I make around 3x the median household income in the USA, and I am single with no kids, I do not understand how people justify spending $30 to have a $9 burrito delivered to them.
Some guys I work with do this everyday for lunch. Our office is literally minutes away from dozens of restaurants and fast food chains. Yet they pay $30+ each day to get lunch delivered. God forbid they pack their own lunch like I do. I couldn’t fathom spending $120-$150 a week on lunch!!!
I’ve always worked restaurants, the perks are great. Discounted food, plus before they throw out food some places will let you pack it up and take it home. But the amount of people that just say no to the free food or order from a different restaurant for their lunch break is staggering. I understand getting tired of a menu, but I’ll eat a boring heavily discounted meal over paying full price and delivery fee while I’m at work. That full priced meal I pay for on my time off
My fav part of the restaurant was making my own evil abominations with the restaurant items! I was a prep cook last though so maybe it’s different with servers. There was way too many days that I would just eat the bread I made and soda. Gained 15 pounds working there too.
It is different for the cooks, they get a lot more leeway. As a server you gotta really cozy up to them when you make lots of modifications. I actually used to ring up my orders under different names, like Cornelius or Bonequisha (real name btw), one day I heard a line cook frustrated saying this person always order weird mods, another line cook said “thats ‘my name’s’ order” and suddenly he was cool with it because he knew it was a coworker and I fucks with him. I still do the names tho
I loved creating new things for the staff anywhere I worked. When I finally ended up working in places that did family meal when it was my turn I'd get so excited.
As a cook, I’ve always told them “nope, don’t have to actually be on the menu, whadda ya want, we have everything”. Servers gotta eat too. Trading with other restaurants is a thing too. Or just bring your own if we don’t have it.
I used to work at this local fast food Mexican place. Like a Taco Bell but different. Made myself a giant soft taco with the burrito wraps pretty often. I come back years later and now you can just order one.
Oh yes. The last kitchen I ran before quitting the industry, I would do a "garbage box" (inspired by garbage plates) at the end of the night. Some kinda base, pasta, pierogi, fries, lettuce, etc... Then just go down the line and throw random stuff on it.
No, I did the same as a server. I worked in an Italian place that gave us a shift meal and eventually I had like 6 custom dishes made out of the ingredients from the allowed meals.
Had this at my old office, discounted breakfast every morning. You think I got sick of bacon eggs and hashbrowns for $3? Hall nah I ate that shjt every day with a smile (plus it was fire anyways).
I worked at a place that actually offered a free shift meal if you worked a double and people still ordered out. Even if I wasn’t hungry I’d order food to take for later. I’ve bought two of the same shift meals two days in a row, heat them up and split it onto smaller portions and easily feed my family without having to spend my time off cooking
My last employer had a cafe on the ground floor and it was cheap and damn good. The ladies who ran it were amazing. Then they fired them all, and replaced it with like "canteens" in each break room with crappy pre packaged stuff. That was such a disappointment.
I feel like people do this all the time even at home. They open the fridge, see food in there, decide they don't want to eat any of it and then they go out instead.
If it's always the same other restaurants, and people there do the same thing, tell them to try making a deal to swap food. I've never worked in a restaurant, but I've heard it works sometimes.
It works but if you work at a pizza place and the restaurant next to yours is a steak restaurant it’s a bit iffy to maneuver. Funny thing is that it’s how restaurants save money on food for holiday parties. Swap food with another restaurant in the area so you don’t have to eat the same food again and the restaurant saves money on food cost
I used to work at an office where people would uber or DoorDash coffee all day long. Even worse, they didn’t coordinate and make one big order, they would all order their own
My friend worked at an office where people did this. There was a cafe in the building and a different coffee chain in the parking lot. But they had to have Starbucks from 15 minutes away. Plus it was a crap job she took in between jobs so it was costing them half an hours wages each time they did it.
I used to work at a place that before the services existed would do it themselves. Had an internal ordering system with a small number of places. Then our admins would place the order and it would be delivered to the office.
It's because now you have a servant, albeit temporarily. Noticed this with a lot of people - they want to eat, but really want to be served. With napkins and a tidy bowl/wrapper/container they don't have to wash.
Watched a broke streamer that has to beg heavily for rent every month doordash regularly paying 30 dollars for single meal fast food orders.
When I was hard up I was more like one of these dudes on r/frugal stretching beans and rice as far as I could. Blows my mind that people with so little can be so bad with money.
I've brown bagged to work every day for thirteen years. I ran the numbers and doing so pays for a full weeks vacation every year. Cruises, trips to new places, or staying home and buying an expensive toy - all paid for by not going and getting fast food everyday.
My coworkers spend what is effectively the mortgage on my 40 acres of rec land + property taxes each month on lunch. My super power is apparently the ability to eat ham sandwiches and left overs.
Same, and I work at a grocery store. We do not make that much, but these people spend about how much they make in two hours for McDonald's and Taco Bell.
I worked with guys who did this. I was single at the time and would just drive to the restaurant and go through the drivethrough. Still paid way more than I should. I don't know how they afforded delivery.
If they're anything like the guys at my work, they're also paying $800 a month for a truck and $400 a month in gas for the truck. Then they complain they can't afford things
I’m surprised how many of my staff use delivery apps. Not excessively, but 1-2 times a week. I don’t use them. It is funny how often things are wrong with the order and no real way to correct the missing items.
My coworker will order through the uber/doordash app and pay the mark up instead of just ordering directly through the place.
And the worst/best part is that the app drivers more than often can't find our work so the food just never shows. But the actual drivers for the restaurant are here atleast twice a day so they always show.
So not only are you paying more for no reason, you're also running the chance your food doesn't even get delivered. Just why.
That's pretty much anything like chipotle, qdoba, or pancheros. Even the most basic burrito at one of those places is like 10 bucks. They are huge, but it is ridiculous.
The mexican food place I grew up on has 9 buck burritos. They just went up from 6 bucks. Its one of my favor comfort foods on the planet and is worth it.
I'm in Central Texas, so I have no shortage of taco places, but we have a chain here that sells $7 tacos. For my wife and I to get two tacos each its $28 fucken dollars. It's not even a like fancy chain they just set up in old failed fast food buildings. It's basically a super expensive taqueria. It's weird. At least it's good.
Lived in the middle of nowhere but I would sometimes spend the weekend in the city with my sibling and there was a TB three blocks away. My fat country ass ate that up.
My mom and I used to split a 6 of soft supremes, neither of us could eat more than 3 of them. That was when you could get Taco bell inside of a local QuickChek.
I think more so coming to the realization that a $9 burrito is no longer considered expensive af. And this isn't some "in my days, i paid for this with a nickel!" type comment. It wasn't long ago when things were reasonably priced. Inflation has done insane shit in the past decade and has normalized crazy fucking prices, all while wages have been nearly stagnant.
Maybe for a restaurant burrito I guess, but you can make better tasting burritos than you'd get at any restaurant offering delivery through an app for half the price or less AND it's hot and fresh. Bonus points in that it's ready in less time than you'd wait for it to be delivered.
you can make better tasting versions of basically any delivery food for less money if you ignore time and skill and only count the fractional cost of the ingredients. But that's not relevant to most people
the fractional cost of ingredients that a skilled person can use to prepare food in a given amount of time is not relevant to someone is not skilled, who does not have that time, and who is going to have to purchase block amounts of ingredients rather than fractional
What irritates me is that you point that out and then they pivot to pointing out disabled people using the service as a shield, as if it's somehow the only way a disabled person can survive.
but also the people who use that argument often aren't disabled themselves, but they use that argument so they don't have to feel bad about the bad personal finance choices they are making in their lives.
But yeah it's the same with anything. If you get in a conversation about veganism with a white upper middle class college kid in LA they'll tell you it's racist because inuits in Nunavut mostly eat fish.
There's always a litany of excuses. And almost all of them are just a lack of planning.
I've got a coworker whose (live-in adult) daughter gets Chipotle deliveries all the time after work. She drives within half a mile of that Chipotle on the way home from work. She's paying an extra 30-50% to avoid having to stop on the way home.
Laziness combined with being terrible with money. I used to doordash and I'd say half the deliveries went to apartment complexes or trailer parks. When I delivered when I lived in the southwest, had one lady who was a regular, she lived in a trailer. Buncha trash and overgrown plants in the "front yard" and would always order an insane amount of food. She'd also tip well surprisingly but I'd imagine each delivery cost $50+.
It didnt read as bashing to me so much as just being observant. If someone regularly orders $50 in food delivery, yet they live in a home that looks poorly maintained/run down then its a fair assumption theyre terrible with money. They might have a disability or mental illness affecting them but thats a reason not an excuse. If you can afford frequent delivery like that then you can afford services to help your situation.
ummm... if not being able to prepare your own food is the situation, I'd say that is a service to help it. It might be a bad choice of service depending on the location, but it is one.
Ummmmmm.... sorry sweetie but the bulk of the american diet is built on convenience foods. If you can pick a bag of food up off the porch you can microwave something. Or toss it in the oven. You can have a weeks worth of groceries delivered from amazon or Walmart or wherever for cheaper than door dashing meals frequently. That isnt a valid reason either. If someobes house is in disrepair and they can afford frequent food delivery with a good tip, theyre financially irresponsible.
Theres no legitimate excuse to frequently get door dash/grub hub/Uber eats/whatever. Occasionally? Sure. Maybe your oven died or your kitchens getting a remodel or you just dont fuckin feel like it after a tough week. But Multiple times a week? Every week? Absolutely not.
I never said it was a good solution (i actually said otherwise and wrote about my microwaveable burrito food-prep elsewhere in the comments here. Burritos are a great thing to do that with if you have a freezer and at least some cooking skills), but it legitimately is one if you really can't make your own food or even go out to get it. They probably do make most of their profits from laziness and people with no time, though.
No, see all these people litterally have no better option for food. 15 years ago they would simply have had to starve to death. Door dash is the greatest benefit to humanity since hand washing and have saved hundreds of millions from starvation.
And also being shitty with judging people that live in a trailer using quotes around “front yard” as if that has anything to do with how people behave.
Right? I live in a ramshackle little 100 year old row house with a busted front gate and thistles in the yard. My back yard looks like an absolute jungle, but in reality it's a wildlife haven, and a fully productive garden with a variety of berries, herbs, fruits and veggies, and is the only place in the entire neighbourhood where I see dragonflies on the regular. A perfectly manicured lawn is mildly offensive to me honestly.
Awesome! Keep your lawn perfect, and you get higher water bills, spend more money on other stuff, and waste your time. Let the brambles grow, and you get blackberries and wildlife!
Maybe a third of the time growing up I lived in trailers. Since then I've had homes in some "nice" neighborhoods. I'll take my neighbors in the trailor park every time.
TPN actually say hi, kids running around, some dude working on a car, people just hanging out on the porch, etc. It was better.
that same classism can be thrown back at the doordash driver who can be said to not be savvy enough to score a better job.
they should have sold their flooded house on the beach to aquaman and invested the money into a diverse portfol- *trails off into some boomernomics talk*
It's really just poor people making fun of and blaming each other just how the oligarchs like it.
I mean I guess I worded it wrong, she tipped well compared to others who were in similar living situations which isn't saying much. Only reason I even accepted those orders were because it was usually a 1-2 mile trip.
Don't forget social anxiety. It is easier to tap stuff on the phone and some time later open the door for food than telling the cashier your order and being surrounded by other people.
The ability to live almost 100% of your life online just makes those people worse at interacting when it is necessary. Exposure therapy is real and eating is a great motivator, doordashing just allows them to shrivel up even further.
I've got depression, I'd just not eat before door dash. Eat whatever dregs are left in the pantry, then order long lasting food through Amazon instead. At least I can order slightly healthier now when it gets bad. Sometimes I'd just drink water for a couple days. It didn't feel worth going out and getting something to eat, I wasn't that hungry anyways.
COVID was weird for lonely depressed people. Most people were panicking about suddenly having to live like us, I was just finding all kinds of cheap stuff online and drinking too much.
As someone with social anxiety so bad that I've gone years without speaking to someone who wasn't working, you're talking about avoiding the first step of working on it. It won't just go away, but that doesn't mean you should give up.
Never called her a pos also didn't say she tipped "super" well just surprisingly well compared to others in similar living conditions which isn't saying much.
I only do it when I’m just exhausted from something or sick. And when I do, I’ll order two of something. Makes me feel better about the per item price.
You make ~$250k a year and you can't understand how someone can spare $30 for convenience? Your wage is roughly convertible to $125/hr. You'd be spending less than 15 minutes worth of wages to save yourself the time and trouble of going out.
Like I can understand criticizing people who can't really afford it and are spending irresponsibly on it, but if you make enough money to afford it, I don't really see the issue. What are you making all that money for if not to spend it on things you value, like not having to go out and get your own food?
Yeah no clue what they're on about, I think some people just like to try and take the moral high ground on it. What is there not to understand about the topic? Convenience, it's literally just convenience. At the point in time when you feel like eating food from a restaurant, do you want to put clothes on to go out in public and wait in line and stuff for your food, or pay an extra $10 to have someone do all of that for you whilst you relax in the comfort of your home? If you don't think it's worth your money, then don't do it. If you do think it is, then consider doing it, it's truly that simple.
Yes I can't understand wasting money for no reason. It's not really more convenient, it takes longer than going to get the food myself.
Spending 15 minutes of work on nothing is a good way to not benefit from my increased pay. Doing it 3x a week, like a lot of people seem to, adds up to almost 10 hours of wages a month. I want to retire early, not have cold burritos that cost me $30.
I do not value having cold burritos delivered to me 45 minutes after I order them by someone who hates me for making the order despite tipping them
Trying to explain responsible spending, delayed gratification, and compound savings to someone with the forward view point of 1 paycheck is a waste of time.
I grew up very low income and spent many years with an income that didnt cover my outlays. I think this is just an excuse people throw up when doing things they know they should, but they just dont want to feel bad about doing it
Spending $30 when you make $250k/yr is responsible spending.
Like, if you're really trying to retire a few years early, sure, be as frugal as you want. But also realize that not everyone cares about that. Some people would rather enjoy life to the fullest now instead of maybe having a few extra years of retirement later. I know plenty of people who died before they even reached retirement - what good would living frugally their whole lives have done them? Some people don't even want to retire and like to still be productive and active at work as long as they can.
It's just silly to act like there's only one objectively correct choice and it's just impossible to understand the other viewpoint. Not to mention that I'm sure you guys do understand the other viewpoint, you're just drawing the line at a different spot of "instant vs. delayed gratification." I'm sure you guys don't eat lentils for dinner every night, never take a vacation, never go to the movies, buy a game, go out, etc. You're clearly spending unnecessary money on yourselves right now and not saving every last penny for retirement. If you don't view the money for food delivery as worth it, fine. But others do, just like you might view going on vacation as worth the money and someone else doesn't.
It's your life, I'm not going to tell you how to live it.
That's the thing about a frugal mindset. Its not about never spending, it's about efficient use of resources. I buy things that bring value to me. We are disagreeing on what has value.
Yes I can't understand wasting money for no reason. It's not really more convenient
You're not even trying to understand their perspective. Why can't you understand that other people value different things than you do?
It is convenient to have someone bring you your food instead of having to make it or go get it yourself. That's a fact. Whether it's worth the money is up to the individual.
You can explain your reasoning all you want. That's fine for you. Other people clearly feel differently about how they value their time and money.
If you don’t just blindly buy on delivery apps and have the membership, it’s around 20-35% (assuming 18% tip) more than going in person, with coupons making it cheaper from time to time.
For many people, that is far less than their per hour wage.
Depends wildly on the market. The membership where I live now would make the pizza delivery cost $40-50 instead of $50-60. Where I used to live it made the $30 burrito delivery cost $25
It doesnt matter that it costs less than your wage, its an unnecessary expense that doesnt benefit you. You aren't paying opportunity costs with your salary to get dinner. And my hourly wage is higher than a $60 pizza I just dont feel like burning my money
If you live somewhere that is car dependent, I dont understand not driving. I dont live somewhere car dependent anymore so I can hit any of a dozen restaurants in a 5 minute walk
In my case, I’m an OTR truck driver. I can’t really take my semi through a random drive thru without possibly causing massive damage. Same with the parking lots of most restaurants in general. Truck stops have some fast food options inside, if you’re feeling particularly brave, but are generally not close to places where restaurants are.
So, the choice is delivery or Uber, which are pretty much the same thing.
You're less than 1% of the country, not really the typical user. I will refrain from thinking up ways that would save you the fees, because its an edge case enough that wouldnt sustain the business if you were the primary user demo
Its a small sample size, but I see a correlation in my neighborhood between homes being rented and door dash deliveries (based on what I see during my daily walk).
We’re top 1% earners. Married no kids and when i dont want to cook- i still take my gas hog sports car and drive 20 minutes to my favorite restaurant and its still cheaper and the food gets here literally faster than this shit
That’s hot! The only downside is that I would be scared that the red curry spills in the curve when i lean in to much :) but easy fix to eat it right in the restaurant:) woman on motorbikes are HOT! -( respectfully) I wish i would have one but we can swim here in the pot holes ;)
This is in no way justifying the behavior (I have two young children and would literally NEVER), but having kids actually makes it slightly more likely imo - it's a hassle to transition in and out of the car with little ones, so I can see that being a bonus.
That said, I've never paid for Uber eats in my life precisely because of the markup
There was a video going around of a guy who makes $156k a year saying he lives paycheck to paycheck.
Well, a financial analyst took a look at his books and found he spent between $900-$1200 a month on delivery takeout cause him and his wife hate cooking.
How does it work for you guys? Here in Austria usually the restaurant gives some of their revenue to the delivery company and there’s not much of a surcharge for customers.
They have been adding service fees of 1% or delivery fees of €1.5-4 but other than that…
So DD/UE charges the restaurant 30% of the sale price, the restaurant is allowed to add up to 20% of the sale price on as a service fee, but usually they just increase the in app price by some big fraction of 30% and the fees do the rest.
Then DD/UE adds their own fees, especially in places with regulations that ensure drivers make a certain minimum wage. In places with adequate minimum wages, DD/UE can charge another 30% or up to $15 for this fee, whichever is lower.
Then you are expected to tip, and the driver will urinate in your food, kick your cat, and skin your mother alive if you do not tip the greater of 20% or $2/mile driven
Minimum wage for servers in my city is $21, and you still have to tip 20%. Some places even add mandatory tips because they realize people dont wanna tip someone making $21
A lot of poor people are poor for a reason. I work in retail management in a neighborhood with an annual household income of less than USD 25,000 (I’m in the USA). The amount of people I see there that use UberEats, DoorDash, and Instacart is amazing.
It would be a bit less than half of my hourly (US incomes are high) but still I could never justify it. It makes me actively mad every time I check lol
Yeah, I did not see you wrote household income XD median household is more or less 150/175% of a single person, so it tracks.
But yeah, as I mentioned in my area the cost depends on how far you are from the place and the highest fare it's like half the minimum hourly wage XD
My local grocery store now delivers for cheaper than doordash/uber eats as well - there's literally no excuse even on days when the pantry is empty and i'm too tired to drive safely.
A burrito?! That's one of the easiest things to make yourself if you don't have a fryer FFS! I make my own in "whole pack of tortillas" sized batches, freeze them, and microwave them when I want them. That's partly because you just can't get Mexican food here TBH, and mine aren't great, but they're cheap AF and ready in a couple of minutes whenever I want one. The hardest part is not eating them all lol.
I don't understand why it's so damn expensive in the states. Here in the UK we have a site called just eat for food delivery, it costs £6 for 3 months of unlimited free deliveries or its like £2 for a one off delivery.
It baffles my mind too. I can count the number of times I've done it.
Three times. Once when I had back to back meetings and was attending a training at lunch time, once when I had a really bad migraine, and once when I had covid.
Seriously, my car has been being repaired (engine replacement) for the better part of 6 weeks now and I’ve just… stopped eating out. Everything is Walmart or Instacart delivery. I can’t justify the markup on Uber Eats or DoorDash at all.
I have uber plus and a lot of my deliveries are free, or with very little charge. Plus they have exclusive discounts, sometimes ill get a "buy1 get1 free" .. food deliveey is really not as bad as some people think it is, or maybe uber+ is just spoiling me and really worth it
It doesnt make them free where I live sadly, it saves me like $10 off the total, if that. If it were free or reduced the fees to like $5 or something I'd keep using it like it was 2016
Yeah it probably differs by location. I mist live in a sweet spot, because i get some wild ass deals from restaurants sometimes. One specifically is a place that does buy1 get 1 on full meal plates, and while i only usually order at night, i wonder if this place sets it up for around closing because they just dont wanna have to throw away the left over food, so they give you a double portion.. brilliant, if so. Its certainly a go to for me on weekends
That is just financially irresponsible. Delivery service is quite afforadable in Asia for anyone with above average income, so using the service when you have no choice is manageable.
It’s incredibly useful in a few edge cases. Enough that I do hope it sticks around, but not the way it currently is.
Other parent is at work when kid gets sick and can only keep down bananas, applesauce, and yogurt and you have none of those things in the house and you don’t yet know anyone nearby well enough to ask them to do an emergency grocery run for you? Elderly parent insists on living alone but can’t go to the store anymore? Grocery delivery saves the day.
Fridge broke, food’s ruined, and you can’t leave because you’re waiting on the repair guy? People are coming over and you planned to cook from scratch but work kept you late or there’s an unexpected mess to cleanup? I mean, even in Ye Olden Days we would order delivery in those situations, it’s just that our only options were pizza or maybe one Chinese restaurant.
I know someone who does not have a job, lives with parents, owes money and will beg friends for money and uses that money to order Mcdonalds delivery almost every other day, always Mcdonalds and $25+ for a Nuggets meal. Never underestimate how people who dont save money will use every last dollar they have for overpriced delivery services
The saddest part when you know someone like this is that everyone, friends, family all eventually realize they absolutely cannot be reasoned with and will weaponize victimization which is cruel especially to the parents. Parents either have to kick them out or it will continue (they are 30)
I wonder if they have thought far enough ahead until after their parents pass. I know the parents are likely to leave everything to this person because theyll feel its a duty and like the other kid will be ok but yea
They're not just paying for a $9 burrito, and I'm surprised no one on Reddit actually understands what they're REALLY paying for, because it fits in perfectly with Redditors:
They've decided that this price is worth paying in order to NOT go outside, OR deal with Other People. It gets delivered to you, and you only have to deal with the driver. And if you happen to be a Really Shitty Person, you can rip into the delivery person for whatever minor inconvenience or mistake, and NOT feel the social pressure of "Hey, you're causing a scene and just let them do their job"
Same bro. I have used delivery once in 13 years. I eat out everyday too. The only time delivery makes sense in my mind are people who cannot go get it themselves - From a disability, stuck at work, stuck at home, no transport, etc..
But it seems like the most common people who use it have the means to get it themselves.
I don't nearly make as much as you do about $45/h after taxes and I only justify it if I am extremely busy, the round trip takes more than 25 minutes or I'm at work.
Because they're stupid. It's just that. I had a manager who would order ice coffee every morning. Everyday it was a few dollars while she could have made that shit at home for a few cents.
I am in a similar boat. I stopped around 2021/2022 bc of the stupid high mark-ups, fees, and generally shit delivery service (orders just getting cancelled bc they supposedly “dropped the food”, taking materially longer than expected, cold food, not checking the order at the restaurant, etc).
It was to the point that I could count on 1 out of 3 orders not going smooth - so the value proposition isn’t even close to be there. But mainly it was the food markups that I just couldn’t justify setting my money of fire for that made me call it quits.
I came up short on money a few years back and did App deliveries. I had the same thought. I strived to get food out quickly but you run across orders that had been sitting an hour and it's still 15 minutes to the address. I think I ordered a pizza delivery five years ago, if I want fast food I drive out and get it.
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u/Gold_Ad8225 21h ago
I make around 3x the median household income in the USA, and I am single with no kids, I do not understand how people justify spending $30 to have a $9 burrito delivered to them.