Dallas Food Service
Posted by Mistress_Jozi@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 52 comments
I have a little bit of a rant. I am home recovering from surgery. I have been ordering a lot of food for delivery. So far, the past 5 days have resulted in a 100% failure rate with food delivery accuracy. Every single order has been messed up. Mostly with missing food, followed by incorrect preparation. Missing beverages, the sides are delivered without the rest of the meal. Order no cilantro, food arrived covered in it. I am allergic to mushrooms, order a dish specifically without mushrooms, arrives with mushrooms. Yes, I filled out the special instructions. Yes I check the box of having a food allergy. Are they intentionally trying to kill me? Come on, really? It's getting expensive to pay for things I don't get, I tip 20-25%, why can't I get a simple meal delivered correctly? Everything that I ordered and paid for, prepared the way I ordered it. Is that really a task so difficult that no one is getting it right? Come on Dallas restaurant owners, step up your game, it's an embarrassment to your profession.
Significant-Act-8990@reddit
I've ordered maybe 150X from DD - I think maybe once or twice my order was messed up....
You're probably making too many special requests from bad restaurants. Cheap spots or fast food aren't gonna care about special orders. Keep your orders simple , tip well , forget the drinks.
Mistress_Jozi@reddit (OP)
Why should I forget the drinks? They are on the menu and available for order. Get them right, it's not that hard. Why should I dumb down an order and risk my health when special instructions field is available for this purpose. So the employees can't read? Hire someone that can.
Significant-Act-8990@reddit
IT'S CALLED REALITY
Delivery services screw over restaurants, and drivers. They charge restaurants over 30%, and pay drivers $2-3 per delivery (plus tip).
The workers that prepare your order hate delivery services even more, because they don't get a tip, and many drivers are a PITA to deal with.
Drinks are a major PITA - some places make the drivers get them (this never works out) - few drivers have containers to carry them in. Often drinks are separate and left behind.
Customers think this is some high end valet type service - it ain't. Plus I'm guessing ha- you're leaving long notes with how you expect your order to be prepared (and delivered probably) - nobody reads this crap.
Keep it short and simple or cook it yourself.
onlinealias350@reddit
Nobody forced the restaurant to offer delivery service. If the establishment feels they’re getting screwed by the service, then don’t offer delivery.
Or they can keep not giving a crap about getting orders correct, run off all of their customers and put themselves out of business… Delivery problems solved.
Potential-Ant7834@reddit
You haven’t read the news. Restaurants are closing left and right do the last 2 years. Those are the stories with the highest views. It’s the economy, stupid. Someone isn’t set up to do exactly what you want, the way you want, so they deserve to close. The solution is to spend more for an actual chef to do the above. Or do it yourself. Or call the restaurant to speak to a human who can be held accountable and pay the rrstaurant
And it’s consumer demand for convenience that doesn’t align with these apps or a restaurant concept. No one opens a restaurant to make food to go. People in nice restaurants send back food that’s cold. Yet these customers choose cold or soggy food - that is who forces these enrollment decisions. Nobody forced the restaurant to sign up by the service is partly true. Consumers demand convenience over taste. They forced restaurants to sign up to indirectly. Delightful customers like OP who hate cilantro or is allergic to mushrooms are not the ideal customer, who treats every establishment as a private chef experience.
Customers are the ones who drive these decisions and restaurants can’t keep up with their growing expectations. if you’re at risk of death, do not count on someone with limited skills and no medical training to remember not to take off mushrooms on a mushroom pizza. There’s a reason private chefs and medical practitioners cost a lot. Not $30 with tip and delivery.
kjsvaughan1@reddit
Many people do not read the special instruction field (both restaurants and delivery drivers).
onlinealias350@reddit
Why are people downvoting OP? He paid for a service, he’s tipping the driver, he’s not in the wrong.
The problem is with people being too lazy or distracted to do their jobs correctly. Then the same lazy, distracted people are bullying anyone who dares to have the audacity to call out their apathy.
OP is not the problem. He paid for a service and he has every right to expect that service to be done correctly.
Seriously, how do you feel when you don’t get what you paid for?
Potential-Ant7834@reddit
Explaining reality is not bullying. That is not what bullying means. The solution is not as simple as “holding restaurant owners accountable” by shaming them for their lack of professionalism or whatever. The solution requires a massive workforce intervention. Even Abbott has talked about the lack of skills in the workforce. There are constant press releases about the challenges restaurants face. OP likely thinks she’s too good to do these jobs, yet expects someone to wrangle these low-lifes that can’t get her order rights. UE and DD is NOT a private chef service. It’s not BK- and get it your way. It’s a set menu based on volume and repetition. When you have customization, you are a disruption that creates higher variance. Variance mean mistakes. Can you not understand that flow and repetition are key to quality? If you want things your way, you pay, a lot, for it. Lower your expectations for this kind of food. Or order a meal prep service like Factor, which is cheaper an and requires a microwave.
tengris22@reddit
What is the matter with you? You didn’t read the original post did you? If you did, you’d know the OP was home from having SURGERY, for crying out loud. They aren’t “too good” to do these jobs. If the restaurant offers customization, then they should follow the (paid for) requests. If they don’t, of course, then the OP is expecting too much.
Potential-Ant7834@reddit
FFS, What did people do prior to the pandemic before UE and DD came onto the market? Just came back from 2 nights in the ICU last week. it’s called planning. And meal prep.
And have you ever deployed software? You’d know that the coding is NOT designed by the end user nor the provider. This means that every single item offered automatically includes a comment section for items that maybe shouldn’t be modified. The restaurant does not offer it. The app includes it even when it should not apply. and removing relish room from a mushroom dish is not intuitive. She got a refund. what else does she want? Damages? T
tengris22@reddit
Nice way to avoid answering my comment. You didn't read the post.
Potential-Ant7834@reddit
Have you ever called out apathetic people? How effective has that been for you? Did you read about the Gen Z stare? Do you think all it takes to make them do better and read orders and work better is just your audacity? This is symptom of lowered IQ after decades of screen consumption. She wants things her way: hire a private chef who does meal prep. Meetachef.com. She deserves to get what she wants but the reality is that she has to pay for it. And it’s not cheap to find people who care and read.
jessicat_33@reddit
When it comes down to drinks the doordasher should be reminding the restaurant. The dasher would always remind me and ask me where the drink was so they could send a picture. Does your food delivery not do that?
miiintyyyy@reddit
Why wouldn’t you just remember?
Extreme_Obligation34@reddit
Actually the problem is often the third party apps when it comes to you making modifications on a menu item. There platform often poorly translates these mods to the final ticket in the kitchen. My recommendation if you insist on modifying restaurants menus is to avoid those using third party apps. Then again, maybe don’t order a dish that features mushrooms if you are allergic.
Widowmaker69@reddit
Normally I am empathetic towards situations like this as I have had many surgeries that have left me stuck at home for months on end. However, this post and your replies make you seem like an insufferable boomer that just complains about any and everything.
NightGod@reddit
I've had 2 of the last four DD orders I made with mistakes that were enough to get an automagic refund from DD when I reported it
CatteNappe@reddit
Don't always blame the restaurants, blame the delivery service. I've gone to check the menus at several restaurants and was warned I was leaving the restaurant web site to go into the app for whatever order/deliver service they use.
kjsvaughan1@reddit
Restaurants make and pack the order not delivery drivers. Restaurants are at fault for wrong or missing items.
CatteNappe@reddit
If the order is received by the delivery service they can too easily fail to send along notes or adjustments to the restaurant
valiantdistraction@reddit
IME as someone with food allergies, I just do not order anything that has to be modified. I also wouldn't order drinks - that's not usual for to-go orders so I can see how they get forgotten a lot. I stick with places where I know the menu and which items come without my allergen as a matter of course. If you put an allergen note on there, half the time food delivery has somehow misinterpreted it and absolutely covered your food in it like you requested extra.
Informal_Guitar_2649@reddit
I almost never get the dessert I order. First world m problems. But still. Get it together Dallas.
CabotRaptor@reddit
I understand you are recovering from surgery and don’t really have a choice but to order food - what I’m about to say is not directed at you.
Food delivery is a massive waste of time and money.
It is paying more for an inferior service. Very, very few people should be using delivery services frequently.
I have no sympathy, at all, for the majority of people complaining about either the cost or quality of delivery.
Just go pick it up yourselves.
tengris22@reddit
I agree with this 100%. In fact, I agree so much that I have never ordered food for delivery. But I am advantaged in some ways that have made it unnecessary (a spouse to help me if I can’t cook, etc.). I would never voluntarily order food delivery including delivery from a grocery store, as long as I could possibly avoid it….and so far I have.
outofurelement@reddit
The apps are optimizing for workers who are willing to be paid the least while delivering as fast as possible. At no point in the algorithm does customer satisfaction come into play.
Patrick42985@reddit
It took just a few food delivery orders for me to realize those apps aren’t for me.
A one time messed up order that’s an isolated incident. I wouldn’t be sweating that. But when multiple orders were either inaccurate, missing entire items, or missing stuff like sauces or dressings which are an important complimentary piece to make the main item taste good, it just got infuriating. And that’s not even counting the times I got cold food.
I had no issue paying all the markups for delivery and tipping well as I was paying for convenience. But there was nothing convenient about constantly getting cold food or inaccurate orders at marked up prices.
It’s not just a Dallas thing though. I had the same issue in LA and NYC delivery wise. Hell it’s not even just delivery. My gf looks at me crazy when I order from the drive thru or carry out and I fully inspect the order to make sure everything is correct and accurate before we leave. Same with sit down restaurants when I order take out. I’m inspecting the entire thing and making sure they got the order correct before I leave.
SipoteQuixote@reddit
My wife gets mad when I drive off without checking, its usually her order they fuck up
Apprehensive-Taco406@reddit
Talk about first world problems! Listen to yourselves!
FlightyTwilighty@reddit
Try Tovala! It's the no-meal-prep delivery box kit. I love it. It's just as easy as a frozen microwave dinner but way better quality. (DM me for a promo code... I know that makes me sound like a bot but I am not! I just like the service.)
bob-leblaw@reddit
I order pizza straight from the source. Always better that a service.
Chronosshotgun@reddit
Pizza hut uses Doordash almost exclusively now. A lot of restaurants also use a plugin for a delivery company app that just uses doordash, at the end of the day. Learned the former when I ordered a PH pie and it was delivered somewhere else, with no notification, and I called the place - they said DD picked it up so call them. Happened again a few months later, and the PH lady just basically said the DD deliveries are about 30% stolen.
Learned the latter when I ordered delivery from a place directly, it was messed up, we called and they didn't even know how to look up orders etc.
ApprehensiveAnswer5@reddit
I would find out which restaurants in your area still do direct delivery and order from there.
Yes, it will be more limited in terms of options, but being able to call in or use their own website will make it easier on both sides.
As others said, a third party in the middle of anything over complicates what would otherwise be a simple operation.
It’s like a game of telephone.
Your other option, if you can be on your feet or up and about some, is to order prepared foods that you refrigerate or freeze and reheat.
You can do services like Baller Mom Kitchen, Fat Rabbit, etc that do once a week delivery.
There are even grocery store options like Kroger’s Home Chef or having someone go pick up prepared meals from the store once a week for you.
That seems like it might be a better option for you?
u2aerofan@reddit
I had a driver last week refuse to enter my building. He texted and said as much and I should meet him outside so I called door dash and revoked his tip. This service economy is just pure enshittification made “convenient”.
My suggestion is if you need prepared food, try grocery orders from Walmart or Amazon instead - I have good luck with them. Snap Kitchen is also great and cheaper than most door dash orders.
IAmSoUncomfortable@reddit
I order DD more than I should and the biggest thing is forgetting drinks. My orders are typically correct.
Potential-Ant7834@reddit
It’s not just restaurants. It’s the entire workforce after the pandemic. People are deeply disaffected, unengaged with everything except for their screens. No one thinks anymore.
Are you actually ordering from “real” restaurants? These are not “chefs” making your food. These are people who have to work for a living, who probably do not want to work in restaurants. You’re blaming restaurant owners, but are the people making your food even earning enough to have the title of “chef”? No one is trying to kill you. They just DGAF about anything or anyone and would rather be scrolling instead of making food. So if you died from an allergy, they DGAF either. You cannot make people care as an employee if they are addicted to tiktok.
At least you’re getting a refund, UberEats has become so diabolical that they were using AI to decline to every complaint that I quit using them at all because the rate of incorrectly packed food for me was so high. I would be missing food for my family when I ordered regularly, from cheap places to the upscale places. They refused to offer me a refund, and I uninstalled the app after.
This is a sign for you to go to the restaurant and order the food and either eat it there or pick it up directly yourself because third party delivery services are harming the industry itself. These additional markups of 25-30% go to the company, never the restaurant to pay for the staff or ingredients. At the restaurant, the server is there to make sure your food is correct. And someone will remake it and all the money does to the business and not Uber or DD.
seriously__funny@reddit
You are correct but we can’t excuse restaurant owners for not wanting to do something simple to the point that it doesn’t make me and multiple other people not order from you. It all depends on where you’re ordering from though.
Potential-Ant7834@reddit
Not to mention, how do you think the current administration is impacting these restaurants? You want to blame the owners and shame them and want to force accountability on your customized order but who do you think is getting deported or sent into detention centers? A lot of restaurant workers have been detained and these aren’t all ignorant, illiterate, unskilled “illegals”? All of this has an impact. You’re feeling it. What do you do when post pandemic there was a labor shortage? And to make things worse, ICE is deporting people who include restaurant workers. Read the news while you’re scrolling on your phone.
miiintyyyy@reddit
I don’t have this issue. Maybe you pissed someone off.
seriously__funny@reddit
Yeah it’s hard to believe someone is that careless about their own business but they’ll have to learn the hard way and apparently they’re making enough money otherwise they wouldn’t be doing extra work to be intentional about messing up an order.
johnnyclash42@reddit
OP sounds delightful
starglo1969@reddit
I’ve had maybe 3 orders out of 100 ever been messed up. And that includes driver error. I often have them remove multiple items, etc. I wonder what restaurants you are ordering from?
Sea-Cauliflower-8368@reddit
Restaurant employees have no incentive to prioritize or do a detailed job on these meals, because they don't get tipped, only your driver does.
Corgisarethebest123@reddit
What food delivery service are you using?
Mistress_Jozi@reddit (OP)
All of them. Delivery isn't the problem. It's not the drivers or services fault the chef can't leave off cilantro as requested, or cook a dish without mushrooms even with the allergy alerts in play. Not the drivers fault if the order isn't packed correctly. Seals are always in place. It was packed wrong and sealed as such. Then when you do call the place, they really just don't care. They just unapologetically issue a refund, not even making an offer to correct the mistake. I guess they want me to order from somewhere else. I don't want a refund, I want what I ordered.
It's the lack of professionalism on the owners and managers parts for not doing their jobs. Corporate places, include the regional management. Training their employees, managing their employees and processes, and holding those accountable for mistakes.
Corgisarethebest123@reddit
It’s not all of them lol. You could always just order from better places. Al Biernat’s has their own drivers. They have never once messed up an order. Taverna has never messed up an order. Fortune House has never messed up an order. Mi Cocina has never messed up an order.
d-copperfield@reddit
They have never messed up YOUR order maybe
WubbityWubWub_@reddit
Mi Cocina? Please lie to us again 😂😭
Time_Outcome765@reddit
Why would they over to remake something you’ve had delivered through a third party? They’re not going to dispatch another driver to get your corrected order to you so a refund is the sensible choice.
Ok-Aardvark-6742@reddit
Does it really matter? I’ve used DoorDash, Favor, and GrubHub and they’re all pretty much the same experience. Favor has the best customer service, but a quick refund without having to argue for it doesn’t help when you’re hungry and you have to reorder or everything closed before you heard from customer service. I think a lot of drivers run multiple apps so you get the same mix of drivers in your area no matter what you use.
The best experience I’ve had is with Dominos because the one by me hires their own drivers. But Domino’s isn’t great food.
Dawnzarelli@reddit
You ordered a mushroom dish, no mushrooms? Mushrooms aren’t in that many foods. Order something without it. I order delivery a lot and the worst I ever got was sweet tea instead of regular tea. Idk what area you live in, but this seems wild. 100% failure rate is crazy. Keep it simple.
Hope your recovery is otherwise going well. Punch Drunk Chef delivers within a certain radius and they have food that will help with healing.
Time_Outcome765@reddit
Many of the restaurants on delivery apps are moving away from custom orders or allergy modifications on the apps due to volume of orders and an inability to have proper quality control.
You have to remember the restaurants are doing 2+ delivery apps, dine in, and regular carry-out. It’s easy for them to get swamped, give your correct order to someone else, or just get it wrong due to how the orders are generated from the machine. I’d focus on buying items that you know are allergen free without modification.
Regarding drinks, they’re the last item I try to order because they’re often forgotten. Not because the delivery person intends to but usually because the restaurant’s setup is one that requires them to either fill the drinks themselves or remember to go to the counter to request something out the cooler. The restaurant should put it in the bag itself since it’s sealed but they don’t do that for a number of reasons. Side note: I also struggle with lack of temper seals on most drinks so it’s usually a hard no for me unless it’s canned or in a bottle.
gentlechoppingmotion@reddit
Door dash is notoriously bad