Little Room for Error With Foodservice Delivery Today

CHICAGO — Americans have high expectations when it comes to delivery, with two-thirds saying they would stop ordering from a company or delivery app after a late delivery, according to a recent survey of 1,066 Americans from Circuit, a company that aims to improve the last-mile experience.

If a delivery is early or on time, however, 73% said they would order more frequently.

Also, when a delivery is late, 51% of those surveyed blamed the delivery company or restaurant the most and not the delivery service or driver.

Bottom line, the study found customers want their food order to be correct, quick and delivered right to their door, Ramsey, U.K.-based Circuit said.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic left many restaurants and retailers scrambling to figure out how to meet much higher demand, companies have had to step up their game to keep consumers happy or else risk losing their business,” Circuit said.

Delivery platforms such as DoorDash and Uber Eats have helped restaurants getting into the delivery game, “but bigger retailers in the product delivery space have struggled to compete with the efficiency of companies like Amazon,” Circuit said.

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In the digital age, quickness is of utmost importance, with demand for speed highest among ready-to-eat meals than any other service: 34% of Americans expect their meal within 30 minutes of ordering (versus 8% when ordering groceries):

Percentage of Americans expecting food delivery within 30 minutes:

• Baby boomers: 42%
• Gen X: 34%
• Millennials: 33%
• Gen Z: 27%

Interestingly, the expectations are the reverse when ordering groceries, with boomers least demanding and Gen Z most demanding:

• Baby boomers: 4%
• Gen X: 7%
• Millennials: 10%
• Gen Z: 12%

Each generation expected hot/ready-to-eat meals to be delivered much faster than groceries or retail products, Circuit said.

“Digital generations, like Gen Z, were more likely than older generations to use technology to track orders and understand timing,” Circuit said, with baby boomers 56% more likely to expect their hot food delivery to arrive within 30 minutes than Gen Z.

Expectations for on-time deliveries led many to experience discontent with companies not delivering on their promise of speed. “Older generations, like baby boomers, were the most emotionally impacted by a late delivery,” Circuit said.

The percentage of Americans by generation experiencing discontent with late food delivery are:

• Baby boomers: 50%
• Gen X: 48%
• Millennials: 41%
• Gen Z: 29%

“Discontent over a late delivery was higher for ready-to-eat foods than it was for products among every generation we surveyed, except millennials,” Circuit said, adding that impatience for tardiness regarding ready-to-eat food comes with some scientific explanation. “Scientists have linked physiological responses caused by hunger to negative emotions, which could be easily triggered by a delayed food delivery and might help explain this heightened expectation compared to other products.”

More than 80% of Americans have extra patience with delivery speed for smaller businesses, Circuit said.

Top delivery apps associated with timely delivery:

• Uber Eats: 83%
• DoorDash; 83%
• Grubhub: 81%
• Instacart: 57%
•  Postmates: 55%

“Americans associated Uber Eats and DoorDash the most with timely delivery equally,” Circuit said. “The two apps experienced the most growth in the food-delivery market since the pandemic.”

Postmates, less associated with on-time deliveries, was purchased by Uber in 2020. “With access to Uber’s reliable delivery model, they might be a company to watch in the future as this industry continues to grow and become more efficient to meet rising demand,” Circuit said.

Ninety percent of Americans have received the wrong order from a restaurant or grocery store, Circuit said.

Here are the most common actions after getting the wrong order:

• Request a refund: 52%
• Reorder from the same place: 47%
• Reorder from a different place: 40%
• File a complaint with the delivery service: 39%
• File a complaint with the restaurant: 39%
• Send the order back: 34%
• Eat the food anyway: 24%
• File a complaint with the driver: 22%

On a related note:

• 54% of Americans have suspected their food delivery driver of eating their food or drinking their drink prior to delivery
• 85% believe it’s the driver’s job to bring the order to the door to get a full tip
• 59% report having confronted a food delivery driver

Most companies have preset options in their help menus to guide users on what to do after receiving an incorrect order, Circuit said. Typical options include a refund or a reattempt at delivery.

“Issues like this can confuse consumers, which may explain why 24% of customers who received the wrong food went ahead and ate it anyway,” Circuit said.

The company added that some customers had such high expectations that they would cease using a company simply over a delay in getting an order. “With these increasing consumer demands for the immediacy of delivery, the efficiency of delivery is far more important,” Circuit said.