In a high-tech world, here's how you can make your deliveries count
Food delivery companies are missing the point by delivering food with no human interaction, argues an industry insider.
Based on his personal observations, Peter Backman says that delivery technology is threatening the personal touch in hospitality, which is synonymous with quality. Consumers want more than just a product delivered to their house. They want a personal experience which is what businesses need to provide.
A Tale of Two Deliveries
Peter Backman shared two real-life stories from his friends, pointing out this weakness of (some) delivery companies.
First was a friend named Art who ordered from JustEat app. The app accepted his order and gave him a delivery time of 19:10, but the food did not arrive at that time.
When the delivery service failed to arrive with his order, Art drove to the restaurant and picked up his food himself. The owner was most apologetic and explained there had been no driver from Just Eat.
Art complained to the app about the buggy service. The process was simple, and immediately, he was rewarded with a return of his fee. But at what cost to Just Eat and the restaurant?
The other story was from Tel Aviv. Another friend of Peter Backman placed her order with Wolt. However, the rider went to the wrong location. The customer had to call a contact number on the website to speak with an efficient real human being who took the information and rerouted the delivery man.
The lesson learned? Backman says that food delivery services could remind themselves that their purpose is not only to deliver food but to provide customers with an enhanced dining experience.
According to him, technology is helpful, but real people are necessary. Contacting a customer by email or through an automated system does not give that person the personal reassurance or information he needs to feel confident in your company. After all, social interaction and cooperation are something that tools can augment, but not replace.
“Human beings need reassurance, they need to talk to someone, they need to have their nerves soothed – in short they need proper, one-to-one human communication. And any resulting problems should only be solved by giving the money back, as a very last resort,” he said.
