Having a handful of restaurants to select from was driving people crazy. They wanted to have an endless amount of choices. Improvements in technology have led to advancement in this field and hundreds of restaurants are within reach in major cities.
Minneapolis for instance offers whatever the clients wish for. Delivery services have seen a rise in variety – GrubHub, Bite Squad and Doorstep Delivery are all available in the city. It has allowed residents to tap into the budding food market and eat food they like.
As the market is all about supply vs. demand, the customers have been demanding better delivery options. Due to this demand, not only the Twin Cities, but more and more major cities are equipped with these services.
Experts feel that having quality food delivered is not a big deal; it is the improvement in the methods that have made it a more accessible option. It has allowed customers a chance to have more choices.
Technology has enabled delivery services to become better communicators. The customer is now aware of how close the delivery is to arriving at their home. It's a more interactive process.
Everything can be conducted over multiple platforms such as live chats, enabling the choices to expand further in terms of the menu. Flavors and amount of spice can all be stated from the comfort of home.
Updates are given to the customer in whichever form they desire. For example, e-mails and texts are often used as a means of communication between customer and delivery service. An accurate arrival time is given to the customer, almost precise to the very minute.
The accuracy of the predicted delivery times is what make these services special. They are precise approximately 90% of the time. If they are off by five minutes, they personally call the customer and apologize. All of this is put together with a system that measures timings, orders and driver availability.
Each delivery service looks to separate themselves from each other. For example, Bite Squad has specifically designated cars in place and allows customers to track the driver on an interactive map. While Grubhub enables customers to order from a smartphone app.
The delivery fees are balanced out with the fact of gas prices being hiked up. Customers do not wish to leave home in order to save a few dollars.
Every restaurant in the Twin Cities that has participated with these delivery services has made money. Certain restaurants claim they made an additional $200,000 in a year.
These delivery services understand that restaurants care about customer service. If a restaurant loses a customer, the delivery service loses a customer. Both take care of each other because of this.
Basically, restaurant owners have realized that the current generation prefers ordering over text. It is just an easier form of communication and the preferred one too. It is this idea of engaging the customer in the process.
Certain foods cannot be delivered because they lose their 'quality'. Restaurants and delivery services understand this and are constantly modifying the menus. Most customers are satisfied with their experiences.
Delivery companies have to restrict their areas because of this issue. They cannot go too far out because the food will lose its quality and lead to unsatisfied customers. Most services thus focus on the nearby suburbs.
These services are focused around areas with multiple restaurants. This is the only way it can be profitable for both restaurant and delivery company.
The best part about delivery companies is that there are minimal contracts in place. Restaurants are not bogged down, if they feel inadequate results are being delivered. It is all results based with no upfront cost either.
For restaurants the idea of not having to waste a table or purchase a company vehicle is beneficial. They make a lot of extra money because of the delivery companies. The model is best for cities that are populated because more people get quality food.