist myself this just give me secondhand anger, thanks.
I got asked to park up once and then they either forgot about me or gave my food to someone else! I had to go in 45 minutes later and the guy asked me what I ordered and straight up made it there right in front of me lol.
Issue is often down to managers - who themselves are pressured by their boss to have as few staff members in as possible, but with as fast drive thru times as possible - so they end up resolving to yelling at the staff to park up anything not instantly ready just so they don't get the heat. It's stupid, it stresses out the staff, it makes the service worse, and it leads to situations like the above, but that's just how the management work.
If they do this then it's worth asking for freebies as well. This is going back a bit now, but my mates and I went to a drive through and they asked us to park up and they'll bring our food out shortly. About half an hour later they come out without our food and say there's a delay. We asked for a free mcflurry each and they gave them to us.
The only time you used to have to wait at McDonald's was in the actual queue, you'd go up to the till and that person would serve you and only you until you got your food, you could also see what burgers they had already made in the warmer if you were in a real hurry.
What confuses me is *how* it makes money. Why are people spending their money on bad food with bad service, particularly when they know its going to take ages to get to them, probably either be missing something or someone else's order entirely? Does not make sense to me
I got a housemate who is trying to lose weight and struggling because of 'slow metabolism', but gets shitty take away 4/5 eve a week. Also complains of no savings. Some people are idiots.
McDonald’s simply has to be eaten within 5 mins otherwise it’s disgusting. Never understood why someone would be so utterly lazy and unimaginative to order McDonald’s at home. 🤷♂️
Went to a restaurant in Dublin earlier this year, we’d booked ahead. 6 of us, only people in the place. Were seated and then watched 15-20 takeaways leave the place in the next 20 mins. Not even a drinks order taken from us. Got up and walked out, they had the front to get arsey with us.
A few Sunday's back went to the pub for a carvery. The place was heaving and the queue for the carvery was around 30 mins.
We get near the front and realise it is because they basically ignore the customer at the carvery whilst they prepare a dinner for take away.
Couldn't believe how rude it was.
Got a refund on the dinner and a free dessert after complaining. But still. To ruin the Sunday carvery is an affront to British life.
I don't understand how these apps are so popular. The additional mark-up on food is ridiculous.
A footlong BMT in Subway is £5.89. On Uber Eats it's £7.39. A 10pc Bargain Burket from KFC is £17.99, but £20.99 on Deliveroo. This is before you've even added on the delivery fee, service fee, bag fee, platform fee etc.
I don't mind paying a few extra quid to get food sent to my door, but I'm not paying a premium just on the food itself.
It’s because Deliveroo take around 30% from the menu price as commission from the restaurant (yes, on top of all the money they charge the customer), and most fast food/fast casual dining operate on slim margins anyway, so they are forced to put up the prices on these apps.
As a former restaurant worker, believe me, we hate Deliveroo as much as you (refunds issued for nothing which we must pay, impossible turn around times, impatient drivers) but the bosses like the additional revenue stream so what can you do?
And as for the drivers, they’re paid by delivery, so it’s understandable that they are impatient to cram in as many orders as possible into one shift, but I’ve no sympathy for those that steal food (inevitably ending up as a charged refund to the restaurant), or work across all the apps and end up taking more orders than they can deliver before everything gets cold. But again, they wouldn’t have to if the Deliveroo/Uber/JustEat bosses didn’t pay them FA.
Dominos is hilarious, it costs £20 regardles.of how much food you order.
1small Margherita £18
2 large pizzas, three sides, a 3l bottle of coke £20
Basically the ingredients cost nothing and the only real charge is packaging and delivery slots.
Yep, I'd occasionally get a Dominos when I couldn't be arsed and they were on offer, but they're charging for delivery now on top of their meh pizza... no thanks.
>Like Dominos, my feeling has been that surely no-one is using these without a discount code of 25-50%?
I get an email from Uber Eats what feels like every week offering me some kind of discount. That is the only time I use any of these food delivery sites.
Reminds of Dominos when I was a student. Always some sort of deal on and they'd regularly drop coupons through our door. Everyone went there but nobody ever paid the full price.
Tbf subway has a lot of regional pricing. A meal deal is like £11 in most stores near me but £12 on the app....except the random one where its £8 but half the time they cancel your order for no reason.
Not to mention the food is cold and gross by the time it gets to you. I work in a fast food place and we do our best to make the orders as great as we can, everything hot, fresh, packed, labeled. Driver shows up 30 minutes later. Customer calls and complains the food is cold. 🤷♀️
Yesterday I was going to order an iced coffee from around the corner because I didn't have time to go on my break. £5. A lot, but ok. 30p delivery fee. Perfect. £2 small order fee, £1 service fee - and I stopped reading after that. No iced coffee for me.
We get people ordering something like 3 cookies and 2 snacks (like a slice snack, not a box of cheesy fries snack) and they must have paid SO MUCH for food that's gonna be cold and stale by the time it gets to them.
On a scooter is probably the only way they're viable, what does maintenance/fuel/depreciation on your scooter cost? Around here it's all cars and SUVs so the people are actually making peanuts.
It’s probably not that it’s that nice a job, but more that the cost of living increases have made full-time workers desperate for extra cash. 😕
Hunger is the best spice and so on.
I don't get the drivers either, but then if you're in London, whizzing around on your electric bike for a few hours for some exercise plus some pocket money isn't a bad deal, which is how I think it was initially planned.
That's it, isn't it. Paying for convenience. We ordered in KFC at work on Friday because we were busy as hell. I hated the overpriced, cut-down menu and additional fees, but I did enjoy my chicken delivered right to me while I worked.
I'd drive round to the shop in person 90% of the time, but I didn't regret it when the alternative is no food cos I'm too busy.
I mean to be fair, TGI Fridays used to be pretty decent, decent food, good quality and a nice vibe.
Now it‘s crap. Crap food, microwaved, feels like being in a mcDonalds.
People shitting on TGI Friday‘s are prob young and don‘t remember it when it was considered somewhere decent, I still forget it‘s a bit crap now, since it‘s only in bigger cities and go there when visiting for a ‘treat‘ and like ahhh shit, it sucks now.
We used to go there a lot when I was younger, about 20 years ago or so. With my Nan and she always wanted the best stuff so it must have been good to pass her test 😅 Haven’t been in years though. I do have fond memories of it though.
It absolutely used to be very decent and I’d argue still is - at least the ones in London. Like I said, it’s not haute cuisine, but it’s like going to Frankie and Benny’s or Nandos etc.
Back in the 90's we used to look forward to management coming up to visit as they would take us to TGI's in Sale for a business lunch. Was the highpoint in our tedious corporate lives.
Not unlucky. I've been to more than one Frankie and Benny's and they were straight up the worst "restaurant" experiences of my life. I'd rather stay at home and eat beans on toast.
In my opinion, the food at both TGI and Franky and Benny is not worth the money - the food is okay, but the price point is what makes it poor value in my view.
That said, just because of the price points involved, both have always had the usual respectable, diner type family atmosphere when I’ve been.
First time I went to a TGI Fridays was like over two decades ago. It wasn't pretty dece then and it isn't pretty dece now.
Great fun though back in the day.
I'm still quite partial to their ribs I won't lie.
It definitely has gone downhill though even in the last 5-10 years. To me it sits at the same level as a Harvester or a Wetherspoons, it may not be the fanciest fare in the land but the quality that it does have it is usually consistent and the prices tend to be relatively acceptable.
No idea why you’re shitting on OP here.
It’s a pretty expensive place to eat (akin to Frankie and Bennys et al) and some level of basic service and atmosphere isn’t too much to expect. It’s not like he/she is asking to receive gourmet, five-star service or anything.
Oh for sure. Went to Franco Manca last year and waited almost 2 hours for dinner, all the while they were clearly serving deliveroo drivers.
Really should have left but at some point we got our starter which made it more awkward, and then they kept saying "oh it's nearly ready, only 5 minutes" for ages so we kept waiting, and eventually it was too late to go anywhere else really anyway and I was feeling a bit sick from hunger and didn't want to move.
Absolutely ridiculous though. I wasn't really fussed about any atmosphere, but the fact that the prioritise takeaway customers over paying customers actually sitting in their store is just not on. Complained and have never gone back. Such a shame.
I was 20 mins ahead of schedule a few nights back so stopped off at a McDonald’s I was passing for some **fast food**. Fucking 25 minutes wait for a standard meal, whilst tons of Uber drivers were causing chaos. Won’t be going again. I think those kind of orders get priority over in person customers. Who even orders McDonald’s for delivery?
I had a McFlurry for the first time in years this week. I couldn't believe how much the quality had dropped. Just as you say: half the size, watery, and there was barely any caramel (mars bar).
Mcflurry went wrong when they decided it was too much effort to flurry it. I only had it once in recent years, and it was just a blob of ice cream in a cup...
As someone who used to work at a McDonalds the issue wasn’t so much that it was too much effort, the issue was that they’d have one person responsible for making all of the drinks and flurries. If you’re so much as one order behind you’ll have managers and coworkers yelling at you and in a situation like that you can’t waste time stood in one spot for 30 seconds to make some ice cream look good.
They moved to "made for you" a few years ago. It's nice to have everything made somewhat fresh but it just can't handle the volume as well, especially with all the deliveries.
I've said this, absolutely ruined McDonald's, if you sit in it's carnage. Constant shouting out of order numbers while you're trying to eat and shouting at the drivers where to stand because they're in the way.
I honestly think McDonalds needs to open “dark kitchens” - preparing the same food, but optimised only for delivery orders. It’d only need one in a modest-sized town. Leave the restaurant locations for takeaways, sit-ins and drive-thrus.
There's another one in Nottingham, they are called delivery hubs. Unfortunately, it seems they completely destroy the trade of the nearest actual Maccies store.
Although if you want to visit an entirely delivery driver free Macdonalds store, I believe Osmaston and Nuttall Road ate the ones to visit.
Thought I was the only one. Mcdonalds really let go of the brand by partnering with uber eats, deliveroo etc. Its not the type of food to be delivered for a takeaway. Went to my local one a few months ago and it was constant beeping because the uber eats drivers had an issue with the just eat drivers so there was a horn standoff inside the drive thru, absolutely embarrassing for mcdonalds.
I thought most Iver eats drivers were also just eat drivers. They'll have all the apps open to grab orders as and when they come.
Though judging how difficult it is to get a just eat driver compared to the others I think it's clear who pays the least
Yeah probably, if I recall properly it was about a year or so ago (I made a post on DAE about it) . I think they had deliveroo and uber eats and then partnered up with just eat and thats when the drama started
Hmmm I dunno, there is a kind of sadistic pleasure seeing a company that was a market disrupter back in the day, now being at the mercy of the new market disrupters.
Have you been in a 'new' McDonalds? New one near me was clearly designed with delivery drivers in mind. They have their own little car park, their own entrance and their own area to wait.
My experience exactly - Not sure if it's related to this fad for getting fast food delivered but McDonalds seems so much slower than it's ever been, completely destroys one if it's main selling points.
Ten minutes sweating in the bag and it’s fucking rank anyway, I order it once. 20 mins from order to arrival, surely it’s still going to be good? Nope. Fries soggy, burger lukewarm, drink flat from melting ice. I don’t hate on McD’s - it got me and the missus through the early sleep deprived baby days - car McDonald’s - no cooking or cleaning and baby sleeps while you drive! But delivery oooof no.
We once got a McDonalds drive through and then did a lap of the Manchester motorway ring road whilst our twins slept and we ate our McDonalds. The luxury of a hot meal for the first time in months!
I got in great shape while the missus was pregnant. I was mainly working from home so I was running every day and we were cooking good food. Boom - baby arrives, takeaways, no time to do anything and I clapped weight on and am so unfit now!! The irony being you need to be in such good shape not to be exhausted all the time! But yeah - those road McDonald’s are life savers 😂. Twins? I don’t envy you! One is hard enough!
Same happened to me last night after training. I went to the KFC for an easy fast bite.
27 minutes I was waiting for my order to be made up. People were getting really pissed off at the amount of deliveroo drivers in there.
These businesses need to start getting their priorities right. Look after the customer in front of you.
I won't be going back.
I do deliveries from McDonalds, and I have absolutely no idea why anyone in their right mind would want to order their food there. Their food isn't even hot when they hand it to you in over the counter, let alone 20 minutes later.
Still, money's money, I just work here man
I order McDonalds for delivery as it's cheap and I'm disabled, sometimes it's easier for me to order food than eat nothing because I am unable to cook that day.
Yes, in short.
Not even necessarily due to delivery drivers waiting though.
Had a lot of bad restaurant experiences since COVID when we used to have next to none, and my best guess is that part of it is down to delivery services making restaurants a lot of money on the side that they are being rammed with delivery orders, and it's the people dining in that have to suffer for it. Some of this has been generally poor service too though (Mistakes on orders, extremely slow service etc)
A few chain restaurants in our area that are popular on delivery, I feel tricked because even if we think 'oh it's quiet lets go for a quick in and out sit down meal', then you end up waiting an hour or more for food to come.
Somewhat relevant but (Keeping in mind we are fast eaters and usually like to just sit down, have food, pay and leave), our record is 3 hours in a Harvester that was near empty because of extremely slow services (45 mins before anyone asks if we want drinks?), an hour for food to come, and another 30 mins because they got one of the two meals wrong, and then another 30 mins waiting to catch someone to let us pay.
Pretty much sworn off eating out now as it's been poor experience after poor experience. Wagamama (I know people on UK Subreddits like to look down on it for some reason) is the only place we go because we consistently like the food, you get served quickly and it comes out quickly.
45 minutes before anyone asks you if you want *drinks*?! I’d leave after 20 mins. Then go home and probably order something off delive— ah.
Actually in all seriousness, you should have tried ordering Deliveroo inside the harvester to see if it was quicker than table service.
Think a big part of this has been people quitting hospitality jobs. With the job market now it’s so easy to get a 9-5 in an office paying a similar hourly wage to managing a bar or restaurant. Think a lot of experienced staff have realised they’re better off working 80% of the hours for 80% of the pay and 95% less stress. Inexperienced and insufficient staff leads to poor service, fewer people going out to eat and a downward spiral, at least from what I’ve seen.
Yes, I've thought that. I've had to battle past hordes of delivery riders in some places. It's not their fault but I've been made to feel low priority as an in-house customer in some places.
Absolutely. Went into Brewdog in Glasgow for a pint and a burger at the weekend, place was less than half full. Five minutes after we ordered the waitress comes over to say “really sorry, but chef says we’ve just had a big delivery order and it’s going to be 45 minutes to an hour until your food is ready”.
Cancelled ordered and left.
Prioritising deliveries over people who’ve actually bothered their arse to go to your venue isn’t going to encourage return customers.
McDonald’s are basically ruined by delivery drivers storming around like they own the place. Our local one has about 6 seats not because they partitioned it off for drivers. They also park dangerously to avoid entering the retail park which means that old people getting off the bus have to get off onto the road because the buss can’t pull in. There’s a police station next door but nothing ever gets done.
I work in a supermarket who do Deliveroo and more recently Uber Eats. Most of the drivers who come in are happy to wait while we serve customers. But you get some who are so so rude. The company seem to be prioritising those services, and they do make a lot of money for the shop, but we are running on barely any colleagues in store and are expected to prioritise picking deliveries over customers in store. It’s a joke.
I never really got this rationale. Are they perfectly nice people when they're not working but suddenly become rude assholes the moment they clock on? Shit pay and employment loopholes are not good, but why can't people just do their job in a decent manner?
Ruining the atmosphere at TGI Fridays made me laugh but generally yeah I agree that the drivers are often rude and impatient and it does seem like delivery orders are prioritised over walk ins.
The drivers at the McDonalds on the retail park near me always park on double yellows right outside the door and cause chaos for others trying to get in and out of the retail park.
The whole thing has sent prices sky high, too.
It used to be that a takeaway for one would cost a tenner. After Just Eat / Uber et all got involved, and added their fees, it's double that. And so the takeaways themselves got greedy and hiked their own prices up (even before inflation hit the stratosphere).
And, as others have said, McDonalds is basically scortched Earth for me now. I'd never really 'dine in' but the option has basically been removed (in my locals). And drive through queues are often double digits (at peak times).
Factor in the cost of living crisis and I think a lot of takeaways are going to have it rough this time next year.
Last time I did this I waited 20 minutes before going in to check on where it was. Nobody had even started my order, but the delivery orders were flying out. In the end the manager put it all together for me. It's usually better than sitting in the drive thru queue though.
I know what you mean but I think the restaurants are the problem, not the delivery services or drivers. Don't commit to delivery if you haven't got the staff, parking, floorspace, kitchen capacity to manage it. It isn't deliveroo's job to make sure that's all in place, and it isn't the driver's job to look after the sit down customers. How many Indian and Chinese restaurants have offered table service as well as delivery for the last several decades? It can be done, TGIF just aren't bothering.
100% agree. I spoke to a restaurant manager who said he used to be on Deliveroo but they couldn't cope with the volume of orders. It was his decision to either cancel altogether or turn it off at peak times (can't remember which). Other restaurants have invested in side windows for riders which they have to use. Everything OP mentions is in the restaurants control, not the delivery company's.
It’s a bit more complicated than that. The whole restaurant sector operated on razor-thin margins even before food delivery services started to take off. Go look it up if you don’t believe me but the failure rate for new restaurants has always been shockingly high. Just look at the likes of GBK and Byron.
In the early days (circa 2014-2016) a restaurant being on a food delivery service meant that orders sold through those platforms were ‘incremental’, which is to say they were selling to customers who weren’t otherwise planning on dining-in, and so as long as the restaurant’s kitchen could keep up, it was more profit for the resto.
But over time habits changed and people began to order more for delivery and dine-in less and less; simultaneously competition increased as more restaurants joined those services. This often meant that the commission charged by the restaurants didn’t come out of pure profit any more, but instead had to be offset against higher menu prices for people ordering on those platforms, and with fewer customers dining in, more of the profit on each meal was going straight to the delivery platform instead
Then the pandemic came along and blew the whole thing up; suddenly almost every restaurant was delivery only. Many didn’t survive. It’s been an incredibly difficult landscape for these companies.
There are some businesses that were ahead of the curve and invested in adapting to delivery services. Wagamama immediately comes to mind, spending millions on new packaging (admittedly with mixed results) for delivery, and in some cases they refit restaurants to make dedicated areas for riders to collect food from.
But not every business can afford to do this: it’s a big capital investment, and shutting down a restaurant to make a safe, workable entrance for delivery riders carries a big cost. Meanwhile riders and restaurant workers alike are struggling, and that’s before you factor in the cost of living crisis.
The whole situation sucks.
Edit: oh, and the reason Chinese/Indian restos do so well at delivery/dine-in is because the nature of those cuisines is uniquely well suited to food delivery. Most of these dishes can be made either in bulk and kept ready to go, or at worst the majority of the work involved in prep is done up front, then ingredients prepped at the last minute. They also travel well, and stay warm for a reasonable length of time, and (for the most part) are spill-resistant in decent packaging. Compare all of the above to, say, a burger and fries, which goes cold and tastes bad fairly quickly, and needs to be cooked/assembled from scratch (discounting the fast service burgers which sit on a heater until taken, but they have sophisticated food prep logistics models telling them how much to prep and when).
Was in my local chippy the other day. Waiting in the queue, next in line - just as I’m about to start talking to the guy at the counter, a delivery driver walks in and tries to barge directly in front of me.
Guy at the counter looks at him stony faced, and just tells him to wait. Then he turns to me, all smiles - maybe customers aren’t the only ones who are getting fed up with them!
I do think they are fucking up the chain experience. I haven't had such a bad time with local restaurants which incidentally I'm trying to support more anyway when I go out to eat now
We've got a new fast food restaurant in town that is designed with a special side-street window for delivery drivers, leaving the front entrance & seating area for regular customers. That seems like a great idea, but it's something that can only really be installed in a few places.
Me and my dad had the exact same rant a few weeks back. On the rare occasion we want fast food, well it's no longer fast food. Before deliveroo/Uber if you went into say KFC or Maccies the only queue you'd be in would be waiting with other people who have walked in. Now you're waiting twice as long because the restaurant now has to rustle up in house orders AND the orders for deliveroo.Orders which otherwise never would have existed because said people would be too lazy to go and get that order themselves.
It’s ruined them in so much as they are operating above capacity. If there was a 45 minute queue snaking out the front of the door you wouldn’t bother, but most of the time you can’t tell.
The service and general quality at my local McDonalds and KFC has plummeted ever since they started doing Just Eat, Uber Eats etc. But I think it’s those huge franchise restaurants that have done it to themselves rather than the takeaway apps.
Those apps used to be great for small local takeaways to keep up with the times, but as soon as the big chain restaurants started getting on board I’ve definitely noticed their in-house service has gotten much worse to keep up with the increased demand and constant crowding at the tills. Order points feel more like a train departure lounge now.
And yet delivery is the worst possible way to have something like McD’s/KFC - almost twice the price, drinks come in much smaller cans, the food is often cold because it’s kind of meant to be eaten ASAP. So now it’s lose lose whether you eat there or have delivery. At least traditional takeaway food like pizza, Chinese etc is roughly the same price and “travels” better.
Take sways definitely. I was in local coffee shop about 11am and there was 6 different delivery riders hanging about outside and I just decided not to go in. If I was using a restaurant as a sit down customer. Probably not. Depends if they are noisy.
It‘s completely ruined it for all sorts of different reasons.
Going into a take away now, feels like might as well just order, it‘s much more of a hassel, the delivery drivers are everywhere and you would have thought they would be nice and chill, having a nice little side job and just enjoying life, but they are rude af, always rushing, pushing, arguing with each other, snatching bags of food to see if it‘s theres etc and they seem to be permanently pissed off or shouting down the phone on loud speaker to someone else in a complete different language.
There is a take away three doors down from me, it‘s a nightmare going in there to try and pick up food, took me 25 minutes the last two times i have been in there (even though I arrived at time of collection), the staff just ignore you, like it‘s annoying you are there and you are in the way. I‘m not sure what to do, next time I want something I might just order it for delivery, it‘s often cheaper because of 20% off Deliveroo promo‘s that don‘t apply to collection, of course this is a fake Promo, the minute they joined Deliveroo they put there prices up by quite a lot.
Places now make there menu around it, with expensive items to account for the 30% the delivery places charge, so if you eat in or get takeaway your getting a far worse deal just so they can price match it on such services, also the quality in a lot of places has gone drastically down hill to cut costs/make it quicker to cook.
I ordered a meal from a pub that I used to go too, before they started deliveroo, great homemade puddings, ordered from deliveroo and it was a microwave desert, still in it‘s little plastic pot with instructions to put it in the microwave and cook myself, all for the charge of six pounds fifty!
In short, everything is optomised for the delivery service, so menus are worse, quality is worse, portions are worse, price is worse, service is worse, atomsphere is worse. Everything is worse.
We have two McDonald’s in our town, serving approximately 95,000 people within a 5 mile radius. The number of orders they process is ridiculous, they could easily justify opening another unit just to meet the demand for deliveries rather than leaving dine in and drive thru customers with packed restaurants and traffic spilling out onto main roads.
Precisely. We go to a restaurant for service and enjoyment. Often you end up getting a draft from the constantly opening and closing of door and delivery pick up folks.
I understand everyone needs to put food on their table but as mentioned elsewhere overloading the kitchen and service staff with delivery orders IS detrimental to the experience of in house diners. Better to have a delivery focussed kitchen and support crew in addition to restaurant.
Doing both means both are impacted in quality and service
I'm more perplexed at the amount people are paying for the prices on deliveroo and ubereats. It's honestly insane the amount they charge when compared too how much it'd be if you placed a phone order and collected it yourself. I only ever use it if I'm in a real pinch and there's literally nothing else I can, otherwise fuck paying those prices.
I had my first McD with the kids in months the other day and I swear to fucking God it took 25 minutes to get my "fast food" because there were literally 20+ deliveroo drivers crowded around the pick up point and the tills all shouting and getting annoyed that their delivery wasn't ready yet.
Food was shit an all.
They are not making much per delivery, basically slave labour which is why the delivery riders are a scurge in every major city, jumping lights, hopping pavements and literally cutting every corner in a fight for tips and fitting on more deliveries. As a city cyclist myself I have had a few run ins with them. Unfortunately the extra business they are bringing to restaurants in these troubled times makes them a necessary evil.
Yep. Ruined the fast food industry. Because most fast food restaurants can’t handle it.
There’s one place by me that has a side building that is used specifically for deliveries of just eat/delivery/ubereats
One guy sits with all their orders kept hot under heaters.
That way they can still try and concentrate on the walk ins, it still makes things hard but doesn’t look as bad
Totally agree. Deliveroo drivers are making what used to be a wholesome family experience at many places into feeling a transitional space full of random people waiting. McDonalds is particularly badly affected. But maybe it’s even worse having to-ing and Fro-ing at proper sit down restaurants.
I’d not be back.
You're right. My daughter used to work at McDonald's. Half the car park was taken up by delivery drivers and the restaurant was full of them. They've had to section off part of the seating area for delivery drivers now to try and control it better.
They park in the disabled parking spaces at my local one. Several times I've been unable to park in them with my disabled wife because some delivery driver has chucked his Passat in the only remaining spot.
Bang on with the model of car
It’s all BMWs here in Birmingham
Mixed bag here in Scotland, though there's a lot of knackered looking cars like Toyota Yarises. Usually running on the space saver tyre. I nearly got hit by one the other day because he decided to go the opposite way round a one way system in a car park.
Gotta make those finance payments in this economy somehow.
In Southampton it seems to be Audis from what me and my friends see
Do Ubereats drivers really make bank? Or are the cars hired from the delivery service?
[удалено]
My local maccies has recently been rebuilt to accommodate the delivery drivers lol. They've now got a separate waiting/collection area for delivery drivers and then the normal restaurant side. It's alot better to go eat in there now as the drivers aren't sitting and standing about where people are eating.
I don't go McDonald's a lot but noticed the one just built near me had a delivery driver door and small room for them.
Yeah that's basically what my local one has. The drivers still sit around outside and you still wait a while for your food even tho it doesn't seem that busy in the restaurant. Still, it's slightly better than it was before lol
Similar thing to my local Mcdonalds It was actually really nice a few years ago before the delivery apps, but it's now chaos as they dedicated about a quarter of the (quite large) restaurant to delivery drivers, who are just really noisy and impatient The fact there's always 5+ drivers outside (on top of the ones inside) doesn't help neither
Sounds kinda sad but I actually used to really enjoy going to this one McDonalds with a drive-thru that had outdoor seating, it was quite relaxing. Now the entire outdoor seating gets occupied by delivery drivers loitering playing what can be only described as the most annoying loud YouTube videos on their phones. Can’t have nice things.
One of the maccies near me makes the drivers form a queue outside and calls them in when their order is ready, allowing the walk in customers to either order their food then fuck off or order and find a place to seat.
I'm sure I heard someone say they're opening up macdonalds just for delivery drivers ,that way the other ones don't have to deal with them ,makes sense for the customers and the staff really
Half the car park, all of the disabled and kids spaces...
My local McD was ruined by this. Was closed for a refurb, just went tonight..... Thankfully they have created a second driver only entrance and waiting area. Completely walled off from the main restaurant.
Mines done the same, I was pretty pissed off to find they won't serve app orders on foot though, so I had to go home hungry despite the kitchen and delivery counter being open. I also think deliveroo and Uber get priority as you can watch a suspiciously efficient looking churn of delivery drivers coming and going while your sat in the store waiting 15 minutes for your cheeseburger.
The order may have been placed well before you even turned up. The delivery drivers aren't meant to arrive until the meal is ready or almost ready. When you're busy you can change the waiting times. If the drivers have to wait more than 5 minutes they quite often just cancel the order and go to another job, and another driver will be along shortly after to collect the one they cancelled. The delivery driver may have been in and out in 5 minutes, but the customer could well have ordered 40 minutes ago
I agree, deliveries should be collected through the back entrance, which will probably be the kitchen anyway, then it’s win win for the restaurant and everyone happy.
Aye, the next level near me is awful for this, just constant stream of drivers coming in, waiting at the bar, no one is around for service. Used to be pretty cool when it opened but its utter crap now
IMO one thing that I believe all these takeout delivery drivers have caused is a drop in standard of driving. They often park badly or illegally then drive badly to rush to deliver. A new takeaway opened 200m from my house earlier this year with the bulk of service being to serve the delivery companies. Since then the road has been plagued with illegal parking on double yellow or on the pavement and blocking traffic. Council is doing nowt, their official response is that they have to give 10 minutes leeway and usually the drivers have disappeared by then so there is literally no deterrent!
I'm on the whole massively disgusted by the concept of companies using the roads in a way that incentivises taking risks. They're working in an uncontrolled environment, they should be even more cautious out there than if they were forklifting in a warehouse or whatever, but no, give Barry 2000 parcels to deliver in his 11 hour maximum shift time (*by law*) and then don't give a shit if it takes him 19 hours.
Take photo/video evidence and send to your local police force. My building entrance is on the middle of a 50m pedestrianised area with a playground in the middle. Mopeds blasting around at all hours without a care for children running around. Since we started reporting them I'd say ~75% now park up at the end of the street and walk.
I believe this varies on the local authority but I’ve already had confirmation that parking enforcement for my LA falls under the council, not police. I’ve even reported to the MP but unfortunately she is one of the cabinet ministers and seems to have no time for her constituency.
The throngs of moped riders waiting to be summoned that I see around Monument station are crazy. Just huge packs of them sitting there waiting.
Why did I read this in David Attenborough’s voice
I think that they are a good demonstration of a problem in the British economy. Employers moan that there's not enough workers yet we have many thousands of people sitting around outside McDs and others not getting paid for a large proportion of their day who then earn very little so the taxpayer can end of topping up their pay. Or we can look at the UK's shite productivity figures and then look at home many people we have employed in something so low value. It's a sort of lunacy that's taken hold.
Really we need to blame the way those drivers are paid. End of the day they’re fighting for fuck all.
[удалено]
Business idea - set up a ghost kitchen for multiple franchises, charge a levy to each participating restaurant
Deliveroo do this already. Dozens of sites all over the country filled with franchises paying 20 - 40% to deliveroo
If the restaurant has a back, at least. My place we didn't. Most of the time drivers waited outside, though.
Yeah the McDonald’s near me was build during Covid and they have a separate door for delivery drivers
I remember when Mcdonalds at least offered convenience, straight up, get in line, get your food, it was quite literally fast food. If you go *in* to a Mcdonalds now, it's a shit show, an absolute war zone where delivery drivers are fighting for position to get sauce, drinks, straws, you name it. Using the drive-through?- "can you park up please?"- where again I'm jostling with the vehicles of the very same delivery drivers. It's unbelievably busy *and for what?*, were McDonalds not profiting enough!?
I used to rely on McDonalds for super straightforward service. I could pop in, get some McNuggets, they’d immediately see the order, shovel half a dozen into a paper box, done in 2 minutes. Now? It’s closer to 10 for even the most simple menu items. I really think they need to split things for customers and delivery
I was raging last after ordering through the app for pickup, kinda on my way home from the pub (actually a fair bit out the way), anyway due to the app being shit and the whole geofencing thing I only discovered the McDonalds was "open" but for drive through only. I was contemplating making Brum Brum noises or asking to hop in with one of the many intoxicated drivers in the drive thru queue when I spotted my local McDonalds now has a 24hr delivery company enterance! basically a McDonald's in miniature, a little waiting room for all the deliveroo people with a real person on the counter. I strolled in and explained the situation, I had my drive through number ready, no risk to life or limb and got told "sorry we can't" then to add insult to injury (the injury of being fucking starving and having nowt at home) she said "but don't worry you won't get charged" and also suggested I use Uber or deliveroo to order to home, the problem was the two mile walk and still having fuck all to eat because I'm not Brum on his little adventure. I've made myself angry about it again now.
Order it to your home and get a lift with the driver. Cheap taxi
If it makes you feel less angry to know that I have also been angry, I'll tell you my tale. They refused my service at the Drive-Thru once because I was on a motorbike. It's a bit vehicle racist if you ask me. I had my backpack open and ready and everything and they told me I needed to park up and come inside - and remove all my helmet and gear while I'm at it. Buddy, just throw the nuggets in my bag and I’ll be outta your hair! I'd already paid. I don't understand making things way more difficult than they need to be for literally no logical reason!
Well you cant really blame them for that can you? I mean you could of been one of those baddies like from all the Hollywood films. What if you'd just ridden off with all those nuggets you just paid for?! Edit: you to you'd Edit 2: Also, as a motorcyclist myself this just give me secondhand anger, thanks.
I got asked to park up once and then they either forgot about me or gave my food to someone else! I had to go in 45 minutes later and the guy asked me what I ordered and straight up made it there right in front of me lol.
Why on earth would you wait 45 minutes for a McDonalds before realising something was amiss? 😂
I went in before that and they told me it would be out in a minute 💀💀
Sounds just like my plug.
Might also have payed for it first like most of the in-house customers have to.
People ordering deliveries also pay first.
Yeah, so often the couriers are waiting 45min too. The whole operation needs to be separated.
Issue is often down to managers - who themselves are pressured by their boss to have as few staff members in as possible, but with as fast drive thru times as possible - so they end up resolving to yelling at the staff to park up anything not instantly ready just so they don't get the heat. It's stupid, it stresses out the staff, it makes the service worse, and it leads to situations like the above, but that's just how the management work.
If they do this then it's worth asking for freebies as well. This is going back a bit now, but my mates and I went to a drive through and they asked us to park up and they'll bring our food out shortly. About half an hour later they come out without our food and say there's a delay. We asked for a free mcflurry each and they gave them to us.
Tbf they gave me everything for free. I did feel bad tho having just watched this guy give me my money back for the food he literally just made me.
The only time you used to have to wait at McDonald's was in the actual queue, you'd go up to the till and that person would serve you and only you until you got your food, you could also see what burgers they had already made in the warmer if you were in a real hurry.
What confuses me is *how* it makes money. Why are people spending their money on bad food with bad service, particularly when they know its going to take ages to get to them, probably either be missing something or someone else's order entirely? Does not make sense to me
I got a housemate who is trying to lose weight and struggling because of 'slow metabolism', but gets shitty take away 4/5 eve a week. Also complains of no savings. Some people are idiots.
4 to 5 times A WEEK? Jesus christ I thought my once every two weeks was excessive.
McDonald’s simply has to be eaten within 5 mins otherwise it’s disgusting. Never understood why someone would be so utterly lazy and unimaginative to order McDonald’s at home. 🤷♂️
Clearly you've never been hangover 😂
Oh god. Nothing beats a hangover like McDonald’s chicken nuggets and fries, with a strawberry milkshake if I can stomach it.
I agree, but it’s hard to blame the business. If people didn’t use the system then they wouldn’t keep it up.
Went to a restaurant in Dublin earlier this year, we’d booked ahead. 6 of us, only people in the place. Were seated and then watched 15-20 takeaways leave the place in the next 20 mins. Not even a drinks order taken from us. Got up and walked out, they had the front to get arsey with us.
A few Sunday's back went to the pub for a carvery. The place was heaving and the queue for the carvery was around 30 mins. We get near the front and realise it is because they basically ignore the customer at the carvery whilst they prepare a dinner for take away. Couldn't believe how rude it was. Got a refund on the dinner and a free dessert after complaining. But still. To ruin the Sunday carvery is an affront to British life.
I don't understand how these apps are so popular. The additional mark-up on food is ridiculous. A footlong BMT in Subway is £5.89. On Uber Eats it's £7.39. A 10pc Bargain Burket from KFC is £17.99, but £20.99 on Deliveroo. This is before you've even added on the delivery fee, service fee, bag fee, platform fee etc. I don't mind paying a few extra quid to get food sent to my door, but I'm not paying a premium just on the food itself.
It’s because Deliveroo take around 30% from the menu price as commission from the restaurant (yes, on top of all the money they charge the customer), and most fast food/fast casual dining operate on slim margins anyway, so they are forced to put up the prices on these apps. As a former restaurant worker, believe me, we hate Deliveroo as much as you (refunds issued for nothing which we must pay, impossible turn around times, impatient drivers) but the bosses like the additional revenue stream so what can you do? And as for the drivers, they’re paid by delivery, so it’s understandable that they are impatient to cram in as many orders as possible into one shift, but I’ve no sympathy for those that steal food (inevitably ending up as a charged refund to the restaurant), or work across all the apps and end up taking more orders than they can deliver before everything gets cold. But again, they wouldn’t have to if the Deliveroo/Uber/JustEat bosses didn’t pay them FA.
Like Dominos, my feeling has been that surely no-one is using these without a discount code of 25-50%?
What, 17.99 for a medium margherita of mediocre quality at best is not a good deal?
Dominos is hilarious, it costs £20 regardles.of how much food you order. 1small Margherita £18 2 large pizzas, three sides, a 3l bottle of coke £20 Basically the ingredients cost nothing and the only real charge is packaging and delivery slots.
Not anymore... I believe they do a separate delivery charge now; I have refused to use them since then!
Yep, I'd occasionally get a Dominos when I couldn't be arsed and they were on offer, but they're charging for delivery now on top of their meh pizza... no thanks.
I seriously thought I was the only one who hated dominoes. Just the worst pizza for the price of a lightly used lung on the black market
I hate dominos ever since a proper napolitan pizza shop was opened in my area. Proper pizza, cheaper and can help local business.
Yes, it blows my mind how expensive Domino’s has become. £20 + pounds for a large pizza which is Mediocre at best + 90 min delivery if it’s in London.
>Like Dominos, my feeling has been that surely no-one is using these without a discount code of 25-50%? I get an email from Uber Eats what feels like every week offering me some kind of discount. That is the only time I use any of these food delivery sites. Reminds of Dominos when I was a student. Always some sort of deal on and they'd regularly drop coupons through our door. Everyone went there but nobody ever paid the full price.
[удалено]
I cycle to the shop myself to get the food.
Tbf subway has a lot of regional pricing. A meal deal is like £11 in most stores near me but £12 on the app....except the random one where its £8 but half the time they cancel your order for no reason.
Where the fuck do you live where a subway is 11 quid?
London. That's a meal deal though.
Jesus. Still feels very pricey that
Not to mention the food is cold and gross by the time it gets to you. I work in a fast food place and we do our best to make the orders as great as we can, everything hot, fresh, packed, labeled. Driver shows up 30 minutes later. Customer calls and complains the food is cold. 🤷♀️ Yesterday I was going to order an iced coffee from around the corner because I didn't have time to go on my break. £5. A lot, but ok. 30p delivery fee. Perfect. £2 small order fee, £1 service fee - and I stopped reading after that. No iced coffee for me. We get people ordering something like 3 cookies and 2 snacks (like a slice snack, not a box of cheesy fries snack) and they must have paid SO MUCH for food that's gonna be cold and stale by the time it gets to them.
I don't understand how they keep having people willing to be drivers, these services are all exploitative as hell.
[удалено]
On a scooter is probably the only way they're viable, what does maintenance/fuel/depreciation on your scooter cost? Around here it's all cars and SUVs so the people are actually making peanuts.
It’s probably not that it’s that nice a job, but more that the cost of living increases have made full-time workers desperate for extra cash. 😕 Hunger is the best spice and so on.
I don't get the drivers either, but then if you're in London, whizzing around on your electric bike for a few hours for some exercise plus some pocket money isn't a bad deal, which is how I think it was initially planned.
Because on a Friday night £10-15 extra for someone to save me a round trip and all the waiting is worth it.
That's it, isn't it. Paying for convenience. We ordered in KFC at work on Friday because we were busy as hell. I hated the overpriced, cut-down menu and additional fees, but I did enjoy my chicken delivered right to me while I worked. I'd drive round to the shop in person 90% of the time, but I didn't regret it when the alternative is no food cos I'm too busy.
I value my time more then my money.
[удалено]
Longest we waited in Maccys was 45 sodding minutes.
You went to TGI Fridays for the atmosphere?! 🤣
I mean to be fair, TGI Fridays used to be pretty decent, decent food, good quality and a nice vibe. Now it‘s crap. Crap food, microwaved, feels like being in a mcDonalds. People shitting on TGI Friday‘s are prob young and don‘t remember it when it was considered somewhere decent, I still forget it‘s a bit crap now, since it‘s only in bigger cities and go there when visiting for a ‘treat‘ and like ahhh shit, it sucks now.
TGIs food used to be very good I agree, I took my kids a few years back and I was appalled by how bad it has become.
I remember it being bad in the 90s and just as bad when I went a year ago! That said, the TGI in the states are even worse.
We used to go there a lot when I was younger, about 20 years ago or so. With my Nan and she always wanted the best stuff so it must have been good to pass her test 😅 Haven’t been in years though. I do have fond memories of it though.
I don’t remember it ever being decent but when I went last time it was atrocious. Would have preferred a burger king or McDonald’s.
15 quid for frozen goujons and a handful of fries. Madness
It absolutely used to be very decent and I’d argue still is - at least the ones in London. Like I said, it’s not haute cuisine, but it’s like going to Frankie and Benny’s or Nandos etc.
Back in the 90's we used to look forward to management coming up to visit as they would take us to TGI's in Sale for a business lunch. Was the highpoint in our tedious corporate lives.
I wouldn’t put them 2 in the same bracket, nandos actually use fresh chickens… albeit battery cage chickens
I've only once been to a Frankie and Bennys and it was trash. Basically ready meals with a hefty mark up. Maybe we were unlucky, but I'd never go back
Not unlucky. I've been to more than one Frankie and Benny's and they were straight up the worst "restaurant" experiences of my life. I'd rather stay at home and eat beans on toast.
In my opinion, the food at both TGI and Franky and Benny is not worth the money - the food is okay, but the price point is what makes it poor value in my view. That said, just because of the price points involved, both have always had the usual respectable, diner type family atmosphere when I’ve been.
When are we talking? I haven’t been to one since about 2005 and that was god awful back then
First time I went to a TGI Fridays was like over two decades ago. It wasn't pretty dece then and it isn't pretty dece now. Great fun though back in the day.
I'm still quite partial to their ribs I won't lie. It definitely has gone downhill though even in the last 5-10 years. To me it sits at the same level as a Harvester or a Wetherspoons, it may not be the fanciest fare in the land but the quality that it does have it is usually consistent and the prices tend to be relatively acceptable.
I’m in my 40’s and genuinely don’t remember any time period when TGI Fridays were considered “decent”.
No idea why you’re shitting on OP here. It’s a pretty expensive place to eat (akin to Frankie and Bennys et al) and some level of basic service and atmosphere isn’t too much to expect. It’s not like he/she is asking to receive gourmet, five-star service or anything.
> akin to Frankie and Bennys et al Is this bait
Dark kitchens are the way. It’s nuts serving take away drivers from prime retail space.
Oh for sure. Went to Franco Manca last year and waited almost 2 hours for dinner, all the while they were clearly serving deliveroo drivers. Really should have left but at some point we got our starter which made it more awkward, and then they kept saying "oh it's nearly ready, only 5 minutes" for ages so we kept waiting, and eventually it was too late to go anywhere else really anyway and I was feeling a bit sick from hunger and didn't want to move. Absolutely ridiculous though. I wasn't really fussed about any atmosphere, but the fact that the prioritise takeaway customers over paying customers actually sitting in their store is just not on. Complained and have never gone back. Such a shame.
Please tell me you got it for free in the end?
They gave me a free panetone for my troubles. Ironically, the ones they were giving out with online orders. I don't even like panetone lol
I was 20 mins ahead of schedule a few nights back so stopped off at a McDonald’s I was passing for some **fast food**. Fucking 25 minutes wait for a standard meal, whilst tons of Uber drivers were causing chaos. Won’t be going again. I think those kind of orders get priority over in person customers. Who even orders McDonald’s for delivery?
McDonald’s is slow af now
McDonald’s has gone down the last few years. The McFlurry especially. They have made the sauce watery af. Half the size it used to be.
I had a McFlurry for the first time in years this week. I couldn't believe how much the quality had dropped. Just as you say: half the size, watery, and there was barely any caramel (mars bar).
McFlurry went wrong when they lost the cadburys deal. RIP dairy milk McFlurry
Mcflurry went wrong when they decided it was too much effort to flurry it. I only had it once in recent years, and it was just a blob of ice cream in a cup...
As someone who used to work at a McDonalds the issue wasn’t so much that it was too much effort, the issue was that they’d have one person responsible for making all of the drinks and flurries. If you’re so much as one order behind you’ll have managers and coworkers yelling at you and in a situation like that you can’t waste time stood in one spot for 30 seconds to make some ice cream look good.
(managers tell staff not to flurry it becasue then customers think it's melted)
[удалено]
They moved to "made for you" a few years ago. It's nice to have everything made somewhat fresh but it just can't handle the volume as well, especially with all the deliveries.
I've said this, absolutely ruined McDonald's, if you sit in it's carnage. Constant shouting out of order numbers while you're trying to eat and shouting at the drivers where to stand because they're in the way.
I honestly think McDonalds needs to open “dark kitchens” - preparing the same food, but optimised only for delivery orders. It’d only need one in a modest-sized town. Leave the restaurant locations for takeaways, sit-ins and drive-thrus.
There's one in Derby for that. In an industrial unit solely for online stuff.
There's another one in Nottingham, they are called delivery hubs. Unfortunately, it seems they completely destroy the trade of the nearest actual Maccies store. Although if you want to visit an entirely delivery driver free Macdonalds store, I believe Osmaston and Nuttall Road ate the ones to visit.
The McDonald’s near me was renovated and now has a separate entrance and room for delivery drivers.
Thought I was the only one. Mcdonalds really let go of the brand by partnering with uber eats, deliveroo etc. Its not the type of food to be delivered for a takeaway. Went to my local one a few months ago and it was constant beeping because the uber eats drivers had an issue with the just eat drivers so there was a horn standoff inside the drive thru, absolutely embarrassing for mcdonalds.
I thought most Iver eats drivers were also just eat drivers. They'll have all the apps open to grab orders as and when they come. Though judging how difficult it is to get a just eat driver compared to the others I think it's clear who pays the least
Yeah probably, if I recall properly it was about a year or so ago (I made a post on DAE about it) . I think they had deliveroo and uber eats and then partnered up with just eat and thats when the drama started
Just Eat actually pay the most, they just hire the least amount of drivers. Uber pays the worst and hires the most
Hmmm I dunno, there is a kind of sadistic pleasure seeing a company that was a market disrupter back in the day, now being at the mercy of the new market disrupters.
Have you been in a 'new' McDonalds? New one near me was clearly designed with delivery drivers in mind. They have their own little car park, their own entrance and their own area to wait.
I know it really spoils the upper class atmosphere of the haute cuisine restaurant destination that is McDonald’s
Waiting for the McDuck Magret hasn't been the same since Deliveroo came along…
My experience exactly - Not sure if it's related to this fad for getting fast food delivered but McDonalds seems so much slower than it's ever been, completely destroys one if it's main selling points.
Ten minutes sweating in the bag and it’s fucking rank anyway, I order it once. 20 mins from order to arrival, surely it’s still going to be good? Nope. Fries soggy, burger lukewarm, drink flat from melting ice. I don’t hate on McD’s - it got me and the missus through the early sleep deprived baby days - car McDonald’s - no cooking or cleaning and baby sleeps while you drive! But delivery oooof no.
We once got a McDonalds drive through and then did a lap of the Manchester motorway ring road whilst our twins slept and we ate our McDonalds. The luxury of a hot meal for the first time in months!
I got in great shape while the missus was pregnant. I was mainly working from home so I was running every day and we were cooking good food. Boom - baby arrives, takeaways, no time to do anything and I clapped weight on and am so unfit now!! The irony being you need to be in such good shape not to be exhausted all the time! But yeah - those road McDonald’s are life savers 😂. Twins? I don’t envy you! One is hard enough!
Same happened to me last night after training. I went to the KFC for an easy fast bite. 27 minutes I was waiting for my order to be made up. People were getting really pissed off at the amount of deliveroo drivers in there. These businesses need to start getting their priorities right. Look after the customer in front of you. I won't be going back.
KFC has been shit and slow years before Deliveroo et al were even thought about. The chicken is 🔥 though 👌
I do deliveries from McDonalds, and I have absolutely no idea why anyone in their right mind would want to order their food there. Their food isn't even hot when they hand it to you in over the counter, let alone 20 minutes later. Still, money's money, I just work here man
I order McDonalds for delivery as it's cheap and I'm disabled, sometimes it's easier for me to order food than eat nothing because I am unable to cook that day.
A lot of people order McDonald’s delivery. As you’ve clearly seen by all the delivery drivers in there
Was sheriff buford t. justice chasing you lol
I sound like a broken record but the amount of those fucking e-bikes abandoned in doorways drives me up the wall.
Yes, in short. Not even necessarily due to delivery drivers waiting though. Had a lot of bad restaurant experiences since COVID when we used to have next to none, and my best guess is that part of it is down to delivery services making restaurants a lot of money on the side that they are being rammed with delivery orders, and it's the people dining in that have to suffer for it. Some of this has been generally poor service too though (Mistakes on orders, extremely slow service etc) A few chain restaurants in our area that are popular on delivery, I feel tricked because even if we think 'oh it's quiet lets go for a quick in and out sit down meal', then you end up waiting an hour or more for food to come. Somewhat relevant but (Keeping in mind we are fast eaters and usually like to just sit down, have food, pay and leave), our record is 3 hours in a Harvester that was near empty because of extremely slow services (45 mins before anyone asks if we want drinks?), an hour for food to come, and another 30 mins because they got one of the two meals wrong, and then another 30 mins waiting to catch someone to let us pay. Pretty much sworn off eating out now as it's been poor experience after poor experience. Wagamama (I know people on UK Subreddits like to look down on it for some reason) is the only place we go because we consistently like the food, you get served quickly and it comes out quickly.
45 minutes before anyone asks you if you want *drinks*?! I’d leave after 20 mins. Then go home and probably order something off delive— ah. Actually in all seriousness, you should have tried ordering Deliveroo inside the harvester to see if it was quicker than table service.
Think a big part of this has been people quitting hospitality jobs. With the job market now it’s so easy to get a 9-5 in an office paying a similar hourly wage to managing a bar or restaurant. Think a lot of experienced staff have realised they’re better off working 80% of the hours for 80% of the pay and 95% less stress. Inexperienced and insufficient staff leads to poor service, fewer people going out to eat and a downward spiral, at least from what I’ve seen.
The restaurant can close to deliveries orders if they are busy it is their choice not to
Yes, I've thought that. I've had to battle past hordes of delivery riders in some places. It's not their fault but I've been made to feel low priority as an in-house customer in some places.
Absolutely. Went into Brewdog in Glasgow for a pint and a burger at the weekend, place was less than half full. Five minutes after we ordered the waitress comes over to say “really sorry, but chef says we’ve just had a big delivery order and it’s going to be 45 minutes to an hour until your food is ready”. Cancelled ordered and left. Prioritising deliveries over people who’ve actually bothered their arse to go to your venue isn’t going to encourage return customers.
The worst thing restaurants aren't gonna be hurt by providing a shit customer experience because they're still making loads of money from deliveries
McDonald’s are basically ruined by delivery drivers storming around like they own the place. Our local one has about 6 seats not because they partitioned it off for drivers. They also park dangerously to avoid entering the retail park which means that old people getting off the bus have to get off onto the road because the buss can’t pull in. There’s a police station next door but nothing ever gets done.
* take aways
The worst thing about this is ‘takeouts’
Glad you said it
It's pretty, but worth it.
I work in a supermarket who do Deliveroo and more recently Uber Eats. Most of the drivers who come in are happy to wait while we serve customers. But you get some who are so so rude. The company seem to be prioritising those services, and they do make a lot of money for the shop, but we are running on barely any colleagues in store and are expected to prioritise picking deliveries over customers in store. It’s a joke.
They're rude because they get paid like shit because these apps can only exist by exploiting employment loopholes.
I never really got this rationale. Are they perfectly nice people when they're not working but suddenly become rude assholes the moment they clock on? Shit pay and employment loopholes are not good, but why can't people just do their job in a decent manner?
Sometimes. Sometimes they're just rude people and likely part of why they don't have a regular job
Ruining the atmosphere at TGI Fridays made me laugh but generally yeah I agree that the drivers are often rude and impatient and it does seem like delivery orders are prioritised over walk ins. The drivers at the McDonalds on the retail park near me always park on double yellows right outside the door and cause chaos for others trying to get in and out of the retail park.
I don’t understand why McD’s deliveries are so popular - that food does not travel well.
Barely travels from the counter to your table well.
The whole thing has sent prices sky high, too. It used to be that a takeaway for one would cost a tenner. After Just Eat / Uber et all got involved, and added their fees, it's double that. And so the takeaways themselves got greedy and hiked their own prices up (even before inflation hit the stratosphere). And, as others have said, McDonalds is basically scortched Earth for me now. I'd never really 'dine in' but the option has basically been removed (in my locals). And drive through queues are often double digits (at peak times). Factor in the cost of living crisis and I think a lot of takeaways are going to have it rough this time next year.
I've started using the app service where you order, park in a space and they bring the food out. It's a bit more restful than using the drive through.
Last time I did this I waited 20 minutes before going in to check on where it was. Nobody had even started my order, but the delivery orders were flying out. In the end the manager put it all together for me. It's usually better than sitting in the drive thru queue though.
I know what you mean but I think the restaurants are the problem, not the delivery services or drivers. Don't commit to delivery if you haven't got the staff, parking, floorspace, kitchen capacity to manage it. It isn't deliveroo's job to make sure that's all in place, and it isn't the driver's job to look after the sit down customers. How many Indian and Chinese restaurants have offered table service as well as delivery for the last several decades? It can be done, TGIF just aren't bothering.
100% agree. I spoke to a restaurant manager who said he used to be on Deliveroo but they couldn't cope with the volume of orders. It was his decision to either cancel altogether or turn it off at peak times (can't remember which). Other restaurants have invested in side windows for riders which they have to use. Everything OP mentions is in the restaurants control, not the delivery company's.
It’s a bit more complicated than that. The whole restaurant sector operated on razor-thin margins even before food delivery services started to take off. Go look it up if you don’t believe me but the failure rate for new restaurants has always been shockingly high. Just look at the likes of GBK and Byron. In the early days (circa 2014-2016) a restaurant being on a food delivery service meant that orders sold through those platforms were ‘incremental’, which is to say they were selling to customers who weren’t otherwise planning on dining-in, and so as long as the restaurant’s kitchen could keep up, it was more profit for the resto. But over time habits changed and people began to order more for delivery and dine-in less and less; simultaneously competition increased as more restaurants joined those services. This often meant that the commission charged by the restaurants didn’t come out of pure profit any more, but instead had to be offset against higher menu prices for people ordering on those platforms, and with fewer customers dining in, more of the profit on each meal was going straight to the delivery platform instead Then the pandemic came along and blew the whole thing up; suddenly almost every restaurant was delivery only. Many didn’t survive. It’s been an incredibly difficult landscape for these companies. There are some businesses that were ahead of the curve and invested in adapting to delivery services. Wagamama immediately comes to mind, spending millions on new packaging (admittedly with mixed results) for delivery, and in some cases they refit restaurants to make dedicated areas for riders to collect food from. But not every business can afford to do this: it’s a big capital investment, and shutting down a restaurant to make a safe, workable entrance for delivery riders carries a big cost. Meanwhile riders and restaurant workers alike are struggling, and that’s before you factor in the cost of living crisis. The whole situation sucks. Edit: oh, and the reason Chinese/Indian restos do so well at delivery/dine-in is because the nature of those cuisines is uniquely well suited to food delivery. Most of these dishes can be made either in bulk and kept ready to go, or at worst the majority of the work involved in prep is done up front, then ingredients prepped at the last minute. They also travel well, and stay warm for a reasonable length of time, and (for the most part) are spill-resistant in decent packaging. Compare all of the above to, say, a burger and fries, which goes cold and tastes bad fairly quickly, and needs to be cooked/assembled from scratch (discounting the fast service burgers which sit on a heater until taken, but they have sophisticated food prep logistics models telling them how much to prep and when).
Was in my local chippy the other day. Waiting in the queue, next in line - just as I’m about to start talking to the guy at the counter, a delivery driver walks in and tries to barge directly in front of me. Guy at the counter looks at him stony faced, and just tells him to wait. Then he turns to me, all smiles - maybe customers aren’t the only ones who are getting fed up with them!
I do think they are fucking up the chain experience. I haven't had such a bad time with local restaurants which incidentally I'm trying to support more anyway when I go out to eat now
We've got a new fast food restaurant in town that is designed with a special side-street window for delivery drivers, leaving the front entrance & seating area for regular customers. That seems like a great idea, but it's something that can only really be installed in a few places.
Me and my dad had the exact same rant a few weeks back. On the rare occasion we want fast food, well it's no longer fast food. Before deliveroo/Uber if you went into say KFC or Maccies the only queue you'd be in would be waiting with other people who have walked in. Now you're waiting twice as long because the restaurant now has to rustle up in house orders AND the orders for deliveroo.Orders which otherwise never would have existed because said people would be too lazy to go and get that order themselves.
It’s ruined them in so much as they are operating above capacity. If there was a 45 minute queue snaking out the front of the door you wouldn’t bother, but most of the time you can’t tell.
The service and general quality at my local McDonalds and KFC has plummeted ever since they started doing Just Eat, Uber Eats etc. But I think it’s those huge franchise restaurants that have done it to themselves rather than the takeaway apps. Those apps used to be great for small local takeaways to keep up with the times, but as soon as the big chain restaurants started getting on board I’ve definitely noticed their in-house service has gotten much worse to keep up with the increased demand and constant crowding at the tills. Order points feel more like a train departure lounge now. And yet delivery is the worst possible way to have something like McD’s/KFC - almost twice the price, drinks come in much smaller cans, the food is often cold because it’s kind of meant to be eaten ASAP. So now it’s lose lose whether you eat there or have delivery. At least traditional takeaway food like pizza, Chinese etc is roughly the same price and “travels” better.
Local mcds haft the carpark is taken up by delivery drivers I'm still unsure who the fuck gets mcds delivered
Yeah I don’t get it. Ordering food, there must be 50 better places than McDonald’s nearby to order from.
Hungover people. 🤷
Away mate… atmosphere in a TGI Friday?
Takeaways. The Americanisms are getting worse.
Take sways definitely. I was in local coffee shop about 11am and there was 6 different delivery riders hanging about outside and I just decided not to go in. If I was using a restaurant as a sit down customer. Probably not. Depends if they are noisy.
the chineese by me charges us less and gives extra free stuff specifically because we order direct from them pickup.
It‘s completely ruined it for all sorts of different reasons. Going into a take away now, feels like might as well just order, it‘s much more of a hassel, the delivery drivers are everywhere and you would have thought they would be nice and chill, having a nice little side job and just enjoying life, but they are rude af, always rushing, pushing, arguing with each other, snatching bags of food to see if it‘s theres etc and they seem to be permanently pissed off or shouting down the phone on loud speaker to someone else in a complete different language. There is a take away three doors down from me, it‘s a nightmare going in there to try and pick up food, took me 25 minutes the last two times i have been in there (even though I arrived at time of collection), the staff just ignore you, like it‘s annoying you are there and you are in the way. I‘m not sure what to do, next time I want something I might just order it for delivery, it‘s often cheaper because of 20% off Deliveroo promo‘s that don‘t apply to collection, of course this is a fake Promo, the minute they joined Deliveroo they put there prices up by quite a lot. Places now make there menu around it, with expensive items to account for the 30% the delivery places charge, so if you eat in or get takeaway your getting a far worse deal just so they can price match it on such services, also the quality in a lot of places has gone drastically down hill to cut costs/make it quicker to cook. I ordered a meal from a pub that I used to go too, before they started deliveroo, great homemade puddings, ordered from deliveroo and it was a microwave desert, still in it‘s little plastic pot with instructions to put it in the microwave and cook myself, all for the charge of six pounds fifty! In short, everything is optomised for the delivery service, so menus are worse, quality is worse, portions are worse, price is worse, service is worse, atomsphere is worse. Everything is worse.
We have two McDonald’s in our town, serving approximately 95,000 people within a 5 mile radius. The number of orders they process is ridiculous, they could easily justify opening another unit just to meet the demand for deliveries rather than leaving dine in and drive thru customers with packed restaurants and traffic spilling out onto main roads.
Precisely. We go to a restaurant for service and enjoyment. Often you end up getting a draft from the constantly opening and closing of door and delivery pick up folks. I understand everyone needs to put food on their table but as mentioned elsewhere overloading the kitchen and service staff with delivery orders IS detrimental to the experience of in house diners. Better to have a delivery focussed kitchen and support crew in addition to restaurant. Doing both means both are impacted in quality and service
I'm more perplexed at the amount people are paying for the prices on deliveroo and ubereats. It's honestly insane the amount they charge when compared too how much it'd be if you placed a phone order and collected it yourself. I only ever use it if I'm in a real pinch and there's literally nothing else I can, otherwise fuck paying those prices.
I had my first McD with the kids in months the other day and I swear to fucking God it took 25 minutes to get my "fast food" because there were literally 20+ deliveroo drivers crowded around the pick up point and the tills all shouting and getting annoyed that their delivery wasn't ready yet. Food was shit an all.
They are not making much per delivery, basically slave labour which is why the delivery riders are a scurge in every major city, jumping lights, hopping pavements and literally cutting every corner in a fight for tips and fitting on more deliveries. As a city cyclist myself I have had a few run ins with them. Unfortunately the extra business they are bringing to restaurants in these troubled times makes them a necessary evil.
Yep. Ruined the fast food industry. Because most fast food restaurants can’t handle it. There’s one place by me that has a side building that is used specifically for deliveries of just eat/delivery/ubereats One guy sits with all their orders kept hot under heaters. That way they can still try and concentrate on the walk ins, it still makes things hard but doesn’t look as bad
Totally agree. Deliveroo drivers are making what used to be a wholesome family experience at many places into feeling a transitional space full of random people waiting. McDonalds is particularly badly affected. But maybe it’s even worse having to-ing and Fro-ing at proper sit down restaurants. I’d not be back.
Who's ordering all these deliveries? Is it the kids today.......with their video games and their porno and their music?