Given food inflation, door dash and similar stopped being worth the cost after the first year of the pandemic.
Obviously mileage may vary, but that was the case for us (my family).
I still use it for ordering food to pick up, that’s usually quicker than ordering at the place or even using a drive-thru. Never worth having stuff delivered unless I’m sick or something.
I’ve used DoorDash to order pickup, convenient because they already have my credit card. But I’ve also found that at many restaurants, the DoorDash prices are higher than if you use the restaurant’s preferred mode. I don’t mean fees, I meant a shawarma wrap being listed as $11 on DoorDash and $10 or even $9 at the restaurant.
No, it’s even for pickup if you do it through the Doordash app. They just flat out show you a menu with higher prices.
Then charge you extra for delivery, if you’re getting delivery. (And then you also need to tip the driver.)
That DoorDash doesn’t present as fees. And contractually forbids their partner restaurants from spelling out as fees.
Same as if you buy a subscription via App Store or Play Store in-app purchases, and it’s somehow 25-30% pricier than on that company’s website, but the app doesn’t tell you “hey it’s 25-30% pricier here than on our website” because their contract with Apple or Google forbids that.
I’ve actually found (for where I am in Canada) that UberEats/DoorDash/Instacart have so many deals between the three apps, that I take advantage of all the 50%-60% off grocery deals, since it’s usually like “get 50% off an order of $40 or more”. it’s generally $30 to get free shipping and groceries for the week are more than $40 so I’ll take the half off where I can get it. Also with some other services you can qualify for free annual memberships to the delivery services, so you’re not paying their service fee or membership cost, either. And tipping someone for doing all the work for me, as a disabled person who can’t always get out to do it myself, it’s very much worth it.
I only ever use it for Jersey Mike’s (because I use their app and get points) and WingStop (because there’s only one for my whole city and it’s on the wrong side of the river from me.)
When I get a little short on cash, I deliver for DoorDash here and there. I cannot begin to tell you the number of times I have made deliveries of one large soda or iced tea. It’s shockingly common, and thoroughly confusing.
This was about 10 years ago and for Postmates but I once got an order for a single box of kraft mac n cheez from Walgreens, and in my head, I was shaming the person the whole drive but then when I got there it was a girl in college with a horrendous flu and I felt like an ass.
And I’m sure the people ordering one or two things for delivery probably shouldn’t be frivolously spending that money, but it’s “only” a dollar or two each time so they don’t notice as it adds up.
It’s not even really convenient in this scenario you save more time and money just going to a vending machine or even a convience store. Walky should have had the foresight to get chips beforehand.
Money certainly, but not time. I mean, you don’t get the food sooner, but here Walky gets to spend the hanging out with Amber playing video games rather than walking to the convenience store.
That depends on how you define the “cost” of convenience, if you mean purely monetarily, sure, the nearest convenience store to Reed hall is a 5 minute walk, and assuming this Zoomr-Dash service functions like Uber Eats or Instacart, acting as a middle man with mark up, delivery charge, AND tip, I agree that’s a pretty significant difference in cost to save a 5 minute walk.
On the other hand if it works like goPuff, the delivery fee was less than $2 here in Bloomington, last I checked, and while the driver might think you’re a jerk for tipping poorly, we don’t have the right to refuse orders due to poor tips, in fact we don’t even find out whether there is a tip at all until after the delivery is completed. I takes roughly 15 minutes most of the time between receiving an order for Reed Hall and arriving at Reed Hall, so the time is comparable (2-ish minutes from the room to the door, 5 minutes to the store, 2-ish minutes to acquire and purchase chips, 5 minutes back to reed, 2-ish minutes up to the room) but none of it is spent walking. At most they’d be asked to come to the entrance to retrieve their order since drivers aren’t allowed to be wandering in dorms. There is a minimum amount of money before we’ll accept an order, IIRC like $15-20 but admittedly it has been awhile, but get two bags to make sharing easier and throw in a couple drinks and it works out
The price of convenience isn’t just money, and it’s also not just time and money, you also have to factor in effort expenditure and opportunity cost, the time they would be walking to the convenience store they could instead be playing video games, and also not walking. For some people that pretty significantly offsets the extra monetary expenditure.
I’ve never understood using DoorDash for fast food. Is the convenience really worth spending twice as much to get a bag of cold McDonald’s left on your front stoop? You could’ve bought real food for that price.
These type of services are bleeding people dry, one dollar at a time.
if ur rich enough than money is less valuable than time. tho yeah this particular example does seem wasteful as opposed to some all night study session where other than a relaxing break , you wouldn’t have time to step out
One time I had a gallon of water– nothing else– delivered at like 2am. Really needed it but also had just showered and wanted to be getting ready for bed. Did seem pretty funny to me, though, and def wouldn’t have done it if I had managed to plan ahead at all.
As a delivery guy who works night shift, I deliver those a lot. I never question the gallon jugs since those are usually going to be used for something rather than drank (at least in my experience, at any rate), but what gets to me are the people who order 2+ cases of our cheapest water bottles AND get a bag with an assortment of our more expensive/fancy water bottles like Fiji or Smartwater. Like, what’s even the point of that? I can understand not wanting to drink the tap water, or having an event where having a bunch of bottled water on hand might be useful, like a party or something, but it just seems weird to me when people just tack on several *different* brands of bottled water to an order that already has a crap ton of bottled water. And the fact that it’s happened several times is absolutely baffling, and never to the same place, so probably not the same people.
I’d invoke the Doofenschmirtz “if I had a nickel” meme, but really, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve delivered an order like that, I’d have more than 2 dollars (not accounting for the money I made doing the deliveries, just the nickels), it would be weird if it happened twice, but this many times is just mind blowing.
i guess we underestimate walky’s laziness. plus he prolly gets a ‘generous’ allowance from his parents despite things lately lol
if i had the money i wouldn’t mind. or at least an uber to drive back on teh days i go out to buy takeout tho the food i order kinda cancels out the calories i order
walky strikes me as the type to somehow make a crunchy noise with soft fries too tho other than dina being annoyed i imagine amber would be able to either tune it out or waer headphones lol
Once you factor in tax, delivery, fee driver tip, That’s a really expensive bag of chips unless you have Zoomr pass but that probably only applies to orders over 11.00 so you’d have to buy like 3 bags of chips. Also favoring in is ithe time cost: Which is waitng for the store to comfirm the order and then having the drivet drive and get the chips and then deliver them to you you could probably goto a convince store and get three bags of chips cheaper and with less of a time cost. Point being Walky should have had the foresight to get the chips beforehand.
I’m a little surprised Walky can even order something considering his status with the parents is pretty shaky right now and Linda definitely seems like the type that would cut her kids off from money.
But that’s not an actual time cost, since he can spend that time hanging out with Amber playing video games, which is what he wants to do in the first place.
Counterpoint: Every time Walky’s laptop slows down, he throws it out the window and asks his parents for another one. Walky comes from money and doesn’t care about cost.
The last interaction they had was regarding Mike, things were becoming clearer, but for some strange reason, Amber assumed that Walky wanted to try again, when he wasn’t even suggesting that.
I want to believe that that expression in the last panel reflects that he is going to apologize for rushing
They were never really friends, were they? The one time Amber suggested hanging out outside of garbage roof Walky said it would be too much like a date.
KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS
I think there’s a stereotype about chips and video games. These things are also associated with gamer bros, but that’s not what’s on everyone’s minds lately.
Has mostly female friends, videogames, self concious about masculinity in that way many pre-out trans women are (if he could grow a denial beard he absolutely would)
i think it’s just a ‘trans gamer girl’ stereotype tho i imagine walky might have hangups on looking /more/ like his sister if he were to transition lol
Amber: speaking of Mike and kinks ) Did I ever tell you the story of Dingdong bandit case
Pulls out set of Shiabari Rope, with Velcro ends for beginners)
Walky: He liked it?
Amber: rock hard, I was so flustered I became Amber again and left.
Walky: Now you are pulling my leg.
Amber. Grabs a set of pulleys … Not yet. Keep playing Mario Kart.
It’s past lunch even so we can’t blame it on start of storyline setting things up. I imagine it will be easier for an archive binge than a daily drip though.
Ok, now you’re making me picture a scenario where some older student in the same building as them is just heading out the door to go do some Zoomr-dash work, when they stop to check a notification on their phone. They raise a single eyebrow. Then, they hit “accept”, buy some chips from the vending machine right next to them, and head upstairs while muttering “this friggin job, man…”
Well, now we all know the price of video games with Amber.
Frankly, I call that a bargain.
Probably the Walky Discount, though.
I’ve missed Amber, too…
Robin also spent time in Congress, which is by and large much older people who are likely to call teens and twenty-somethings “millennials” (with derision) regardless of their age.
Then the Gen X ones get pissy when we call them Boomers for doing it.
lol it feels like it would’ve been quicker to have dropped by the convenience store or student store(?) or so first unless he was closer to ambers room
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Walky better tip the driver cash
The driver who is no doubt also running Zoomr ride-shares
hahah I wouldn’t put it past Walky to have earned gift cards for Zoomr on Mistplay or Cashgiraffe
…wha? Are these American apps or something lol
Maybe
I assumed they were funny words that sounded like they might be apps, like Zoomr itself. But I
zoomeredgoogled, and no, they’re real.also Swagbucks and Cash Cow and Cashyy and Winzos
I feel like door dashing a bag of chips isn’t worth the cost of convenience.
Maybe like, a really big bag of chips.
An X-TREEEM bag?
Maybe he had enough credit from botched deliveries?
Given food inflation, door dash and similar stopped being worth the cost after the first year of the pandemic.
Obviously mileage may vary, but that was the case for us (my family).
I still use it for ordering food to pick up, that’s usually quicker than ordering at the place or even using a drive-thru. Never worth having stuff delivered unless I’m sick or something.
I’ve used DoorDash to order pickup, convenient because they already have my credit card. But I’ve also found that at many restaurants, the DoorDash prices are higher than if you use the restaurant’s preferred mode. I don’t mean fees, I meant a shawarma wrap being listed as $11 on DoorDash and $10 or even $9 at the restaurant.
Delivery takes employee time and energy. Plus some non-reusable packaging. It’s only normal that all this gets factored in the final price.
No, it’s even for pickup if you do it through the Doordash app. They just flat out show you a menu with higher prices.
Then charge you extra for delivery, if you’re getting delivery. (And then you also need to tip the driver.)
that’s because DoorDash and other food apps charge a service fee that is a % of the item cost, so the restaurant passes that on to you
So they’re making money on both ends? From the restaurant and the customer? Nice gig.
Yeah that’s probably fees.
That DoorDash doesn’t present as fees. And contractually forbids their partner restaurants from spelling out as fees.
Same as if you buy a subscription via App Store or Play Store in-app purchases, and it’s somehow 25-30% pricier than on that company’s website, but the app doesn’t tell you “hey it’s 25-30% pricier here than on our website” because their contract with Apple or Google forbids that.
I’ve actually found (for where I am in Canada) that UberEats/DoorDash/Instacart have so many deals between the three apps, that I take advantage of all the 50%-60% off grocery deals, since it’s usually like “get 50% off an order of $40 or more”. it’s generally $30 to get free shipping and groceries for the week are more than $40 so I’ll take the half off where I can get it. Also with some other services you can qualify for free annual memberships to the delivery services, so you’re not paying their service fee or membership cost, either. And tipping someone for doing all the work for me, as a disabled person who can’t always get out to do it myself, it’s very much worth it.
I only ever use it for Jersey Mike’s (because I use their app and get points) and WingStop (because there’s only one for my whole city and it’s on the wrong side of the river from me.)
I worked in a fish and chips shop before. Once we got an order for one potato cake. One.
The delivery was more than the food.
When I get a little short on cash, I deliver for DoorDash here and there. I cannot begin to tell you the number of times I have made deliveries of one large soda or iced tea. It’s shockingly common, and thoroughly confusing.
This was about 10 years ago and for Postmates but I once got an order for a single box of kraft mac n cheez from Walgreens, and in my head, I was shaming the person the whole drive but then when I got there it was a girl in college with a horrendous flu and I felt like an ass.
And I’m sure the people ordering one or two things for delivery probably shouldn’t be frivolously spending that money, but it’s “only” a dollar or two each time so they don’t notice as it adds up.
he might be double-dashing for McNuggets and other stuff :9
It’s not even really convenient in this scenario you save more time and money just going to a vending machine or even a convience store. Walky should have had the foresight to get chips beforehand.
Did you just use the words “Walky” and “foresight” in the same sentence?
Money certainly, but not time. I mean, you don’t get the food sooner, but here Walky gets to spend the hanging out with Amber playing video games rather than walking to the convenience store.
Not for most of us, but the personal value of convenience is proportionate to the person’s laziness.
I don’t live in Bloomington but I can get a $2 bag of chips to my house for $10 before tip right now.
If Walky wanted to see a movie instead it would be $11.50, plus the $2 bag of chips on the walk over, plus they make you wear pants there…
Am reasonably confident he will be expected to wear pants in Amber’s dorm.
He didn’t last time.
That depends on how you define the “cost” of convenience, if you mean purely monetarily, sure, the nearest convenience store to Reed hall is a 5 minute walk, and assuming this Zoomr-Dash service functions like Uber Eats or Instacart, acting as a middle man with mark up, delivery charge, AND tip, I agree that’s a pretty significant difference in cost to save a 5 minute walk.
On the other hand if it works like goPuff, the delivery fee was less than $2 here in Bloomington, last I checked, and while the driver might think you’re a jerk for tipping poorly, we don’t have the right to refuse orders due to poor tips, in fact we don’t even find out whether there is a tip at all until after the delivery is completed. I takes roughly 15 minutes most of the time between receiving an order for Reed Hall and arriving at Reed Hall, so the time is comparable (2-ish minutes from the room to the door, 5 minutes to the store, 2-ish minutes to acquire and purchase chips, 5 minutes back to reed, 2-ish minutes up to the room) but none of it is spent walking. At most they’d be asked to come to the entrance to retrieve their order since drivers aren’t allowed to be wandering in dorms. There is a minimum amount of money before we’ll accept an order, IIRC like $15-20 but admittedly it has been awhile, but get two bags to make sharing easier and throw in a couple drinks and it works out
The price of convenience isn’t just money, and it’s also not just time and money, you also have to factor in effort expenditure and opportunity cost, the time they would be walking to the convenience store they could instead be playing video games, and also not walking. For some people that pretty significantly offsets the extra monetary expenditure.
Or Door Dash might just be really expensive.
I’ve never understood using DoorDash for fast food. Is the convenience really worth spending twice as much to get a bag of cold McDonald’s left on your front stoop? You could’ve bought real food for that price.
These type of services are bleeding people dry, one dollar at a time.
if ur rich enough than money is less valuable than time. tho yeah this particular example does seem wasteful as opposed to some all night study session where other than a relaxing break , you wouldn’t have time to step out
One time I had a gallon of water– nothing else– delivered at like 2am. Really needed it but also had just showered and wanted to be getting ready for bed. Did seem pretty funny to me, though, and def wouldn’t have done it if I had managed to plan ahead at all.
As a delivery guy who works night shift, I deliver those a lot. I never question the gallon jugs since those are usually going to be used for something rather than drank (at least in my experience, at any rate), but what gets to me are the people who order 2+ cases of our cheapest water bottles AND get a bag with an assortment of our more expensive/fancy water bottles like Fiji or Smartwater. Like, what’s even the point of that? I can understand not wanting to drink the tap water, or having an event where having a bunch of bottled water on hand might be useful, like a party or something, but it just seems weird to me when people just tack on several *different* brands of bottled water to an order that already has a crap ton of bottled water. And the fact that it’s happened several times is absolutely baffling, and never to the same place, so probably not the same people.
I’d invoke the Doofenschmirtz “if I had a nickel” meme, but really, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve delivered an order like that, I’d have more than 2 dollars (not accounting for the money I made doing the deliveries, just the nickels), it would be weird if it happened twice, but this many times is just mind blowing.
i guess we underestimate walky’s laziness. plus he prolly gets a ‘generous’ allowance from his parents despite things lately lol
if i had the money i wouldn’t mind. or at least an uber to drive back on teh days i go out to buy takeout tho the food i order kinda cancels out the calories i order
Booty?
I don’t know, but got Amber attention.
what kind of chips tho
If you bring kettle chips or something that reeks, you’ll get kicked out
What’s wrong with kettle chips?
Answer: Philistines.
Walky would probably eat them loudly, and kettle chips are doubly loud lol
I love kettle chips but the flavored kind would stink up a dorm room.
walky strikes me as the type to somehow make a crunchy noise with soft fries too tho other than dina being annoyed i imagine amber would be able to either tune it out or waer headphones lol
I assume pants are in play this time, but I mean, it’s not a given.
Once you factor in tax, delivery, fee driver tip, That’s a really expensive bag of chips unless you have Zoomr pass but that probably only applies to orders over 11.00 so you’d have to buy like 3 bags of chips. Also favoring in is ithe time cost: Which is waitng for the store to comfirm the order and then having the drivet drive and get the chips and then deliver them to you you could probably goto a convince store and get three bags of chips cheaper and with less of a time cost. Point being Walky should have had the foresight to get the chips beforehand.
Its supposed to say factor not favor.
I get the impression that Walky is as good with money as he is with time.
I’m a little surprised Walky can even order something considering his status with the parents is pretty shaky right now and Linda definitely seems like the type that would cut her kids off from money.
Funds from the Christmas gift card that haven’t run out yet?
IRL, IU students can use their meal plan on grubhub in some manner.
But that’s not an actual time cost, since he can spend that time hanging out with Amber playing video games, which is what he wants to do in the first place.
Counterpoint: Every time Walky’s laptop slows down, he throws it out the window and asks his parents for another one. Walky comes from money and doesn’t care about cost.
Is that last panel…Worry?
Also trying to figure out how to read that facial expression
The last interaction they had was regarding Mike, things were becoming clearer, but for some strange reason, Amber assumed that Walky wanted to try again, when he wasn’t even suggesting that.
I want to believe that that expression in the last panel reflects that he is going to apologize for rushing
*She is going to apologize for rushing
She is just contemplating his ass. And newly single status.
It seems that she looks up instead of down or knows how to hide her gaze very well.
They were never really friends, were they? The one time Amber suggested hanging out outside of garbage roof Walky said it would be too much like a date.
I think they are friends. They just don’t know how, exactly, to be friends.
Direct and to the point. If only all social interaction were this quick.
Fight?
Fight.
Kitchen?
Kitchen.
I feel like Walky really needs this right now 🙁
KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS
I was excited to read this strip just knowing you’d be happy haha 🙂
Good thing Booster didn’t get a video game console from Carla, then Walky wouldn’t have this pretense to hang out with Amber.
Hovertext typo? Santum should be Sanctum, I’m assuming?
Sanctum, Saccum, Santorum,
the 3 witches of hookups
I wonder if this will setup someone familiar being a zoomrdasher on the dl? Like imagine if it’s Lucy lol!
Amber’s outfit really suits her
Girl looks good in plaid, what can I say?
Walky needs to come out as trans already.
What makes you say that?
He is just a twink lol.
I think there’s a stereotype about chips and video games. These things are also associated with gamer bros, but that’s not what’s on everyone’s minds lately.
Has mostly female friends, videogames, self concious about masculinity in that way many pre-out trans women are (if he could grow a denial beard he absolutely would)
Wait what?
What does trans have to do with chips and video games?
Genuine question btw. Googling “chips and video games trans” didn’t give me anything
i think it’s just a ‘trans gamer girl’ stereotype tho i imagine walky might have hangups on looking /more/ like his sister if he were to transition lol
In 2030, Jocelyn will have to befriend Walky’s seven mentally ill exes
in 5 mins: Amber, eat me like a bag of chips
Nah. Too much teeth involved.
“Remember the Three T’s: Trim, Tease and only some Teeth!”
— Tuca Toucan
Dipped in cheese sauce I’m not sure has ever been anywhere near real cheese?
“Eat me like one of your French fries.”
French Dip and Chill
This is the kinkiest thread I’ve ever read on this website.
Amber: speaking of Mike and kinks ) Did I ever tell you the story of Dingdong bandit case
Pulls out set of Shiabari Rope, with Velcro ends for beginners)
Walky: He liked it?
Amber: rock hard, I was so flustered I became Amber again and left.
Walky: Now you are pulling my leg.
Amber. Grabs a set of pulleys … Not yet. Keep playing Mario Kart.
Very simple communication
Video games! A cure all for maybe breakups!
After my wife left me I bought a Playstation and played Ace Combat for a week straight. OK, I did sleep in there some.
I relly love the color combination of Amber’s and David’s outfits together 💖
Amber is very attractive.
Yee! <3
(comment #69, count them if ya want yada yada you know the drill) :p
Man, if Amber and Walky have make up sex and Dorothy is denied yet again it’s gonna break that girl.
This storyline is jumping around a lot. I’n having trouble keeping up.
If you stop giving up, you won’t run out.
That’s what you call up keep.
If you run out, you can always go to the store and buy a bottle of seven ups to refill your stock.
It’s past lunch even so we can’t blame it on start of storyline setting things up. I imagine it will be easier for an archive binge than a daily drip though.
a polycule would fix them
I’m not trying to be that guy, but sometimes characters behave irrationally for humor.
I mean, they seem pretty rational here? In both the everyday sense and the economic sense.
imo walky’s always acted more so on his instinct/emotions than logic lol
…you escaped Dorothy’s advance only to jump into Amber’s den eh
Their relationship is strictly transactional
and platonic.Into the Game Cave
Why would you have an underpaid gig worker deliver a bag of chips to you? You’re on a college campus. Chips are not far away.
Yeah, aren’t there vending machines for that?
Doordashing one big bag of chips to might be cheaper than buying the same amount in multiple bags from a vending machine.
Ok, now you’re making me picture a scenario where some older student in the same building as them is just heading out the door to go do some Zoomr-dash work, when they stop to check a notification on their phone. They raise a single eyebrow. Then, they hit “accept”, buy some chips from the vending machine right next to them, and head upstairs while muttering “this friggin job, man…”
i’m surprised they haven’t collabed with big brand/name corporations to offer ‘exclusive’ flavors you can’t get outside of doordash/delivery apps/etc
Well, now we all know the price of video games with Amber.
Frankly, I call that a bargain.
Probably the Walky Discount, though.
I’ve missed Amber, too…
This consumer-tech monopoly Carla’s parents seem to have going on is alarming
but what if ubiquitous and so-far-un-shown drones
…Do you think it’s only a thing in the comic, or…?
What’s Amber’s worried look for in the last panel?
I’m also trying to fire out what her look means.
How are these two not perfect for each other?
too liable to indulge each other’s worst impulses
well, second worst set of impulses in amber’s case, not like walky’s gonna go fight dudes with her
No, that’s Night Guy. Not Walky at all.
I wonder if the cast is alpha or z generation
Started Millennial, I think they’re Alpha as of this writing.
No, wait, definitely Z.
yeah, it won’t be til like 2030 that they’d be Alphas
Wouldn’t be surprised if they are whatever comes afterwards lol
next year-ish,this strip becomes dated because Robin is approximately 30
Robin also spent time in Congress, which is by and large much older people who are likely to call teens and twenty-somethings “millennials” (with derision) regardless of their age.
Then the Gen X ones get pissy when we call them Boomers for doing it.
lol it feels like it would’ve been quicker to have dropped by the convenience store or student store(?) or so first unless he was closer to ambers room
and, cool to see darker plaid, red plaid is a bit overused