Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)

[geekette]

Lately, I’ve had to spend an unexpected amount of time with my mother. As we only have 1 car, and I had it, when DH wanted pizza, he ordered from Papa John’s.  They sent it via Door Dash.

[MoseyingAlong]

What’s really baffling is when the Door Dashers are picking up at McDonald’s.  Really?  McDonald’s?

One of the sights I found very amusing during my 2017 trip Down Under was the many small McDonalds delivery cars I saw in the parking lot of a McDonalds in Queensland. I included a picture of them in one of my missives home. At that time, I don't know if you could get McDonalds delivered in the US but I sure wasn't aware of it.

I also have never used Door Dash but all this discussion is making me think of how helpful that option would be for someone with younger children whom they can't leave alone. Or a single car family when the car is gone somewhere else. Better a delivery by Door Dash than buying another car.

Yes, with the MMM caveat that it'd be better to make real food at home. 

[Dicey]

What’s really baffling is when the Door Dashers are picking up at McDonald’s.  Really?  McDonald’s?

There isn't a Mickey D's in my city. However, there is a Carl's Jr. The [paid] manager at the thrift shop where I volunteer used to DoorDash Carl's Jr. for lunch a couple of times a week. Most of the staff are frugal AF, so this did not go over well. No one was surprised when she didn't last.

[Sugaree]

The convenience service era we live in crazy. I had a roommate once, right when I graduated from university, who would door dash one meal a day only get groceries delivered. He also bought a ton of stuff on amazon. One time he told me he hadn't shopped in person in like 3 months.

I haven't shopped for groceries in person more than maybe a half dozen times since 2018.  It's easier, faster, and I don't end up with extra stuff in my cart.  I usually try to schedule a curbside pickup for after work, but occasionally have them delivered. 

I very occasionally use DoorDash.  If I'm being honest, I mostly use it if I've had a couple of drinks and shouldn't be driving.  I'm not drinking as often these days, so that has helped both my weight loss and my discretionary spending.

[reeshau]

I also have never used Door Dash but all this discussion is making me think of how helpful that option would be for someone with younger children whom they can't leave alone. Or a single car family when the car is gone somewhere else. Better a delivery by Door Dash than buying another car.

I have to remember this mantra when I have to rent a car a couple times a year.  Renting is still quite a bit more expensive than prior to the pandemic, and the distance I drive would make an Uber a similar cost.  So, the bill passes me off, and I have to calm myself thinking about double insurance costs that I avoided.

[jinga nation]

Not a neighbor, but I have one about a very good friend, who lives nearby, so maybe it does or doesn't fit in here.

Friend came recently over for dinner in massive big 'Murican truck, top trim. Very nice, a sofa on wheels, tech gadgets, etc.
But it's not the #1 selling US trucks brand; it's a manufacturer known for not the very best reliability.

So I asked the friend: hey, you had the top trim truck from #1 brand, what happened? Recall?
Him: No, i just bought this one, traded in the other one.
Me: but that one is more reliable.
Him: Oh it doesn't matter, I just get a new truck every 50,000 miles. This one is a diesel.
Me: Bro, you do you. But a diesel lasts a very long time. Any vehicle can, if you maintain it.
Him: Yeah I know, but I like my new trucks. Also insurance is a bitch.
Me: you do you (then changed topic)

BTW, new truck starts at $84000. He's single. Lives in a too big home, according to his own words.

[41_swish]

The convenience service era we live in crazy. I had a roommate once, right when I graduated from university, who would door dash one meal a day only get groceries delivered. He also bought a ton of stuff on amazon. One time he told me he hadn't shopped in person in like 3 months.

I haven't shopped for groceries in person more than maybe a half dozen times since 2018.  It's easier, faster, and I don't end up with extra stuff in my cart.  I usually try to schedule a curbside pickup for after work, but occasionally have them delivered. 

I very occasionally use DoorDash.  If I'm being honest, I mostly use it if I've had a couple of drinks and shouldn't be driving.  I'm not drinking as often these days, so that has helped both my weight loss and my discretionary spending.

Curb side pick up is awesome and definitely saves money and mental fatigue. I will never  ever deny that. I was more so referencing my old roommate who would Instacart all of his groceries and then throw half of them away and door dash dinner after throwing away his food.

[Sugaree]

The convenience service era we live in crazy. I had a roommate once, right when I graduated from university, who would door dash one meal a day only get groceries delivered. He also bought a ton of stuff on amazon. One time he told me he hadn't shopped in person in like 3 months.

I haven't shopped for groceries in person more than maybe a half dozen times since 2018.  It's easier, faster, and I don't end up with extra stuff in my cart.  I usually try to schedule a curbside pickup for after work, but occasionally have them delivered. 

I very occasionally use DoorDash.  If I'm being honest, I mostly use it if I've had a couple of drinks and shouldn't be driving.  I'm not drinking as often these days, so that has helped both my weight loss and my discretionary spending.

Curb side pick up is awesome and definitely saves money and mental fatigue. I will never  ever deny that. I was more so referencing my old roommate who would Instacart all of his groceries and then throw half of them away and door dash dinner after throwing away his food.

That sounds like my best friend.  Who always complains about being broke.  If there was any bright side to the pandemic, it's that all the people who made bitchy comments about my being "lazy" for using grocery pickup and how only the elderly and disabled should be using it have shut TF up for the most part.

[AMandM]

I don't find that curbside pickup saves me money for groceries. Too often, I have ordered something on sale but it's out of stock so they sub a similar but way more expensive item. Or they don't sub anything, and then my menu plan for the week is messed up and i have to go in person anyway.

[Dicey]

I know this is a necropost, but I need to talk to my people.

Our neighbors consider themselves intellectual elites. They dine out or Door Dash almost every night. A couple of years ago, they hired a designer and a contractor to do a full gut remodel of their kitchen. Their dining habits have not changed one bit.

There's a strong element of cognitive dissonance in spending lavishly on kitchen remodeling when you're eating out every day :-)

No, no, no! You don't understand! They were IMPROVING the house's resale value!

Hilariously, they've done a bunch of other stuff (solar, landscaping) and it still looks like a POS, especially compared to the house next door. To their credit, ours was overbuilt for the neighborhood, but fortunately that has changed in the ten + years we've lived here, no thanks to them. They bought at the same time we did, but ours took longer to close, so they think they were here "first", as if that counts for something. They knew the house had drainage problems when they bought (and resent that we know this, too, because we know the seller's Realtor). We've offered to let them tie into our massive drainage system, but they have chosen to ignore the problem in favor of other things they choose to spend their money on. We are treated with hostility in return.

Amusing as this story is, it's all about the stupid truck they just bought their 18-year-old son, who just got his driver's license. We aren't even sure of that, because we've never actually seen him drive. FWIW, we have never even seen him ride a bike.

Update of sorts: to date, we have only seen the father drive (mostly move) the truck. Imagine being given a brand new truck and not driving it. Perhaps it wasn't what he wanted...

[RetiredAt63]

I know this is a necropost, but I need to talk to my people.

Our neighbors consider themselves intellectual elites. They dine out or Door Dash almost every night. A couple of years ago, they hired a designer and a contractor to do a full gut remodel of their kitchen. Their dining habits have not changed one bit.

There's a strong element of cognitive dissonance in spending lavishly on kitchen remodeling when you're eating out every day :-)

No, no, no! You don't understand! They were IMPROVING the house's resale value!

Hilariously, they've done a bunch of other stuff (solar, landscaping) and it still looks like a POS, especially compared to the house next door. To their credit, ours was overbuilt for the neighborhood, but fortunately that has changed in the ten + years we've lived here, no thanks to them. They bought at the same time we did, but ours took longer to close, so they think they were here "first", as if that counts for something. They knew the house had drainage problems when they bought (and resent that we know this, too, because we know the seller's Realtor). We've offered to let them tie into our massive drainage system, but they have chosen to ignore the problem in favor of other things they choose to spend their money on. We are treated with hostility in return.

Amusing as this story is, it's all about the stupid truck they just bought their 18-year-old son, who just got his driver's license. We aren't even sure of that, because we've never actually seen him drive. FWIW, we have never even seen him ride a bike.

Update of sorts: to date, we have only seen the father drive (mostly move) the truck. Imagine being given a brand new truck and not driving it. Perhaps it wasn't what he wanted...

It wouldn't be the first time a father/husband gave the child/wife something he wanted and they didn't, so he gets to use it while looking generous.     

[Fomerly known as something]

I’ve never used it at home. I have used it while on the road for work.  The hotels picked by work don’t always have reasonable food options nearby, and I don’t necessarily have transportation options, nor the desire to go to a restaurant and pay for the uber to get there and back.  It’s kind of a game changer for that.  Also even if I have a rental car Instead of having to go out and sit somewhere, I can order in from a wide variety of restaurants and eat after a long work day in my hotel room in my pajamas instead.  Sometimes I don’t even have the desire to do pick up, just go down to the hotel lobby.

[41_swish]

I don't find that curbside pickup saves me money for groceries. Too often, I have ordered something on sale but it's out of stock so they sub a similar but way more expensive item. Or they don't sub anything, and then my menu plan for the week is messed up and i have to go in person anyway.

I was always deviating from my shopping list. If you can really stick to a list, it probably doesn't save money. I also find the produce to sometimes be meh with curbside pick up

[crocheted_stache]

Am I the only person on the site who has never used Door Dash?

A bit late to the party here, but no.

During the pandemic, a vendor for work held a virtual lunch gathering that came with a $25 gift code for either DoorDash or GrubHub, I don't remember care which, in lieu of the box lunches that would have been provided had we met in person.

Rather than make an account with whichever service, I eventually listed it on Buy Nothing. It was predicably popular, so I was glad I included the instruction for those requesting it to tell me a favorite restaurant in a five-mile radius of a local landmark. I got some good recommendations that way.

[NorthernIkigai]

I don't find that curbside pickup saves me money for groceries. Too often, I have ordered something on sale but it's out of stock so they sub a similar but way more expensive item. Or they don't sub anything, and then my menu plan for the week is messed up and i have to go in person anyway.

100% this.

[Rural]

I don't find that curbside pickup saves me money for groceries. Too often, I have ordered something on sale but it's out of stock so they sub a similar but way more expensive item. Or they don't sub anything, and then my menu plan for the week is messed up and i have to go in person anyway.

100% this.

About a year ago, I changed all my pickup settings to disallow substitutions. It's amazing how much more often they "find" what I ordered since then.


Also I would never order from a place that didn't let you refuse substitutions.

[RetiredAt63]

I don't find that curbside pickup saves me money for groceries. Too often, I have ordered something on sale but it's out of stock so they sub a similar but way more expensive item. Or they don't sub anything, and then my menu plan for the week is messed up and i have to go in person anyway.

100% this.

About a year ago, I changed all my pickup settings to disallow substitutions. It's amazing how much more often they "find" what I ordered since then.


Also I would never order from a place that didn't let you refuse substitutions.

When I was doing it, they would show if something was low stock and suggest alternatives that were in good supply.  So I could choose an acceptable alternative,  or specify no substitutions.