Restaurants that prioritize pickup orders over dine in

[nile455]

I'm in a BurgerFi yesterday, place my order at the counter and then have a seat and wait for my food. 15 minutes goes by, 20 minutes goes by, but they are slammed trying to fulfill phone and app orders, even though those customers are not in the store yet. I see the woman at the counter place take out bag after take out bag on the pickup shelf, and the food just sits there getting cold. And they keep putting out this hot food for absent customers while the ones that are actually IN the store and WAITING for their food just sit and watch. So both types of customers are unhappy- the ones dining in have to wait forever, and the ones picking up get cold food. Explain the idiocy of this.

 

[sam_gordon]

I'm in a BurgerFi yesterday, place my order at the counter and then have a seat and wait for my food. 15 minutes goes by, 20 minutes goes by, but they are slammed trying to fulfill phone and app orders, even though those customers are not in the store yet. I see the woman at the counter place take out bag after take out bag on the pickup shelf, and the food just sits there getting cold. And they keep putting out this hot food for absent customers while the ones that are actually IN the store and WAITING for their food just sit and watch. So both types of customers are unhappy- the ones dining in have to wait forever, and the ones picking up get cold food. Explain the idiocy of this.

But you really have no idea if the pick up orders they're putting out were called in before you got to the store.

I would ASSUME they make the food in the order they come in.

 

[slo]

This is another reason why we don’t eat out often. So many restaurants are overwhelmed with the GrubHub, DoorDash and etc orders that it puts them behind and also causes them to run out of products. I find it very annoying. Then you see the DoorDash & etc drivers standing around looking all ticked off because they want stuff now so they can deliver as many orders as possible, which puts stress on the restaurant employees, which makes for an overall stressful atmosphere. I’m not gonna get into my opinion of the current love for food delivery out of respect for those that like it and use it. I will say that the priority for the food delivery orders, over the in person customers, is definitely one of the reasons why we eat at home.

 

[dvcgirl67]

We only do take out from salad type places, where the food doesn't need to be hot, or with restaurants that don't do deliveries with the "apps". We live an hour south of NYC, but we really didn't have a huge "app" food delivery situation until the pandemic. And now that there are so many white collar professionals working from home, it's caused more congestion in our area during the day, especially around lunch. Cars are double parked everywhere.....it's a real pain.

 

[RangerPooh]

Like SLO said, with the convenience of online ordering you never know how many orders were placed ahead of you.

We’ve been there, waiting forever watching delivery/take out orders add up while you have nothing. Unless they turn off the feature the wait will continue. It’s frustrating. But I’m guilty of placing online orders that I pick up myself or ordering g through Uber Eats. Watching the delivery time tick up. Driving to pick up my order to only wait an additional 30-60 minutes.

My frustration is the Starbucks drive thru. I mobile order on my way. Love when it says I have a 3-5 minute estimate. Arrive at 5 minutes and no drink waiting. Then sit and watch as car after car moves through the drive thru getting theirs while my mobile order is finally made. What’s bad is when the car who pulled in ahead of me gets their drink before I do! I’d been waiting.

 

[DisneyHardin]

My frustration is the Starbucks drive thru. I mobile order on my way. Love when it says I have a 3-5 minute estimate. Arrive at 5 minutes and no drink waiting. Then sit and watch as car after car moves through the drive thru getting theirs while my mobile order is finally made. What’s bad is when the car who pulled in ahead of me gets their drink before I do! I’d been waiting.

I always pick up my Starbucks Mobile Orders in the drive-thru line.

 

[BrianL]

I agree - These delivery apps are a menace! The cause all kinds of issues at the locations, which were not setup to do that. I think they should have dedicated locations or at least areas for them to be handled. I ahve seen some places setup dedicated windows for drivers only. It helps.

 

[Smugpugmug]

One of the Chipotle locations near me is run like that. I've seen them make almost 10 online orders before serving a single customer that is physically standing in line. Jersey Mikes is like that too but the situation there is so bad with the online orders that it's almost impossible to order in person during peak lunch/dinner hours.

 

[ramee]

Yes. I was just going to say I walked out of jersey mikes last week after waiting 20 minutes and noticing their priority was pick up orders. They started the sandwich with meat and cheese, but then it sat on the counter for almost 15 minutes before I was still 2 people away from being able to get toppings put on it. All while people are coming and going with pick up orders. The employees looked defeated and had no desire to move any faster. It got agonizing to watch.

 

[kdonnel]

The restaurants treating in person customers as described need to make up their mind.

Either staff enough to handle the online and in person orders or if they want to prioritize online, close the restaurant to in person.

If I get repeated bad service I just go elsewhere.

 

[GreatLakes]

The pandemic changed the customer's ordering behavior faster than the restaurants could adapt their business models. Some have done a really good job with it, others haven't. It also doesn't help that the restaurant industry is still facing staffing issues.

Some of the Chipotles around here have an entire dedicated second setup for mobile with staff that only do those while separate staff handle the walk in customers. Panera is another brand that has done a pretty good job adapting. The one I go to has separate staff making mobile orders and I don't notice any longer wait.

 

[SteveMouse]

Some of your issue may be restaurant- specific. The second-ever BurgerFi was just announced as closing: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2024/0...location-a-delray-beach-restaurant-heres-why/.

 

[sam_gordon]

We'll occasionally get McDonalds. The way the ones around us are set up, you can place the order via the app, but it doesn't start getting made until you get on site. To me, that defeats the purpose of ordering ahead of time.

 

[nile455]

The pandemic changed the customer's ordering behavior faster than the restaurants could adapt their business models. Some have done a really good job with it, others haven't. It also doesn't help that the restaurant industry is still facing staffing issues.

Some of the Chipotles around here have an entire dedicated second setup for mobile with staff that only do those while separate staff handle the walk in customers. Panera is another brand that has done a pretty good job adapting. The one I go to has separate staff making mobile orders and I don't notice any longer wait.

Yup. Covid changed the entire industry forever. It showed restaurant owners just how much more profitable take out can be. Don't be surprised if restaurants start doing away with their dining rooms altogether. Many already have. If you're not familiar with Taco Bell Go Mobile it's basically just that- A food counter with no dining tables. A few of those have opened near me. McDonald's is another one that has completely shifted its focus to pick up orders. They are strategically making their dining rooms as unappealing as possible so that you won't want to eat there. Their dining chairs are now these tiny, modular hard surface chairs. And it's nearly impossible to see any employees because they put a wall so that you can't see anyone back behind the counter. Getting a refill is practically impossible now because they took away the self-serve machines and don't provide any employees at the counter to help you.

As someone who *hates* getting take out and bringing home cold food, the decline of the restaurant dining room has been really frustrating.

 

[ramee]

Yup. Covid changed the entire industry forever. It showed restaurant owners just how much more profitable take out can be. Don't be surprised if restaurants start doing away with their dining rooms altogether. Many already have. If you're not familiar with Taco Bell Go Mobile it's basically just that- A food counter with no dining tables. A few of those have opened near me. McDonald's is another one that has completely shifted its focus to pick up orders. They are strategically making their dining rooms as unappealing as possible so that you won't want to eat there. Their dining chairs are now these tiny, modular hard surface chairs. And it's nearly impossible to see any employees because they put a wall so that you can't see anyone back behind the counter. Getting a refill is practically impossible now because they took away the self-serve machines and don't provide any employees at the counter to help you.

As someone who *hates* getting take out and bringing home cold food, the decline of the restaurant dining room has been really frustrating.

Yes. That’s my biggest complaint about getting take out is that the food is not fresh by the time you get to eat.

I use to prefer it so I didn’t have to tip for dine-in, but now it’s expected to tip on carry out, as well.

So all signs point to- just be a better meal planner and eat at home.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Yes. That’s my biggest complaint about getting take out is that the food is not fresh by the time you get to eat.

I use to prefer it so I didn’t have to tip for dine-in, but now it’s expected to tip on carry out, as well.

So all signs point to- just be a better meal planner and eat at home.

It was always expected that you tip on take-out. You just didn't. Someone has to take time and pack it up. It may be closer to 10% than 20% but still required a tip.

 

[sam_gordon]

It was always expected that you tip on take-out. You just didn't. Someone has to take time and pack it up. It may be closer to 10% than 20% but still required a tip.

Nothing REQUIRED a tip.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Nothing REQUIRED a tip.

Okay. That's your opinion. If I'm taking advantage of a service it REQUIRES a tip in my opinion. YMMV

 

[leahgoogle]

It was always expected that you tip on take-out. You just didn't. Someone has to take time and pack it up. It may be closer to 10% than 20% but still required a tip.

Nope. If I order at the counter in-person, they have to pack it up (I'm talking fast food here). I don't routinely tip on take-out orders where I am physically going in to pick up my food.

 

[leahgoogle]

Like SLO said, with the convenience of online ordering you never know how many orders were placed ahead of you.

We’ve been there, waiting forever watching delivery/take out orders add up while you have nothing. Unless they turn off the feature the wait will continue. It’s frustrating. But I’m guilty of placing online orders that I pick up myself or ordering g through Uber Eats. Watching the delivery time tick up. Driving to pick up my order to only wait an additional 30-60 minutes.

My frustration is the Starbucks drive thru. I mobile order on my way. Love when it says I have a 3-5 minute estimate. Arrive at 5 minutes and no drink waiting. Then sit and watch as car after car moves through the drive thru getting theirs while my mobile order is finally made. What’s bad is when the car who pulled in ahead of me gets their drink before I do! I’d been waiting.

The Starbucks I frequent the most prioritizes indoor customers so I normally order inside at that location. I have been to a Starbucks out of state that did not and I had to wait forever.