UberEats is a food-ordering app from Uber, the same company behind the popular ride hailing service. It is designed to leverage on the company’s vast network of drivers scattered across different locations to make meal ordering and delivery faster and more efficient.
UberEats is similar to food delivery services like OFood.
About UberEats
Prior to the launch of the standalone UberEats app, the service had been available inside the regular ride-sharing app for about a year and half. Uber was reportedly evaluating the use of the in-app service with a view to offering a standalone version. The app lets you order a meal and get it delivered in a matter of minutes.
Uber had also conducted some interviews before coming up with the UberEats app. It was able to find out from respondents that one of the major challenges when ordering food is to determine what to eat – there are thousands of options to choose from.
The main consequence of this was that it became a bit hard in simplifying the food-ordering app’s interface as that of the Uber ride-sharing app.
The approach to dealing with this challenge was to offer an ‘Instant Delivery’ service which limits the number of menu items available to just five. These are expected to be delivered in just 10 minutes or under.
However, alongside Instant Delivery, UberEats also offer a regular delivery option which gives greater freedom on what food to order. A ‘Popular Items’ tab lets you view the top ten menu items offered by a restaurant.
How does UberEats work?
You simply fire up the UberEats app as you would other apps on your device. Go through the available menu items if you are opting for instant delivery or browse through wider menu options from more restaurants for regular delivery.
When you are done selecting, the UberEats app shows you the total cost of everything and payment is made. You may be able to enjoy a discount if you have a promotional code to use at checkout.
Regular Uber drivers will be responsible for delivering your order to you. But since these people may be carrying passengers at the same time, there is risk of orders arriving late.
Uber’s algorithms are said to have this covered by making sure drivers arrive on time. Drivers in the vicinity of your chosen restaurant are notified of the delivery to be made. They have the option of accepting or declining the task. UberEats offers these drivers additional source of income.
UberEats is available in a couple of cities in the United States, Canada, and France.
