Grubhub promises its customers convenience by allowing them to order food from their favorite restaurants and have it delivered to their location.
Sometimes, however, this convenience is strained by the service taking longer than expected. If you’re wondering why Grubhub is suddenly slow, read this article!
Why Is Grubhub So Slow In [currentyear]?
Grubhub is usually slow because of restrictions on time and distance as of [currentyear]. Grubhub works by providing you access to restaurants in your area, but the company can’t control that restaurant’s operating hours or factors like traffic and the weather. You should expect Grubhub to be slow under certain conditions, but eventually, your order will be delivered.
Keep reading to learn the different factors that slow down Grubhub’s services, including those relating to distance, time, and more!
1. You Placed Your Order Late
As stated above, Grubhub only lets you access restaurants remotely, but Grubhub doesn’t affect the restaurant’s hours of operation.
So, if you make your order late at night when it’s nearing their closing time and most of the staff members have left, it’s likely going to take longer for your order to be prepared.
Aside from this, fewer drivers are available the later it gets because it’s less safe and much harder to navigate at night, especially in unfamiliar neighborhoods.
In this case, Grubhub is slow because the system is still trying to find a driver who will accept the offer and make the delivery.
2. You Live In A Rural Area
Grubhub is at its best in densely populated urban areas and is considerably slower in rural areas.
With that, one of the biggest reasons for this is that there are fewer drivers available than there are in metropolitan areas.
Even if you’re ordering from a restaurant in an urban region, Grubhub drivers can see your address and might not want to drive out to you.
Therefore, the longer it takes to find one that accepts the offer, the slower the service seems from your end.
3. You Ordered From A Restaurant That’s Far Away
Grubhub gives you a 70-mile radius within which you can order from restaurants, but your delivery could be as far as 70 miles away.
So, assuming you find a driver willing to take your order immediately and there’s no wait time at the restaurant, it will seem slow regardless if they have to make a long drive to you.
4. Your Order Takes Long To Prepare
How long your order takes to get ready determines how long your delivery takes, especially for items that aren’t readily available.
Typically, a restaurant has its popular menu items that are almost always ready to go, and, on the other end of the spectrum, there are the items that aren’t ordered as frequently.
If you request the latter, you might have to wait longer. Also, you can increase your potential wait time by placing a large order.
For example, if you order many items, whether or not they’re popular, it takes time to get them all ready for delivery.
5. Your Driver Is Making Multiple Stops
Grubhub drivers have the option to accept more than one offer at a time and make the deliveries on the same run.
If your driver is taking long, they could be making other stops before they get to your location.
Additionally, depending on how easy it is to pinpoint addresses in your area, it might take them longer per stop if they’re struggling to find where they need to go.
6. You Didn’t Tip Enough
Grubhub drivers get enough information in an offer to calculate how small or large the tip is, and this affects how fast your order gets picked up.
Therefore, if you left a low amount for a tip or none at all, you might struggle to find a driver to pick up your order, making your Grubhub delivery move a lot slower.
Also, even if you plan on tipping them in cash when they get to your location and have indicated so in your order, Grubhub drivers are skeptical of these offers, so they stay away from them.
7. Your Driver Is Stuck In Traffic
If your Grubhub driver is stuck in traffic, your delivery will naturally take longer than expected to reach your location.
Fortunately, you can track your Grubhub driver from the app, and if they seem like they’re on the road and not moving or they’re moving very slowly, this is likely the reason.
8. There Aren’t Many Drivers Available
As I’ve mentioned so far, there are different instances where there might not be enough drivers, making your Grubhub order move slowly.
Aside from the reasons above, sometimes there aren’t any drivers because they’re all working on other orders.
Further, situations like this are expected when people are placing orders on a large scale like they would on an occasion like Super Bowl Sunday.
9. Bad Weather
Weather conditions in your area affect how fast your Grubhub driver can get your order to your location.
For example, if it’s raining or there’s a snowstorm, people drive slower because it’s more dangerous on the roads.
If a storm warning has been issued, you might have trouble finding a driver willing to risk making a delivery.
10. Technical Difficulties
Sometimes Grubhub is slow because of technical issues within the service, e.g., in the app, at checkout. If this happens, just wait a while or try accessing it from a different platform.
To know more, you can also read our posts on why is Grubhub so expensive, is Grubhub safe, and how far does Grubhub deliver.
Conclusion
Typically, Grubhub is slow because of external factors such as the restaurant winding down operations for the day or the customer living far away.
Also, Grubhub drivers affect how fast the delivery happens, and they’re slowed down by multiple orders on one run, bad weather, or long wait times at the restaurant.
