Ordering Food Online

This question will show how ancient I am… :older_man:

Do restaurants us web apps (or mobile apps) that allow customers to place takeout orders, pay online, track order delivery, etc?

There are LOADS… Depends on country, but basically. Yes.

Domino’s Pizza’s definitely do. I’ve got an account back in the UK where I can not only order and get stuff delivered, I can even cobble together my own variety of pizza and save that for future orders. I’ve also been in a restaurant in Hong Kong that puts an iPad on every table for customers to browse the available range of food and wine, then order from that.

Do you think there is a demand for such a web/mobile app for those who don’t have one?

If I want to get into RWD, I was thinking making such a web app would be very attractive for local restaurants.

Thoughts?

RWD and apps are two different things, so I’m not really following your thinking here.

I said “web app”, not “mobile app”.

Actiually, you said both, but I’m still not enlightened.

What exactly are you proposing? Approaching local restaurants and offering to build them a responsive site with built-in ordering facility?

Right.

I would think it could really help a small restaurant if people could order from home using a responsive website or a mobile app.

It seems so obvious to me, and yet I see no one do it except for big chains like Dominos.

That is why I sheepishly asked if anyone does it - and implied that I thought it would be a good way to make money.

@mikey_w

Regardless of opinions posted I think it would be far better to email local restaurants and ask if they would be willing to pay for a service.

I mean I order papa johns on my phone on my walk to my car. I guess I’d do it for other stores. Depends on how easy it is to use.

When is the last time you did that for your favorite ma&pa Chinese take-out place, though?

(My guess is you would if they had a responsive website or a mobile app…)

You’re back to talking about mobile apps again. It might be easier for folk to give opinions if you were a bit clearer (or at least a bit more consistent) in what you’re asking.

Never. They don’t offer it. I would if they offered it though. No difference between ma/pa and papa johns, in terms of my need for their food.

Sorry, lack of food makes my brain crazy. :frowning:

Let’s stick with Responsive Websites since that is the only skill I could pick up in a short time.

Good. That was my exact thinking too. :wink:

I look forward to the day when some form of IoT implant can sense the particular nutrients I am lacking at any point in time, consult the range of available food outlets within delivery range of my location, order the exact quantity required to keep me healthy (having sized up my level of activity for the day, evaluating that against my current metabolic rate and prevailing health conditions), and then deliver it to me at the optimal temperature, just at the moment when I ask “What’s for lunch?”

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That’s inoptimal. That’s an unnecessary step the user has to take. Asking for food? What about it sensing when you should be eating? When you’re hungry? When your lunch break is?

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One thought to consider is, how will things work on the receiving end? It may be nice and convenient for folk to order online, but that only holds true if the order is received and fulfilled promptly. So does somebody need to monitor the incoming e-mail at all times? And then write or print out the order to pass to the chef? A small business probably doesn’t have enough staff to do that. There may be other ways, but it’s something you need to consider.

We visit a fairly small but very busy family-run restaurant any time we’re in Glasgow. They have a high number of staff on duty, because they are so busy, and any one of them can answer the phone to take bookings or orders, but I can’t envisage any way they could monitor incoming mail message in real time. (Even making a table booking via their site can take over 24 hours to receive a confirmation.)

In the UK there is a site called http://www.just-eat.co.uk/ It is a national organisation, but deals with small independent takeaway outlets on a local level. Is that the sort of thing you want to do? Rather than selling the idea to just one restaurant/takeaway, involve a number across the region, or maybe even the nation.

You mean international… Just Eat exists in Spain too :wink: