Do you remember the saying “There’s an app for that?” Well, it’s true now more than ever —there is an app for just about everything. We’ve become so technologically advanced that we don’t even need to leave the house to get basic amenities. Groceries can be at your front door with a few simple taps of your finger. As college students, it’s a given that we don’t always have time to sit down and eat a proper meal, let alone a healthy one. With food delivery apps that issue can easily be solved.
Or can it?
This week I used the food delivery app “DoorDash,” which caters from 54,000 restaurants all across the United States. They have over 75,000 “dashers” to deliver these orders and 10,000,000 orders have been placed so far. Despite all these astonishing statistics, DoorDash isn’t all it’s hyped up to be.
The biggest pitfall of the app is pricing. If you download the app through a friend’s code, you’ll receive $7 worth of credit. Though, it does very little. With tax, delivery charges, a service fee and the dasher tip, the bill really starts to add up. I ordered from Tres Hombres, a Mexican restaurant that is a 10-minute drive from my home. After all the costs were added up, my simple lunch order came to a whopping $20 total. The app avidly advertises that their delivery charges start at 99 cents, but most places around my area started at $3.99. You can see where this gets difficult, especially if you are ordering for more than one person. To put it into perspective, a broke college student won’t be able to afford to use this app often.
Another aspect of the app to consider is the time it takes for the delivery to actually get to you. My estimated delivery time was approximately 57 minutes, but I received the order sooner than that. The app allows you to track the meal from the moment you place the order, sending you push notifications as it moves along its route.
Despite the costliness, the app does have its perks. There’s a wide variety of eateries to choose from, ranging from fast food like Wendy’s or Taco Bell to more upscale places such as Kimi’s Chop and Oyster House. The app is very efficient as well. My order was made correctly, but I have heard from others who have used the app that this isn’t always the case.
It all comes down to the amount of money you are willing to spend. Perhaps adding gas or transportation costs to physically going out and dining would even out the scale. Overall, I would rate DoorDash 3 out of 5 stars. The app is definitely worth a try, but stay on the cautious side — much like other forms of online shopping, things add up quickly.
