Over the years, the world of food delivery service has been continuously developing. We have seen several businesses that emerged and stayed on, while some exited the market without so much as a noise. But with all of the businesses available, we can classify Grubhub as part of the former. You have probably heard of Grubhub or have seen their commercials and advertisements but maybe do not exactly know what it is all about. Maybe you’re even wondering, how does Grubhub work?
Well, fret no more, because we’re here to guide you in all there is about this online and mobile food-ordering and delivery marketplace. We’ll answer the question of how Grubhub works, how to order food using it, and what the benefits are.
What Is Grubhub?
Founded in 2004, Grubhub is an online and mobile food-ordering and delivery service founded by two software developers, Matt Maloney and Mike Evans. They created Grubhub to streamline the food ordering service, making it easier not just to order food but also to look at the menu and payment method.
In 2013, the company merged with one of the market’s pioneering food delivery services, Seamless, and has been leading the game ever since. Together, they have over 300,000 partnered restaurants and are available in over 4,000 cities across the United States.
How Does Grubhub Work?
Today, customers can easily use the Grubhub app. All they need to do is to download the app to any iOS or Android device, put in their payment information, start looking through their countless partnered restaurants, and place an order. Customers can manage pretty much everything through the app or their website including payments and even drivers’ tips.
Grubhub continues to develop and update their services to provide customers with only the best. And with over 24 million active users and over 500,000 orders daily, it is no surprise that Grubhub is one of the most trusted businesses in this market.
To see how Grubhub stacks up against its competitors, check out our DoorDash VS Grubhub comparative guide.
What Are Grubhub’s Features?
Grubhub offers a lot of features that makes ordering food a lot easier for customers. From the most basic ones to unique ones, they have greatly created a more seamless and accommodating way even non-Grubhub users will surely be impressed.
Restaurant Search Option
With over 300,000 partnered restaurants all across the United States, the options for users seem endless. And since Grubhub supports even the local restaurants aside from the big ones, users won’t run out of restaurants to choose from. They may have a hard time choosing instead. And with the easy search option, users easily filter these restaurants by cuisine, location, etc.
Restaurant Review
Users have the option to rate and leave a review for restaurants. This will help other users to know the quality of the place and the food they serve.
Pay Online
Users have a variety of ways to pay for orders. The easiest one is via credit card or debit card. But Grubhub also caters to payments through electronic platforms like PayPal. And since all payment is made through the app, users can easily pay even the tips for Grubhub drivers.
Tracking Orders
Grubhub lets users track their orders through their app. Notifications will be sent for every step or level their order takes – from the order being received to being prepared and throughout being picked up by the driver and delivered to your doorstep. They also have a GPS tracker for drivers so you get to see where they are exactly.
Contact Information
Once an order is made and a driver is found, users have access to the contact information. With this, they can easily call or message the concerned party should there be any additional instructions or even just for updates.
Preordering
This feature allows users to order from restaurants up to four days in advance. They will also be able to change their orders up until the user receives their order confirmation on the day of the delivery. This will benefit users who just have a busy schedule.
Express Reorder
Users can quickly reorder a meal from their Grubhub order history with just two clicks. This is great for users who just don’t have the time or are just really lazy to order something new.
Coupons & Rewards
Grubhub users receive special perks and discounts whenever they use the app to order food multiple times. These coupons include delivery deals, free food, and restaurant rewards. Users can also receive special offers just by subscribing to their e-mailing list.
How to Download the Grubhub App?
Before knowing how to use the app and learn how Grubhub works, you’ll have to download it first.
- Go to the App Store or Play Store depending on your device’s OS
- Look for the Grubhub app using the search function.
- Tap on Download and wait until the process has been completed.
How to Order From Grubhub?
To start ordering grub, go to the Grubhub website to sign in. If you are new to Grubhub, you can easily click on the Sign-Up button. This is also something you can do through the app.
If you are just signing up, Grubhub gives you options to make things easier for you. You will have an option to use either your Facebook account or your Google account. But if you prefer to create your own Grubhub account, there is also an option for that.
Once you already have created your account and has signed in, you will be redirected to another page. This page requires you to enter your zip code into the search bar.
As soon as you enter your zip code, Grubhub shows a list of available restaurants in your area that are open and can deliver. Each restaurant on the list includes all the necessary information including photos and customer reviews. It will also show an estimated delivery time and the distance of the restaurant from you.
If you still wonder how Grubhub works in terms of ordering your grub, keep reading.
Searching for Restaurants
You can filter the Grubhub search engine to help you narrow down the results. You can choose to filter them by a specific food you’re craving at the moment, by rating, by pricing, etc.
When you find the restaurant that you want, you can select it and you will be redirected to another page where you can view its menu in detail and other information.
Whatever you choose from the restaurant’s menu, it will be automatically added to your cart. If you’re using the website, you will be able to see the cart on the right side of your screen. If you’re using the app, there is an icon you can click on that will redirect you to your cart.
Some restaurants will let you customize the menu items before it adds to your cart, giving you a better and more enjoyable meal.
Checking Out and Payment
Once you have everything on your cart and have checked it just to be sure, click on the “Proceed to Check Out” button.
Before your order gets processed, you will have to fill out certain things. Some of the items may already be populated. But once everything is complete, just click confirm.
The last step is to enter your payment information. Grubhub offers several payment methods you can choose from. There is an option to include a tip for your driver at the bottom of the page.
During this time, Grubhub encourages contactless payments for health and safety.
After filling everything in, just confirm your order. You will then receive a confirmation of your order with the estimated time of delivery via email or SMS.
You’ll only need to wait for your food to arrive and enjoy it.
What Are the Benefits of Using the Grubhub Delivery App?
Aside from the obvious reason for having to eat food from your favorite restaurant without the hassle of leaving your house, there are other benefits a user can get once they understand how Grubhub works.
Nowadays, we find ourselves too busy or too preoccupied with a lot of things in our lives. Choosing which food or restaurant to eat from may be an added task to our on-growing list – which should not be one in the first place. Grubhub is a service we can all use and maximize to make food ordering easier, quicker, and less of a hassle.
With its many features that cater to users, everything is just at the touch of your fingers. Users can easily choose which ones would perfectly fit in their lifestyle or schedule from Grubhub’s preorder and even pick-up options. Its countless deals and discounts could also help you save money or have your choice meal without breaking the bank.
Especially during this time of a pandemic where we are all encouraged to physically distance ourselves from each other and have minimal interaction with other people, Grubhub’s initiatives and dedication in serving not just the customers but also restaurants and drivers show the quality of work they provide.
So, whether you are someone who does not have the time or luxury to cook or part of a corporate company hosting a team lunch, Grubhub’s easy and user-friendly services can help solve that problem for you.
Grubhub vs. Doordash
GrubHub and Doordash pretty much do the same service for their customers. After finding out how Grubhub works, it’s time to compare it to a major competitor. There are several factors in which they both differ.
Availability
Even though both Grubhub and Doordash can be found in most major US cities, Grubhub’s reach is far wider, being available in over 4,000 cities across the country. It also boasts a bigger range of partnered restaurants. Grubhub and its services are also currently available in London.
Costs and Service Fees
Fees are a major factor when it comes to using services such as Grubhub and Doordash. These apps or platforms will require users to pay certain service fees, delivery fees, and even tips.
With Doordash, they will require you to pay a service fee to both the restaurant you are ordering from and Doordash itself. While Grubhub does not require a restaurant service fee, they do replace this with a minimum amount order per restaurant.
But what is great about Grubhub is that because they have a wider restaurant partnership, which includes local establishments as well, this allows them to give a more competitive price. They also have a lot of deals and discounts that users can avail of any time, including free delivery service fees, etc.
Both apps also encourage tipping drivers as part of their payment options.
User Experience
Given that both apps are available for both Android and iOS users, there is no competition there. However, when it comes to the app’s interface it seems that most Grubhub reviews are on the poor side.
Doordash’s app interface is much more accessible and less complicated to use compared to Grubhub’s. For example, with Doordash, once you open their app, you have immediate access to your favorite restaurants, their local partners, offers, and more. But with Grubhub, you will have to scroll down through the list of restaurants currently available in your area before you will be able to see your favorites and offers.
Most people, when asked to pick by just the app design alone, choose Doordash over Grubhub.
Subscription
Doordash’s DashPass has been on the game much longer than Grubhub’s Grubhub+ that was just introduced earlier this year. Though both platforms can only provide free delivery service fees to select restaurants, they both have certain differences that users can compare.
Doordash’s subscription offers users free delivery with orders of 10 dollars or more with a 30-day free trial. On the other hand, Grubhub+ offers unlimited free delivery and 10% cashback but with a shorter free-trial period of 14 days.
But because Grubhub has a wider selection of partnered restaurants, this gives users of this platform more advantages.
Other Deliveries
This may be a small factor to compare these platforms but it is still something users can also consider.
Even though both Grubhub and Doordash’s main service is food delivery, they also deliver other perishables users can benefit from. With Grubhub, users can also have alcohol delivered through their app or website, while Doordash offers both alcohol and grocery deliveries from their partner establishments.
Is Grubhub Worth Using?
With all of the food delivery services or platforms out there, it is without a doubt that Grubhub is worth using. With all of the features they offer for users, it already shows how much they value their customer’s needs and demands. Moreover, with the number of restaurants and food establishments both national and local that are partnered with them, users won’t run out of places to choose from or to try.
After knowing how Grubhub works, feel free to try the app today. For more guides and reviews, check out our Mobile Apps page on CellularNews.com.
