Too tired to cook – don’t want to go out for dinner. What to do? At this last Sunday’s meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club, member Darrel Vaught had an answer. He noted that he orders home delivery from a restaurant; especially on Thursdays as that is how he feels when he finishes the Newsletter and hits the “send” button. Although he orders at times direct from a particular restaurant, he usually uses an iPhone App that allows him to order from over 100 restaurants here in Pattaya.
He mentioned that there are two delivery services that have been operating in Pattaya for several years; Door 2Door (D2D) and WOW (Waiter on Wheels). They have both telephone and online ordering, but recently both have connected up with another company called Food Panda, with the latter now providing the online platform for both services from their web sites as well as from a smart phone “App.” Darrel noted that his presentation would be on using the App which is available for both the iPhone and Android phones.
PCEC Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg welcomes members and guests to the Sunday meeting at Amari’s Tavern by the Sea Restaurant.
He explained that upon downloading the App to your smart phone, you initially have to sign up with your email address being your user name and setting a password. You then select your country, as Food Panda serves several countries, and then your location, as they also operate in Bangkok and a few other Thailand cities. However, in selecting Pattaya as your location, you will be using their platform to order from D2D and WOW restaurants. Darrel pointed out that in the listing provided by the Food Panda App, you will find that some of the restaurants are listed twice; this is because one menu will order from D2D and the other menu from WOW. He always orders from the WOW menu as there is no 10% service charge. Darrel mentioned that the D2D website notes that tipping is not necessary.
Darrel displayed the service area maps from the D2D and WOW websites, which showed the delivery zones are the same. In his case, he lives in an area of Jomtien that is in Zone 2 and has a 70 baht delivery charge from both D2D and WOW. He pointed out that Zone 2 also includes a large portion of the “Dark Side” (East of Sukhumvit Road). Also, he pointed out that the D2D and WOW websites both note the prices displayed by a restaurant may not be the same as shown on their in house menus; but for the restaurants he has both dined in and ordered delivery, he did not note any significant difference. However, there was one restaurant he was aware of that had their delivery prices from 80 to 100 baht more than their in house menu.
Darrel Vaught describes for his PCEC audience how to use the Food Panda “App” to order home delivery from over 100 available Pattaya restaurants.
There were several slides he displayed showing various screen captures from the App. Using the slides Darrel explained how (a) the menus were displayed, (b) to filter the listing for specific types of cuisine if you wished to shorten the listing, (c) to select items and place them in your “basket,” (d) you view your basket and make changes in your order, and (e) to place your order. Darrel said that the order window includes a selection for online payment and that several restaurants listed noted they accepted online payment. However, since he had never used the feature he wasn’t in a position to explain how it works.
Upon completion of the order, Darrel said you have a very short window to change your mind and call either D2D or WOW as the case may be – both services’ web sites have a telephone number to call and both note that changes cannot be made once the order is placed with the restaurant. Once the order is placed, you will receive a text message to that effect followed by an email showing your order and price. Darrel also mentioned that a “Deals” button at the bottom of the App will display restaurants that have promotions (discounts, extra item, free delivery, etc.); additionally in going through the restaurant listing, any showing a “%” sign means they have a promotion available and selecting that restaurant, the promotion will be described at the top of their menu listing.
In conclusion, Darrel noted that you will also receive “push” notifications from Food Panda which may be advising of a new restaurant, new promotion being offered, or other restaurant information. He showed how to turn off these notifications in “settings” if you don’t care to receive them.
MC Richard Silverberg presents Darrel Vaught with the PCEC’s Certificate of Appreciation for his presentation about ordering food delivery in Pattaya online.
In the Question and Answer session, someone asked if he had ever had a problem such as not getting what he ordered. Darrel responded that had happened to him only once. In unpacking his order, he observed that his main course, Scandinavian meatballs, was missing. Before he could call, he was called by D2D and told the restaurant had called them and they forgot to include the item; but that is was now on its way. Darrel said it arrived within 5 minutes.
The PCEC’s electoral officer advises members that the following Sunday will be the Club’s Annual General Meeting when he will announce the incoming governing board members.
After concluding his presentation on Food Panda, Darrel then pointed out some features on the Club’s Newsletter that folks may not be familiar with, including how to show the Newsletter in their Internet browser, sharing the Newsletter with others, and how to change the email delivery address by clicking on updating their subscription preferences which is located at the bottom of the Newsletter.
MC Richard Silverberg then brought everyone up to date on upcoming events and called on Roy Albiston to conduct the Open Forum, where questions are asked and answered about Expat living in Thailand, especially Pattaya.
For more information on the PCEC’s many activities, visit their website at www.pcecclub.org.
