Poll of the Day > Why does every food place want you to use the app?

(+) Yeah! (+)

And why dont they make it usable to the point where you cant get what you want? What I mean by that is if your order is even a little complicated, its like it cant do it. Or sometimes, they just dont have what you want, even though its actually a thing. Or make the rewards only usable a certain way.

It worries me a little because its almost like soon, we may have to use them to order. I hope that it wont ever happen while Im alive...
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Providing establishments are still a thing apps will be nothing more than a optional service.
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Data collection most likely.
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Zangulus posted...

Taco Bell I can never get what I want because it never gives me the right options.

This is why Im not big in all the apps. I mean, I try not to make things too complicated, but still. And sometimes, its not really that complicated. It just wont give me the option to add like extra something. I understand that they cant have all options available. And cant pander to the super small amount of people who cant order what they want. But, Idk...

dragon504 posted...

Data collection most likely.

That would make sense. I could see that. But then why not have all options?
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Joke's on them, I can't use an app.

dragon504 posted...

Data collection most likely.

This. Consumer data is very valuable now that every major corporation and financial group is using machine learning for sales projections.
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DPsx7 posted...

Joke's on them, I can't use an app.

Don't worry, dude, I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually.
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Mead posted...

dragon504 posted...

Data collection most likely.

This. Consumer data is very valuable now that every major corporation and financial group is using machine learning for sales projections.

Couldnt they still get that from sales at the store. Like most food places I worked, or know of, seem to use computer touch screen for ordering. It could easily send the daily sales to someone. Plus, it would be hard to collect data when most people either cant or wont use it. For many reasons. From it would be an inconvience since they are almost there or dont know what they want (or where theyre going yet) to not being able to order what they want using the app.

DPsx7 posted...

Joke's on them, I can't use an app.

Yeah. Hard to use phone apps without a phone. Haha. Most of the apps seem to suck, anyway... And the food places that have online ordering like pizza places are usually better if you just order online...
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They only need a fraction of the actual customers to use it. Based on the number of orders and the items contained within them, it's a simple matter to find the estimated number of customers in a given area in specific time periods.
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Sarcasthma posted...

DPsx7 posted...

Joke's on them, I can't use an app.

Don't worry, dude, I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually.

No no, I've nothing to put an app on. It's like if someone stops you at the mall asking if you're happy with your phone/plan and I go 'yep, don't have one', so they kinda hesitate because they don't have a reply for that.

DPsx7 posted...

Sarcasthma posted...

DPsx7 posted...

Joke's on them, I can't use an app.

Don't worry, dude, I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually.

No no, I've nothing to put an app on. It's like if someone stops you at the mall asking if you're happy with your phone/plan and I go 'yep, don't have one', so they kinda hesitate because they don't have a reply for that.

Only the bad ones hesitate. The good ones immediately try to get you to buy theirs...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enBllfqkMEw" data-time="&start=11

LinkPizza posted...

DPsx7 posted...

Sarcasthma posted...

DPsx7 posted...

Joke's on them, I can't use an app.

Don't worry, dude, I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually.

No no, I've nothing to put an app on. It's like if someone stops you at the mall asking if you're happy with your phone/plan and I go 'yep, don't have one', so they kinda hesitate because they don't have a reply for that.

Only the bad ones hesitate. The good ones immediately try to get you to buy theirs...

That's why you catch them off guard. One time a friend shut down someone selling a magazine sub by telling the cashier he couldn't read. Their face was hilarious.

dragon504 posted...

Data collection most likely.

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I have no reason to use an app so never use them.
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Hmm, an industry that feeds unhealthy crap to lazy people wants people to be even lazier...surprise surprise!
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SunWuKung420 posted...

Hmm, an industry that feeds unhealthy crap to lazy people wants people to be even lazier...surprise surprise!

Shut up. Regular restaurants and your precious In-N-Out have them, too.
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SunWuKung420 posted...

Hmm, an industry that feeds unhealthy crap to lazy people wants people to be even lazier...surprise surprise!

You make bacon for a living.
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dragon504 posted...

Data collection most likely.

That and advertising. Seeing the icon for that establishment every time you open your phone makes it more likely you'll think of them when you're considering ordering food.

LinkPizza posted...

That would make sense. I could see that. But then why not have all options?

With any UI, there's a tradeoff between usability and versatility. Put too many options on there, and it takes people too long to find/reach what they want and they stop using it. Put too few, and it fails to meet the needs of many customers, so they stop using it. Presumably, they considered that balance in deciding just how much to put on. There is also the issue of regional variation in what's available (which may or may not be relevant to your experience), which is harder to code into what tends to be a pretty barebones app.

LinkPizza posted...

Couldnt they still get that from sales at the store. Like most food places I worked, or know of, seem to use computer touch screen for ordering. It could easily send the daily sales to someone.

The apps offer them more than just sales data. Detecting your location when you place the order, for example, can be valuable for determining where to open a new location. Internet search histories can be used for advertising purposes (both to personally target ads and to collect demographic data for broader ad campaigns). If the app has a search function, people searching for discontinued or not-yet-offered items can be a way of gauging demand for them that you won't otherwise get without actually talking to front-line workers (and no executive wants to do that). In the absence of a search function, you can still get data on demand for discontinued items by seeing if there's an uptick in people opening the app but not placing an order after discontinuing them (presumably, because they were looking for the discontinued item and gave up on going there when they couldn't find it).

Even without immediate, obvious uses for the data, though, the whole philosophy behind the Big Data craze is "collect it now, figure out how to use it later." Corporations are willing to invest quite heavily in data collection for the chance they could find something lucrative, and that investment often pays off. In this case, the apps are pretty easy to develop and also offer enticing convenience for customers, so the investment isn't much of a gamble (plus their competitors are probably also offering that convenience and they don't want to get left behind).

_AdjI_ posted...

LinkPizza posted...

That would make sense. I could see that. But then why not have all options?

With any UI, there's a tradeoff between usability and versatility. Put too many options on there, and it takes people too long to find/reach what they want and they stop using it. Put too few, and it fails to meet the needs of many customers, so they stop using it. Presumably, they considered that balance in deciding just how much to put on. There is also the issue of regional variation in what's available (which may or may not be relevant to your experience), which is harder to code into what tends to be a pretty barebones app.

I can understand that. But it was like when somebody tried to order something from Sonic. A Wacky Pack. Which they have everywhere and he couldnt find it. Which is fixed now. He said he could understand them not having Dr. Pepper slush because it could be regional (though they had other soda slushes, so...), but he was sure every Sonic have Wacky Packs...

Or how I can order a specific drink. But cant use my rewards to order it because drinks are missing from the menu when, even though they're on the regular menu.

Or how I cant order extra cheese (more than one type) on my subway subs. All it would take is letting you click more than one at a time.

Even a special details things like online pizza places would be nice. Little things like those wouldnt at bad. Being able to click more than one cheese shouldnt be that hard. Putting all drink on the menu wouldnt kill business, as one of the reasons to go there is their creative drinks...

_AdjI_ posted...

LinkPizza posted...

Couldnt they still get that from sales at the store. Like most food places I worked, or know of, seem to use computer touch screen for ordering. It could easily send the daily sales to someone.

The apps offer them more than just sales data. Detecting your location when you place the order, for example, can be valuable for determining where to open a new location. Internet search histories can be used for advertising purposes (both to personally target ads and to collect demographic data for broader ad campaigns). If the app has a search function, people searching for discontinued or not-yet-offered items can be a way of gauging demand for them that you won't otherwise get without actually talking to front-line workers (and no executive wants to do that). In the absence of a search function, you can still get data on demand for discontinued items by seeing if there's an uptick in people opening the app but not placing an order after discontinuing them (presumably, because they were looking for the discontinued item and gave up on going there when they couldn't find it).

Even without immediate, obvious uses for the data, though, the whole philosophy behind the Big Data craze is "collect it now, figure out how to use it later." Corporations are willing to invest quite heavily in data collection for the chance they could find something lucrative, and that investment often pays off.

That would be nice. But it sucks when you cant use it specifically because you cant order what you want on it. I feel that would skew data a little... probably... People opening and closing, or deleting the app because they cant use it... I still like the idea. And wouldnt mind using the app. But I also dont want to order something I dont want because the app is too limited...
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Having your personal information and ability to contact you directly is valuable.
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ForteEXE3850 posted...

Having your personal information and ability to contact you directly is valuable.

Thats if they can. Most places with only have your email. And the ones with phones numbers only use it for specific things... that we notice, at least...
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dragon504 posted...

Data collection most likely.

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LinkPizza posted...

Thats if they can. Most places with only have your email. And the ones with phones numbers only use it for specific things... that we notice, at least...

He was being sarcastic.
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