I’m no Masterchef but I do like experimenting in the kitchen and I am perfectly capable of whipping up meals for me and the hubby. However, Carpet Head and I also order food delivery often. We usually order by phone and I haven’t tried ordering food online or through an app even though most restaurants have that option. That changed when I heard about Foodpanda, a relatively new online food delivery service.
Foodpanda is from the same group that brought us Zalora and Easy Taxi. The online food delivery service has already been operating in several countries before it launched in the Philippines in the middle of last year. The app is also available for download from the App Store, Windows Store, and Google Play.
I’m a big fan of Zalora, so when I found out that Foodpanda’s from the same group, I had high expectations when I tried ordering dinner for me and the hubby last week. I was already on my laptop so I decided to order via the website and just try the app some other time.
Ordering from Foodpanda’s website
The Foodpanda website is fairly easy to navigate. The first thing that greets you when the site loads is a search bar that asks you to input your location so you can search nearby restaurants. You can search for restos that way or you can scroll down and choose from a list of popular restaurants or types of cuisine.
When you’ve selected a location or cuisine, you are then brought to a listing of restaurants. You can filter the list further by playing around with the options on the left side. When you click on a particular restaurant, you are brought to a page with the menu, reviews, and other important info like delivery hours, delivery time, delivery minimum and payment options accepted.
It’s important to note these other information first before you start adding items to your cart. I made the mistake of not going over all that info and started ordering things only to find out at checkout that the restaurant I chose didn’t accept my preferred payment option. I had to start all over again and choose a different store. Almost heartbreaking ’cause I had my heart set on a particular dish from that resto haha.
After selecting a restaurant and adding stuff to your cart, you can proceed to checkout to review your order and select whether you want your food delivered or if you prefer to pick it up. When you move on to the checkout page, you can now type in your details and delivery address. You can also select your payment option: ‘pay now’ or ‘pay on delivery’. For those who are short on cash, some restaurants do accept online payment (credit card, PayPal, GCash or SmartMoney). If you pay on delivery, you can indicate whether you need change for X amount.
Anyway, that night I ordered from Tapa King. It’s one of our go-to food delivery places so I was expecting the same level of customer service. Not too long after I placed the order, I received a text message from Foodpanda confirming my order. And about a minute after that, I received a text message from Tapa King with their own confirmation. Foodpanda and Tapa King did not disappoint me that night. The ordering process was quite easy and our food arrived on time and still hot.
Points for Foodpanda
My experience with Foodpanda has been okay based on just this one occasion. I like that you get more restaurant options with Foodpanda and that you also have more payment options with some restaurants. However, I have yet to try ordering from a non-fastfood restaurant, so I can’t say for sure that the service will be the same.
Areas for Improvement
My experience with Foodpanda was a good one, but I think a lot of that had to do with my store of choice. I think Foodpanda will have to coordinate really closely with the restaurants to make sure orders are handled promptly and deliveries are received on time by the customers – these areas are usually where most complaints are about when it comes to food delivery.
You can try out Foodpanda by visiting their website or you can download the app from the App Store, Windows Store, and Google Play.
Have you tried Foodpanda? How was it?