Food Apps Are Ruining Fast Food One Glitchy Order at a Time

It's Wednesday, which means it's time to order up another heaping helping of gripes with a new edition of The Gripe Report!

And speaking of ordering things, I want to talk about food apps.

Y'know, applications on your phone that you can use to order food.

It's a simple idea that years ago sounded amazing. You just hop on this app, press a few buttons, and then someone brings you grub.

Have a gripe? Send it in!: matthew.reigle@outkick.com

However, it's an idea that's far from perfect, and there are plenty of things about these apps that drive me insane, so this week, we're complaining about food apps.

No one should have to live like this. There must be a better way. (Photo by Yu Chun Christopher Wong/S3studio/Getty Images)

Too Many

My biggest complaint about food apps is that there are too many of them. 

There are like three or four apps for delivering food (not counting apps for grocery stores), and then every restaurant you go to has its own app, and they’re all completely different.

Like, I just want a dollar coffee from McDonald’s, but I can’t remember how to do it because it’s different than the Jersey Mike’s app, which is different than the Starbucks app, and so on and so forth.

I want a one-stop shop for food apps. One singular food app, which we will call "FŪD."

Pronounced "Food," not "Fudd" like Elmer Fudd…

FŪD would tackle anything and everything that has to do with food.

You want to get some grub delivered? FŪD has your back.

Want to check a menu? FŪD can do it.

Want to rack up reward points to feed your food addiction? FŪD.

Now, I have no idea how this would work. Like, who would run FŪD? I like to think I would with the help of funding from angel investors, but I think some major corporations would have a problem with this, thus defeating the point and the beautiful simplicity of FŪD.

The Fact That I Gave In And Now Have An Armory Of Food Apps

Years ago, I was anti-food app. In a lot of ways, I still am.

I still think it’s kind of nuts that to order from a drive-through, I have to have a specialized tool to let Wendy’s know I’ve got a hankering for a Dave's Double like some kind of burger Batphone.

But, in the same way people had to cave to the email, I had to give in and download a collection.

Why was my hand forced? I dug my heels in for years, but then one day I cracked.

Was it the promise of a $0.99 any-size coffee at McD’s… yeah, actually I think it was.

So, I guess I’m just a sellout on this, and all it took was a dollar.

That's a nifty stack of gift cards… it'd be a real shame if you couldn't use them on apps for some stupid reason. (Getty Images)

The Gift Card Situation

I recently discovered that some of these restaurant apps don’t let you use gift cards on them.

While I’m usually not a fan of government intervention, I would like to see swift action on this point.

It's my understanding that this has to do with fees, but how ridiculous is that? They have already got their money, and now they want to decide how I spend it.

On top of that, you can't use restaurant gift cards to order through delivery services.

Just ridiculous, and if and when I run for office, this issue will be at the top of my platform.

No One Is As Impressed By My Reward Points Total As I Am

While I’m not big on food apps, I do have a weird sense of pride about how I could get an Egg McMuffin for nothing thanks to my accrued reward points.

I keep this close to the vest (don’t tell anyone, please) because no one seems to be as impressed by my reward points balance.

Like, I couldn’t even tell you the last time I paid for guacamole at Chipotle. I’ve got the points to get it for free… then pay for it on my wife’s bowl because they only let you redeem one at a time.

But not enough people are impressed by this. It feels like some kind of flex. Not quite like having a black AmEx card, but only a few notches down.

This is especially the case with the Jersey Mike’s app, which dished out our rewards for picking NFL and NHL games. 

I can’t tell you how proud I was to eat a chicken cheesesteak I had earned by correctly picking random hockey games.

Sure, I haven’t had any kids yet, but I assume it’s on par.

Of course, I could’ve just bet on those games the old-fashioned way and used the winnings — which can be exchanged for goods and services — to buy sandwiches. 

Meh… this was more fun.

Delivery apps are great when they work, but if they don't, be prepared to lose your mind. (Getty Images)

Delivery Faux Pas That Leave You Scrambling 

One last thing that I hate about food delivery apps, specifically — your DoorDash and your Uber Eats and your Postmates (if anyone uses that one) — is the way that when they go wrong, they really mess up your evening.

For instance, I placed an order 24 hours in advance for New Year's Eve for my wife and me. Just a pizza and some wings, nothing fancy.

However, despite the Earth having made an entire rotation around its axis since I placed the order, half an hour before it was due to be delivered, the restaurant canceled it.

No explanation. 

I know that's more the restaurant's fault, but it kind of feels like this is the app doing me wrong.

That left me scrambling, searching for alternatives, making me spend some of the final hours of 2025 trying to figure out how the f--k I could get someone to bring me a pizza.

I realized that this is a big problem with these apps. When they work, they're great (aside from the upcharges on everything).

But when they go wrong? Well, it's bad enough to inspire an entire edition of The Gripe Report.

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That's it for this week's edition of The Gripe Report!

Be sure to send in any gripes you've got for future editions!: matthew.reigle@outkick.com