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Online Takeout Delivery is Back

Posted by timothy on from the those-halcyon-days dept.

prostoalex writes "It's like watching e-Dreams and re-living the Kozmo.com experience, only this time it's for real, the New York Times says. SeamlessWeb is here (or rather, in New York, Chicago, Washington, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles and southern Connecticut) to take your take-out orders and deliver the food. All is done via their Web site so no need to look for that takeout menu: "SeamlessWeb charges restaurants a commission of 5 percent to 15 percent, while the business pays a 2.5 percent fee for each transaction. The process for consumers will work much the same, except they will be charged no service fee.""

16 of 295 comments (clear)

  1. Meh! by Gilesx · · Score: 2, Informative

    Dominos UK (http://www.dominos.co.uk) has had a web orders facility (and interactive digital TV) for the last four years. Is this really just catching on over the pond?

    I guess the big question is, what point am I missing here?

    --
    Sunday you're Thinking Different, Monday you're a huge tool, paying too much and waiting to think like everyone else.
    1. Re:Meh! by hwprog · · Score: 3, Informative

      What you're missing is that these guys act as a go-between for a large number of takeout restaurants. It effectively gives you up to date access to all takeout menus for all your local restaurants from one central site.

      Frankly it's a brilliant idea.

    2. Re:Meh! by WindBourne · · Score: 3, Informative

      It is NOT free. They simply bury the charge in the price that you pay.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    3. Re:Meh! by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 5, Informative

      It's "free" in the sense that if you actually go to the restaurant you'll pay the same price for the food. The restaurant is willing to eat the delivery charge (no pun intended) in exchange for the opportunity to do business with someone who doesn't feel like dining out, but doesn't feel like cooking, either. The delivery service charge incurred by the restaurant, OTOH, is somewhat offset by the fact that it didn't have to pay any waitstaff. My fiance used to work for our local delivery company (Dine In) and explained the process.

      --
      Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
    4. Re:Meh! by jwjr · · Score: 2, Informative

      No, it's not just catching on. In New York City, for example, thousands of restaurants of all kinds have web sites as well as taking orders for delivery over the phone. That has been the norm for several years now. I doubt there is any other city that offers as much diverse food delivery at all hours as New York. Pizza, barbeque, chinese, mexican, sushi, thai, indian, italian, vegetarian/vegan, turkish, burgers, etc. can be ordered for delivery to your door in many neighborhoods. It's my sense that well over half of all the Manhattan restaurants deliver, too -- probably about 3/4 do. The average place in Manhattan that takes orders will deliver until about 10PM, and plenty deliver until midnight. Only a few (but some!) do 24 hours delivery.

      In the last few years there have been an increasing number of web services that will take orders for lots of different restaurants, since most of them are not chain restaurants -- that's what the article is about. Even those have been around for a few years now. The NY Times is just catching on.

  2. food.com had it too by winkydink · · Score: 4, Informative

    before the Food Network took over (bought?) the domain. Also, Waiters on Wheels. They fill a niche market.

    My experience has been that ordering from a restaraunt that doesn't normally handle takeout will be a hit or miss affair as to whether or not you will be satisfied with what gets delivered.

    --

    "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

  3. "Back"? by smileyy · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've been using http://www.takeouttaxi.com/ for quite a while now.

    --
    pooptruck
  4. And this is news? by Astin · · Score: 4, Informative

    Is this different than Restaurants on the Go here in Toronto? I can order online (or via the phone) from a rather large list of restaurants and have it delivered to my door. Sure, there's a delivery fee, but one might expect that.

    --
    - In hell, treason is the work of angels.
  5. Old Technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Campus Food has had this technology for two years now, since launching. Currently, it serves college campuses all around the nation. I use it in the vacinity of UMASS Amherst, where it serves the 5 college area. It's a great convenience, no service fee!

  6. DrDelivery.com by kevin_conaway · · Score: 2, Informative

    In my area (Arlington, VA), we have DrDelivery.com. You can get all sorts of food and other errands run for you. Its fairly popular.

  7. Portland has Delivered Dish to bring you anything! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    They deliver food from many restaurants around town for a very reasonable fee.

    http://delivereddish.com/

  8. Nope, just New York by That's+Unpossible! · · Score: 4, Informative

    SeamlessWeb is here (or rather, in New York, Chicago, Washington, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles and southern Connecticut)

    I just went to their site and it says New York only. Other cities "coming soon."

    Uhhhh... great article.

    --
    Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
  9. Dominos @ Quikorder by ryen · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've been using Quikorder for my dominos pizza (yes i have a thing for pre-made cheap pizza delivered fast =) for about 5 years now. Even has ICQ message alert, online order history, and good coupon deals.

  10. Re:Too bad. by Sabaki · · Score: 2, Informative

    Did you mean Maine? I live in Portland (Oregon) and besides being able to order stuff besides pizza in the good old days of Kozmo, you can still order food from places like http://delivereddish.com/ in Portland. They've got some great restaurants on their list.

  11. Papa johns. by blanks · · Score: 2, Informative

    Papa johns has been doing this for years. Create an account, put in your different locations (home, office, friends) pick the order you want, delivered in the same amount of time as called in deliveries. Most of the time its even cheaper, they allways have internet specials.

    I would guess that a company that delivers different resturants food to your house would naturally take much longer then if you just picked it up your self, but for the chain companies that are handeling it them selves, papa johns has been doing it right for a whilel.

    --
    TruePunk | Games
  12. Re:Looking forward to this: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    tv networks don't turn the volume up on commercials, and they don't turn the volume down on regular programing.

    commercials use the trick of compressing the amplitude distribtuion of the sounds. the highest peak is never increased but the difference between it and the lowest volume sound is minimized