( https://blogs.ubc.ca/yaelapt/)
This blog really catches my attention as it talks about an important part of people’s daily lives, which is food, and also addresses a problem that concerns and troubles people the most, the food delivery especially during rainy season.
UberEasts, a new food service offered by the globally-known transportation service company Uber, is flourishing in the highly competitive food delivery market. In Yael’s blog, she has already addressed some of the key reasons of its success, such as Uber’s strong brand image and special values offered in its food delivery service. It is true that UberEasts does have lower delivery rates and faster delivery speed than Postmates, Grubhub and other food delivery services.
However, to many customers, ordering food from UberEats used to be a limited experience. There were limited service area and food choices during the lunch hour. No customization of food makes customers who cannot stand onions on their salad or other preferences frustrated as the food is already made. Even worse, being a part of the Uber app, makes it feel like a small side project of a company that’s staked its reputation on transporting humans, not sandwiches.
Once sliding over to UberEats, customers see little fork and knife icons, rather than the cars that are around them when they use Uber to get a ride somewhere.
The company pays extra attention on customer reviews and keeps developing and upgrading its UberEats service to make it more user-friendly. In March 2016, for the first time, the company has broken a product out into its own standalone app and that lunch-only, limited-selection UberEats was gone. In its place is Uber’s GrubHub killer.
While the new UberEats app had been just a lunch service, it will now allow instant lunch or dinner deliveries for select dishes or full-menu options from restaurants. Once a customer places his order, a specially trained Uber driver carrying lunch bags to keep the food warm or cold will deliver it while the customer can actually track their progress on his screen. Moreover, UberEats has no minimum charge requirement. Customers do not have to struggle to add more food to have a delivery. Furthermore, UberEats offered two different ways to order food. The first was a Seamless-like experience, in which customers could order food from any of the dozens of restaurants on the app, and Uber would facilitate the delivery. The second was an upgraded “instant delivery” menu that featured two pre-set lunch options from a rotating group of restaurants that Uber said it would deliver in as little as 10 minutes. These new functions of the new UberEats app make food ordering more convenient for customers and satisfy a larger number of customers with various preferences and needs.
Like what Yael said in her blog, “I’m ready to order!”
(450 words)
References:
1) https://blogs.ubc.ca/yaelapt/
2) http://www.businessinsider.com/why-uber-launched-uber-eats-2016-3; Uber’s GrubHub killer is finally in the US — here’s the inside story on its big bet on food; Biz Carson
3) https://www.quora.com/How-popular-is-UberEats-in-London; How popular is UberEats in London?
4) http://www.businessinsider.com/ubereats-is-convenient-but-overpriced-2015-6 What it’s like to order a $15 burrito through Uber’s food delivery service;Alex Heath
5) http://qz.com/664552/uber-is-killing-off-its-instant-food-delivery-option-in-new-york-city/ Uber is killing off its instant food delivery option in New York City; Alison Griswold