GrubHub’s “$15 Off Lunch” Promo Causes Chaos Because The Company Didn’t Notify The Restaurants
Sounds like a nightmare scenario? That's only because it is.
The pandemic has changed the way we work, live, and eat. Some companies have truly prospered during this period.
Did they achieve that by being the best in their fields and being thoughtful to their customers and employees? Nope.
They based their growth simply on the fact that the demand was huge, and they were there to offer the service or product. Talk about being at the right place at the right time...
We've learned how inadequate all of our convenience applications (think Uber, Lyft, Postmates...) are throughout the course of the pandemic. From the applications' insufficient security to the hazards drivers and passengers face, it should come as no surprise to hear another horror story in a sea of horror stories.
And here we are! A completely new one! @WellsLucasSanto shared on Twitter today that “GrubHub offered $15 off orders from 11 am to 2 pm in NYC, which got thousands of customers to order free meals within that time window.”
But the problem with this? “They didn’t tell restaurants & delivery workers they were doing this.”
Sounds like a nightmare scenario? That's only because it is.
Hundreds of small, family-owned businesses were left to manage hundreds of unexpected orders.
@WellsLucasSanto shared on Twitter:
@WellsLucasSantoBig companies don't really care about small businesses.
@WellsLucasSantoWells then shared a photo of a restaurant, demonstrating how hectic the promo was for companies.
@WellsLucasSanto
Do you believe the complimentary meal comes from GrubHub? Wells says no.
“On top of that, all these orders need to be delivered. There’s just no way for this quantity of orders to all be delivered, so what happens?Restaurants make a ton of food that doesn’t get picked up, resulting in tons of food and labor waste,” Wells says, citing a tweet that has since been made private.
Who gets blamed:
@WellsLucasSanto
The tweet thread continues by discussing how we're starting to see news about tech failures but not the genuine, human cost of these deals.
@WellsLucasSanto
If you've never worked in a restaurant, you'll appreciate how difficult this promotion made the day for the employees.
@WellsLucasSanto
And, more importantly…
@WellsLucasSanto
Most of the orders came at the same time:
@WellsLucasSanto
Wells points out that this affects more than simply online orders.
@WellsLucasSanto
It's all disheartening at the end of the day.
@WellsLucasSanto
So this wasn't a technical glitch. This was a terrible mistake.
@WellsLucasSanto
One restaurant received 200 orders in five minutes.
@WellsLucasSanto
However, as one restaurant owner pointed out in the comments:
ceovibes
Terrible judgment indeed:
Sheldon Chang
A delivery person added:
@MrJoneV
It is obvious that tech companies don’t really care about “physical” businesses. Somehow it seems that IT professionals have the idea that 200 meals can be prepared instantly by hitting a key on a keyboard.
And it doesn’t work that way. Marketing and IT “experts” from tech companies should really spend time getting to know the businesses they are serving.
