One of your future DoorDash orders may not be delivered by a human, as the company announces its first-ever robot at the annual "Dash Forward" event (via NRN). DoorDash is far from the only food delivery company to have an interest in handing delivery duties to robots, though it seems that this one is designed to be a little more than a self-driving cooler.
DoorDash claims that its first delivery robot can “travel seamlessly across bike lanes, roads, and sidewalks” at up to 20 miles per hour. It also seems to have some anthropomorphic design features, which make the robot look like it has a face.
The fact that it also has "basic speech capabilities" makes me wonder whether DoorDash has deliberately designed its robot to look like it was pulled straight out of a cartoon for young kids. Hopefully, that doesn't mean I'm going to be expected to tip it (tips are strictly for humans only).
DoorDash also confirmed that Dot will feature a screen with the name of the next customer. Not that this is going to stop people from trying to steal food from an unattended robot wherever possible.
And if you're sick and tired of food missing from your orders, DoorDash is implementing a new "SmartScale" that it believes will cut missing food claims by 30%. Basically, this is for restaurant employees, who use the scale to weigh and confirm that the order is all present and accounted for.
Currently, Dot is being tested in the Phoenix (AZ) metro area, and if things work out, it will no doubt spread to other cities. The SmartScale has been tested at Panera Bread, whose chief digital officer claims the tool is "easy to use and takes up virtually no counter space.” So expect that to start showing up elsewhere in the near future.
Wait, DoorDash is handling table reservations too?
Yes, you read that correctly. Apparently not content with simply being a food delivery service, DoorDash is going to start offering DashPass members a bunch of new rewards — including the ability to make restaurant reservations.
The feature is called "Going Out" and is available thanks to a partnership with restaurant technology company SevenRooms. This service is free if you have a paid DashPass account, and will be available to all diners for a limited time.
For those that don't know, DashPass is $10 a month and gives members free delivery and lower service fees if they hit a minimum threshold — plus access to exclusive offers and 5% back on pickup orders. Potentially very useful, but some of these new additions sound straight-up ridiculous.
DoorDash claims that this will allow restaurants to see Guest profiles and offer more personalized experiences, but that doesn't change the fact that it's trying to charge people to book a table. That's always been a free service, even in the app and service-based world we live in. Because why wouldn't it be? It's in a restaurant's best interest to know who's coming in and when. Charging for that privilege, even indirectly, defies common sense.
Going Out also includes a reward system, which I can get behind. Eat out more, and you get extra offers and other benefits as a result. This is hardly a groundbreaking idea, though once again, these reward programs are typically free to join — since you can't get anything unless you pay for food. Certainly not the kind of thing that should be exclusive to a paid membership.
Giving paid members better rewards would make a little more sense, considering it's part of a wider package. But locking it off completely? Then it's a pointless perk.
I can get behind the idea of robots making the deliveries, but having to pay to be able to make restaurant reservations or earn rewards when you eat out? Paywalling those things is just plain ridiculous.
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