The last few months have been meal after meal after meal at home. As parents, we need a break from the three meal a day grind and fortunately, there are a number of dining delivery services offering to pick up and deliver food from our favorite restaurants. While geography often dictates which dining delivery services are available, the majority of families have access to at least one of these wonderful (and tasty!) services.
Uber Eats
Allowing you to order food from the full menus of your local restaurant, Uber Eats connects you to your favorite dining options without requiring you to leave your home. Offering dining delivery services in all states except Washington, South Dakota, and Alaska, Uber Eats geographically covers the map. The service has two ways of ordering: on the app and on your web browser. Estimated delivery time is displayed at the top of your order and you can track your order up until it is delivered.
- Delivery Fees: Vary by restaurant based on location and courier availability.
- Service Fees: 15% to 20% of an order subtotal depending on the restaurant.
- Additional Fees: Small order fees vary by city and tips are appreciated.
Read more: 10 Best Apps for Meal Planning
Grubhub
A direct competitor (and rumored potential acquisition) of Uber Eats, Grubhub allows the hungry consumer to order prepared food from most destinations. The website and app enables the user to search by cuisine type, food item, or specific restaurant name. Grubhub additionally offers coupons and deals and tracks your order every step of the way.
- Delivery Fees: Determined by restaurant; Grubhub does not charge a delivery fee.
- Service Fees: Same as the delivery fee, service fees are determined by the restaurant.
- Additional Fees: Tip is not necessary but encouraged for good service.
Doordash
Doordash classifies itself a “technology company that connects people with the best in their cities.” The company views its service as an empowerment to local businesses and a way to generate and increase business in local economies through technologically connecting. Similar to the other dining delivery services, Doordash has an app and website that allows the user to order food from his or her favorite local restaurant and quickly and conveniently have a meal on the table at home.
- Delivery Fees: Similar to Grubhub, delivery fee is determined by the restaurant. In select regions, DashPass is available for $10/mo reducing the delivery fee to $0.
- Service Fees: Determined by restaurant. These fees are reduced but not absent for customers with a DashPass.
- Additional Fees: Tips are optional and additional fees may be attached when order amount is minimal.
Postmates
Also considered a technology company, Postmates was one of the first dining delivery services on the map. The website and app brag of having more than 500,000 “postmates” and 600,000 merchants across all 50 states. The main goal of Postmates is to connect customers with local carriers who have the capacity to deliver goods from your favorite restaurant or retailer in minutes. Postmates brags that the company delivers “more than just dinner” helping customers get anything they could possibly need within an hour.
- Delivery Fees: Fees range from $.99 to $9.99 depending on the merchant but will show up in the order estimate. No fees are incurred if a member of Unlimited and the basket size meets the merchant minimum.
- Service Fees: Varies and works on a percentage basis; included in the order estimate.
- Additional Fees: $1.99 small cart fee if the order is below the merchant minimum. Tips always appreciated.
Read more: 15 Spring Recipes to Freshen up Family Mealtime
Delivery.com
Offering customers the option to receive deliveries from restaurants, liquor stores, grocery stores, and laundry/dry cleaners, Delivery.com is a handy way to get not only the food you need but other daily necessities. Although headquartered in NYC, this is one of the dining delivery services that is available in more than 100 cities across the United States. The Delivery.com website and app allow the customer to change between categories (i.e. restaurant vs. laundry service) displaying the available merchants. Orders are confirmed via text or email.
- Delivery Fees: Percentage or fixed fee which varies and is charged by the merchant.
- Service Fees: Merchant charged percentage or fixed fee that can include a convenient fee, packaging fee, and/or processing fee.
- Additional Fees: Certain merchants expect a “required tip” which is applied upon checkout. The company offers the option to add a tip upon checkout or cash directly to the delivery person.
ChowNow
This past April, ChowNow, one of the widely available dining delivery services, partnered with Instagram to offer the only commission-free “order now” option on the app. This allows you, as the customer, to place an order through Instagram if trying to chow down on your favorite foods. Geographically, the company offers dining delivery services in larger cities across the United States and Canada.
- Delivery Fees: Charging the restaurants’ monthly/annual membership fees, delivery fees are not incurred by the customer.
- Service Fees: None.
- Additional Fees: As with other services, tipping is always accepted!
Caviar
Similar to the other dining delivery services, Caviar connects consumers with local restaurants offering delivery, pick-up and catering. Caviar boasts itself carrying “the industry’s only occupational accident insurance policy that protects all couriers when they’re delivering on the Caviar platform at no cost to them.” Located in larger metro areas, Caviar offers customers the opportunity to order online and share a cart with multiple people making it a snap to order with friends.
- Delivery Fees: Varies by restaurant and is determined by the distance the courier travels.
- Service Fees: Vary by market and is a percentage based fee shown prior to checkout.
- Additional Fees: Because menu pricing is set by the restaurant management, some merchants may include fees within menu pricing to account for staffing fees, bag fees, and other related restaurant fees. Tipping is welcome!
This time in history has allowed families extended time at home with more meals together and more opportunities to try new foods and develop new family favorites. Fortunately, dining delivery services exist for those days and evenings that cooking just isn’t in the cards. Dining delivery services are a great way to support your local restaurants and help boost the economy…and take the cooking burden off your plate!
WANT TO READ MORE?
Check out this article on One Pot Meals that Even Kids Will Love.
Photo Credits: Unsplash.com, pixels.com
Sources: Ubereats.com, Grubhub.com, Doordash.com, Postmates.com, Delivery.com, Eat.ChowNow.com, TryCaviar.com
