In the UK one restaurant constantly has a “30% promotion” on Uber eats / Deliveroo, which pushes them to th top of results.
The only item that is 30% off is the restaurant’s merchandise.
Ask HN: What's up with these DoorDash dark patterns?
101–110 of 153 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's up with these DoorDash dark patterns?
#102I've had a few. The most similar was uber eats, they constantly have a promotion on. One such was get £15 off your next order via email. I clicked through and ordered only to find no discount was applied. When I qestioned it they said some bullshit like the offer was only valid for the first 100 customers. Needless to say I am never odering through them again.
I had another one when travelling. I used skyscanner (flight comparison site), the cheapest flight took me through what must have been 3 forms and 30+ questions taking several mins to fill out. When you get to check out they say the price has now increased since you started the checkout (incuding fury and panic) and suggesting you accept the increase before the price goes up again! I quickly did a new comparison and funily enough the first price was still being shown on the comparison site. I opted for the second cheapest option and no such last min price increase was administered and I thought i'd doged a bullet. Sadly not, when I got to the airport to return home I found that the agent I had gone with had not booked my luggage on the retun flight, que a £50 surcharge to get it on last min. I am still trying to get my money back from them and the flight was in April. Unfortunately the comparison site model has encoraged agents to 'show' the lowest price at apparently any cost - some up the price last min others book your luggage only one way.
This is not limited to tech or internet companies. I found a worrying and annoying dark pattern in jewllery. Many companies use their own measurement lettering systems and there is a surprisingly large varience between companies, so you think your wife is size x and you order the ring but it turns out to be a different size which means you have to send it back to be resized (for a fee of course) and they know that you won't quibble because you don't want to look cheap in front of your partner for what is probably an emotionally driven purchase.
Compaines are literally in the business of extracting as much money from you as they can for the least resistance, so unfortunately unless people write reviews or share their expereinces it's business as usual.
Re: Ask HN: What's up with these DoorDash dark patterns?
#103It's insane. I once found a restaurant that had ghost kitchen'd itself EIGHTEEN times: https://i.imgur.com/7jwBlFG.png Some of the name variations are pretty funny though.
Wait. These are the same fake names that the deli a block from me in Brooklyn NYC uses. Literally exactly the same. That’s sort of fascinating. I’m realizing it just be some kind of software or vendor they’re all using to set up this ghost kitchen explosion. I wonder if there’s a clever vendor out there shipping them some kind of device to keep track of all this stuff, complete with menus and an instruction guide or…
Yeah, not USA example but there are more companies like it: https://www.kitopi.com/our-story
Re: Ask HN: What's up with these DoorDash dark patterns?
#104Yes, it's asking too much, it's VC funded lmao. They want to make money and the dark patterns work. Ghost kitchens are encouraged and supported by the industry. Stop using DoorDash, find a restaurant that delivers and call their number directly. Or learn to cook.
Re: Ask HN: What's up with these DoorDash dark patterns?
#105Seriously, all of you lazy toads, learn to cook It's one of life's exquisite pleasures. You'll save a ton of money. Massively improve your health. It really impresses any potential partner - many a lifelong relationship started in the kitchen not the bedroom. Cookbooks are recipes are really fun. Surely my fellow hackers, don't we love to know how things work and be in control?
I love to cook. It is a skill I have developed deeply. I can look at what I have in the fridge and throw together a coherent meal even with dregs. I can cook a better meal than all but one restaurant in my entire city, and even that is a close race (it is a small city). I am skilled and cooking meals from a wide range of different cuisines.
There is one day a week that my wife and I both have a ton of meetings. At the end of the day we are both exhausted and neither of us want to cook. We frequently order food on this day. That's not a moral failing.
Re: Ask HN: What's up with these DoorDash dark patterns?
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
I second that experience - our local (high-endish) restaurant had both deliveries and take-out at the start of the pandemic, and completely wiped the floor with any crappy delivery services in our area. Then, once the pandemic finished, they stopped the deliveries and take out, and mediocre food delivery services took over again.
Both with this particular case and from a more general perspective, I keep encountering examples where businesses and people seem all too eager to revert to their olden, pre-pandemic ways without putting any thought into if such a reversal really makes sense: "The pandemic is over. Finally, we can return to the office." In many ways, the pandemic worked as a catalyst for changes that were long overdue anyway. Yes, th…
I imagine they ran the numbers. The profit is huge on alcohol. They would also see a dip in home sales as people spend more time enjoying being able to go out.
Re: Ask HN: What's up with these DoorDash dark patterns?
#107The beauty of the food world is that if you're willing to choose a restaurant that doesn't use a delivery app, or if you're willing to do takeout, you save money and get a way better experience. The first time I tried using a delivery app I saw that the service fee was something like 20%, whereupon I laughed and never went back. I'd rather pick up the food myself and pay nothing more than the cost of food itself, or get delivery from a local place where I can ensure the only extra cost, i.e. my tip to the driver, goes directly to the driver, cash in hand.
Re: Ask HN: What's up with these DoorDash dark patterns?
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a (not really serious, but kind of) theory that metrics driven organizations stumble into various dark patterns through software bugs. In this case, that would look like: 1. You want to convert people to "pro" users so you try to show them all the money they can save by doing so. 2. Because of a bug in the code somewhere, you end up showing the discounted price in the cart until checkout. 3. Because some numbe…
I don't think this was a bug, but more a deliberate feature. From my understanding, they probably target customers who don't order that much, but are willing to pay a monthly fee for the "pro" features, which includes free delivery, and some discounts. But I can't comprehend how this is worth it to Foodpanda, I'm an already paying customer, ordering 3-4 times a week, me not being a "pro" user should be making them mo…
Yeah, that's why I can't help but think that some of these dark patterns arise as bugs. Maybe I just have too much faith in humanity, but I can't imagine some PM sitting there thinking this would be a good idea that wouldn't eventually blow up in their faces. But who knows, maybe I'm just naive.
Re: Ask HN: What's up with these DoorDash dark patterns?
#109The beauty of the food world is that if you're willing to choose a restaurant that doesn't use a delivery app, or if you're willing to do takeout, you save money and get a way better experience. The first time I tried using a delivery app I saw that the service fee was something like 20%, whereupon I laughed and never went back. I'd rather pick up the food myself and pay nothing more than the cost of food itself, or…
My family orders take-out once a week. I used to go pick it up almost every time. DoorDash reduced my personal stress level by so much that the 20% service fee is an absolute bargain.
DoorDash itself is predatory and harmful to local restaurants and worldwide labor practices.
If you are a developer and a product manager asks you to implement a dark pattern, you should raise objections at every step of the process, implement it slowly and with defects, and talk about it publicly to shame the company. We're holding the shovel. Make dark patterns expensive.
Re: Ask HN: What's up with these DoorDash dark patterns?
#110What about the hidden service fee? They gladly tell you the delivery fee is only $5 (or free!) but it’s not until you’ve fully ordered and paid that you see the itemized service fee that can be greater than 25%. But at least they tell you how much you paid for the service. The worst for price transparency is “same day” costco delivery by Instacart. They markup the prices but never tell you how much more you’re paying…
Even with membership, I’ve never paid less than $300 on Costco Instacart. It’s a total joke, the whole point of wholesale is to save money. I’m far too lazy to do the math, but I think I save more money Instacart shopping Aldi than Costco
Costco is for people who's main activity outside work is spending money. It saves those compulsive spenders some money and makes them feel better about their problem.