The Dining Dish blog is Dara Bunjon's take on anything food, both national and in her hometown of Baltimore. Warning: this food blog can be harmful to your waistline.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Get the low down on OrderUp: Restaurant deliveries to your table

Baum & Whiteman International Food and Restaurant Consultants recently posted their 11 Hottest food and Beverage Trends for 2015 and technology continues to be the trendsetter. Their report states, “Electronic wizardry once hummed quietly in the background ... but now we're immersed in "front-facing technology" or ‘guest-facing technology’: all sorts of devices and programs that interface directly with the consumer.”

Nowhere is it more evident of the growth than from Chris Jeffrey’s days at State College where he created a program for an on-line meal delivery service.  There have been numerous permutations of on-line ordering not only with Jeffrey and his partner Jason Kwicien, but they were the first to franchise theirs, OrderUp, to regional markets. OrderUp maintains the general day to day technology and customer service leaving the franchisee time to market and work with restaurants in their area.

OrderUp.com ’s national headquarters is located in Baltimore’s Canton neighborhood, a bigger market than they normally service but how could they ignore their home city. OrderUp is in 36 markets across the country from Arizona to West Virginia.  

Restaurants list their standard menus on OrderUp not daily specials although some restaurants will do a featured menu item.  There can be promotions kicking off a new neighborhood or a restaurant through OrderUp like a BOGO or get a sandwich for a penny –expanding  market share both for the restaurant and OrderUp.   A selling point is being able to get a meal from one of the leading restaurants in the city delivered to one’s home whose fees are no more than what one might have to pay for valet parking when dining in the restaurant.

What makes OrderUp different?  Initially the technology, carefully planned delivery zones. Also the restaurant selections go beyond the typical pizza and sandwich shops  to fine dining and every type of restaurant in between.  OrderUp’s carefully planned formulas for each restaurant’s timing on food preparation makes sure the food is picked up from the restaurant and delivered without any hindrance on quality. Once the order is completed by the restaurant, the customer can expect about a 10 minute delivery window. Obviously a Chick fil A order is completed much faster than a risotto from that independently owned Italian restaurant.

OrderUp takes full responsibility on the food that they deliver although a selection of restaurants deliver on their own and have order minimums. You also have the option to pick your order up at the restaurant.  OrderUp delivery restaurants have no minimum order, just a $3.99 delivery fee. OrderUp makes their money on a portion of the delivery fee and a percentage on the dollar volume sold at the restaurants. Drivers for OrderUp get a percentage of the delivery fee and their tips – they work as independent contractors.  A driver can expect to make up to $20 to $25 an hour. 
The consumer has assistance available connecting on line, through Twitter: @OrderUpHelp and e-mail. The OrderUp corporate staff is there to address any questions the consumer might have.

Since Baltimore is headquarters for OrderUp their  delivery areas are continually growing: Canton, Federal Hill, Ridgeley Delight, Mt. Vernon, Harbor East, Locust Point, Little Italy, Fells Point, Station North and all the way to Johns Hopkins Hospital to the east and University of Maryland Hospital on the west side.

There are numerous job opportunities at OrderUp.com from being a driver or working as a remote customer service representative.  Restaurant owners looking to expand their market share check out the process at OrderUp.com – Restaurant Owners.
www.Orderup.com   Facebook  Twitter: @Orderup
 


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