Pasted directly from team member, Emmy!

 

Plates: Comparative Research & Participatory Roadmapping

Competitors

What We Learned:

• Many food delivery companies are more individual-focused, in which customers place an order for only themselves
• Some companies (e.g. Doordash) allow for group orders, which brings in a relatively more community-oriented aspect to the ordering process compared to others
• Most food delivery platforms, such as Uber Eats and DoorDash, are expensive and include many additional fees (e.g. delivery fee)
• Stanford Dining provides a convenient way to eat food with others, but is not necessarily cheap
• Measuring Affordability
  • DashPass – $4.99/month, 11% service fee (more affordable)
  • EatsPass – $9.99/month, 15% service fee
• Measuring company’s social emphasis
  • involves multiple people eating together
  • low-cost, low-effort to socialize

 

Participatory Roadmap

Interview result:

Participatory Roadmap per interviewee

Buyer Interviewee Example 1 (Solmih)

• Name: Abbie Maemoto
• Grade: Sophomore
• Contact info:
• Learnings: uses online ordering platforms a lot, moderately conscious about spending
• Questions: (see Interview Questions for more details)
  1. What is the ratio between take-out vs. in-dining?
     1. Doordash 4 times a wake
  2. Do you enjoy eating takeout with others?
     1. I truthfully don’t doordash with other people, but I do enjoy it when I do. Dash Pass (spend $12 to work the pass). 50% with other people
  3. On average, how much money do you spend on lunch? Dinner?
     1. $20
  4. On average, how much time do you spend on having lunch? Dinner?
     1. Eating (20-30 minutes). almost always working and eating
  5. Does the price of an online order change your decision to buy it?
     1. Oh yeah, boba is the one thing I will doordash with other people. I will buy with reason.
  6. What features would you like to have in our service? (show Participatory Roadmap)
     1. tracking the order, making sure food doesn’t get stolen
  7. Would you use our service? Why or why not?
     1. faster service (usually takes 45 minutes to come)

 

Buyer Interviewee Example 2 (Solmih)

• Name: Joey Chen
• Grade: Sophomore
• Contact info:
• Learnings: uses online ordering platforms semi-frequently, mostly alone
• Questions: (see Interview Questions for more details)
  1. What is the ratio between take-out vs. in-dining?
     1. Take out twice a week, in-dining around 5 or 6 times a week
  2. Do you enjoy eating takeout with others?
     1. Prefer to eat with others, but usually eat alone. convenient, time-constraint. I like eating alone time to relax
  3. On average, how much money do you spend on lunch? Dinner?
     1. $20
  4. On average, how much time do you spend on having lunch? Dinner?
     1. Eating for 1 hour. almost always working and eating (delivery 2 hours)
  5. Does the price of an online order change your decision to buy it?
     1. YES! Opportunity cost of buying the product. If it’s a big meal, then I’d buy it
  6. What features would you like to have in our service? (show Participatory Roadmap)
     1. Person’s profile of who you’re going to eat with, time it will take, figuring out if there are any additional costs, where they’re located on campus, easy access (this person’s near me, and they’re craving these things), sending requests to have meals (accept/decline)
  7. Would you use our service? Why or why not?
     1. Yes, but not that often. Order meals (eat alone). Automatically show people who are really close to you!

 

Buyer Interviewee 3 (Michelle)

• Grade: Senior
• Where he lives: Row House (on the Row meal plan)
• Questions: (see Interview Questions for more details)
  1. What is the ratio between take-out vs. in-dining?
     1. He orders DoorDash frequently and uses DashPass because it’s expensive to DoorDash unless you have their pass, so it saves money in the long run. He often orders food from outside because he thinks “it gets monotonous on campus. Sometimes certain options just aren’t available or there’s a certain quality that you want. And then sometimes the dining hall is just closed during hours in which you want food.”
     2. He said he probably orders more on the weekend, mostly because of dining hall availability time-wise. And “it’s like a treat, [after going] through the entire work week … I tend to work a lot during the week, so I get really tired. So my weekends are the rest days and I’m just lazy and want to stay in bed, so I want it delivered to me.”
     3. Depends — orders takeout with others infrequently. “I usually don’t order DoorDash as a social activity, it’s more for convenience and when I feel hungry. But it there’s other people around and they’re also feeling the same way then I’ll do group order with them.”
     4. Last time he ordered takeout with others was because they werepulling an all-nighter and was hungry, so they ordered Jack-in-the-Box since it was the only thing open then.
  2. Do you enjoy eating food/takeout with others?
     1. For eating with other people, he said “the more familiar I am with them, the more enjoyable it is. It’s a little anxiety-inducing to just walk up to random people in a dining hall.” He hasn’t really done random matching with someone to grab a meal with, and feels neutral about it
  3. On average, how much money do you spend on lunch? Dinner?
     1. $20
  4. On average, how much time do you spend on having lunch? Dinner?
     1. Eats very fast, but if eating with others then will stay for however long the interaction is
  5. Does the price of an online order change your decision to buy it?
     1. At least enough to meet the DoorDash $12 no delivery fee, and max tries to keep it below 30-40.
  6. What features would you like to have in our service? (show Participatory Roadmap)
     1. cheaper than other options
     2. close-by pickup location
  7. Would you use our service? Why or why not?
     1. Says he would be less likely to use it if he had to go to a (pickup) place that is far, unless there’s a financial incentive (e.g. cheaper than DoorDash directly to door) for him to walk as opposed to having it delivered directly to his door.

 

Buyer Interviewee 4 (Michelle)

• Grade: Junior
• Where he lives: Roble (on the dining hall meal plan)
• Questions: (see Interview Questions for more details)
  1. What is the ratio between take-out vs. in-dining?
     1. Eats in campus dining more often, take-out less frequently unless friends are ordering together sometimes
  2. Do you enjoy eating food/takeout with others?
     1. Enjoys eating with friends
  3. On average, how much money do you spend on lunch? Dinner?
     1. probably 10-20
  4. On average, how much time do you spend on having lunch? Dinner?
     1. probably 1 hr
  5. Does the price of an online order change your decision to buy it?
     1. Yes – the cheaper the better
  6. What features would you like to have in our service? (show Participatory Roadmap)
     1. Showed confusion about the focus of the app, and recommended either to focus on offering cheaper food delivery, or on the social matching aspect like dating apps with food.
     2. He distinguished two angles for our app:
        • “I think if you approach it from a … Tinder/Hinge sort of approach to a food ordering app … the priority would have to be on meeting a new person”
        • otherwise: “if you’re focusing on the food, they’re just going to be like a [worse] Doordash” if it’s coming from the angle of a food delivery app with added features (like social matching).
          • “it’s like you’re choosing the existing product and then trying to add value to it, but that initial product was no designed to facilitate that, so it’s just like you’re creating Frankenstein”
  7. Would you use our service? Why or why not?
     1. (see above comments in part f)

 

Buyer Interviewee Example 5 (Chih-Ling)

• Name: Jou-Ann Pan
• Grade: MS
• Questions: (see Interview Questions for more details)
  1. What is the ratio between take-out vs. in-dining?
     1. 3(out, only when friends ask) 7(cook, cheaper)
  2. Do you enjoy eating takeout with others?
     1. No, don’t want to spend effort to take to other places to eat; delivery only when Amex reward
  3. On average, how much money do you spend on lunch? Dinner?
     1. 23 (in restaraunt), 5 (cook)
  4. On average, how much time do you spend on having lunch? Dinner?
     1. ~20min
  5. Does the price of an online order change your decision to buy it?
     1. Great but still prefer to eat with friends (save time, doesn’t have a car), still not eat alone
  6. What features would you like to have in our service? (show Participatory Roadmap)
     1. Discount
     2. Easy payment
     3. Easy pickup process
     4. Great food pics
     5. Multiple options
     6. Food prices not higher than restaraunt
  7. Would you use our service? Why or why not?
     1. busy or not,
        • if have more time and feel bored, will want to meet new friend. Have other opportunities to make new friends.
        • If busy, will eat with friends and using this service, more convenient

 

Buyer Interviewee Example 6 (Chih-Ling)

• Name: Ted Song
• Grade: MS
• Questions: (see Interview Questions for more details)
  1. What is the ratio between take-out vs. in-dining?
     1. Half order half cook (Korea)
     2. 95% cook (not many good Korean food selection; cost too high; )
  2. Do you enjoy eating takeout with others?
     1. Mostly invite people to house,
     2. Once take out (no tip)
  3. On average, how much money do you spend on lunch? Dinner?
     1. Meal plan (10~15)
     2. Cook ~10
  4. On average, how much time do you spend on having lunch? Dinner?
     1. 45preparation, 1.5 in total including waiting(dinner
     2. 20~30 preparation (lunch box)
  5. Does the price of an online order change your decision to buy it?
     1. 100%

 

1. What features would you like to have in our service? (show Participatory Roadmap)
   1. Great idea
   2. Would got bored with meal plan if his wife is not here
   3. Heard coterm bored with dinning hall
   4. Great having a lot of options
   5. Ordering in bulk is practical and reasonable
   6. Meeting people at lunch time great: If can meet people with similar interests, would be nice. Time consuming to meet people outside lunch and dinner time.
   7. Some students feel lonely, especially first year
2. Would you use our service? Why or why not?
   1. Yes, as the above questions

 

Buyer Interviewee 7 (Vivian)

• Name: Giannka Picache
• Learnings: very money conscious; very into eating different foods beyond the dining hall, main thing holding her back from ordering food frequently is the high cost of delivery
• Questions: (see Interview Questions for more details)
  1. What is the ratio between take-out vs. in-dining?
     1. Only doordashes around once a quarter. Money is the main factor.
  2. Do you enjoy eating takeout with others?
     1. Likes to do takeout with others to split the delivery fee… not so much about the social aspect.
  3. On average, how much money do you spend on lunch? Dinner?
     1. $15-18
  4. On average, how much time do you spend on having lunch? Dinner?
     1. 20 if by herself, easily an hour+ if with friends. Makes sure to separate doing work with her meal time.
  5. Does the price of an online order change your decision to buy it?
     1. Yes, and she’s always looking for people to split the delivery fee with or special deals with DoorDash.
  6. What features would you like to have in our service? (show Participatory Roadmap)
     1. Delivery tracking, promotions/referral codes to get $5 off
  7. Would you use our service? Why or why not?
     1. Yes, only if the prices are less than what she’s paying with DoorDash

 

Buyer Interviewee 8 (Vivian)

• Name: Tejal Patel
• Grade: Sophomore
• Questions: (see Interview Questions for more details)
  1. What is the ratio between take-out vs. in-dining?
     1. Doordash around 3 times a week
  2. Do you enjoy eating takeout with others?
     1. Usually like to do takeout to enjoy a meal by herself after a long week of classes
  3. On average, how much money do you spend on lunch? Dinner?
     1. $20-25 (delivery fee makes it SO expensive)
  4. On average, how much time do you spend on having lunch? Dinner?
     1. 30 minutes; eating out for dinner is much longer, around 2 hours
  5. Does the price of an online order change your decision to buy it?
     1. Yes, she usually tries to find whatever is the cheapest but if she’s really craving something she’ll just pay for it
  6. What features would you like to have in our service? (show Participatory Roadmap)
     1. She thinks it’d be interesting to see how the plates matchmaking would work in terms of matching people by interest
  7. Would you use our service? Why or why not?
     1. Yes, but convenience and reputation is important. And choices for food!

 

Buyer Interviewee 9 (Emmy)

• Name: Eleanor Peng
• Grade: Sophomore
• Questions:
  1. What is the ratio between take-out vs. in-dining?
     1. UberEats once a week
  2. Do you enjoy eating takeout with others?
     1. I like eating with people I know
  3. On average, how much money do you spend on lunch? Dinner?
     1. $20-25
  4. On average, how much time do you spend on having lunch? Dinner?
     1. Around 45 minutes
  5. Does the price of an online order change your decision to buy it?
     1. Yes, I would not spend more than 30 dollars on a meal
  6. What features would you like to have in our service? (show Participatory Roadmap)
     1. I think that making sure prices are not higher than restaurant prices/ plus the social matching aspects are interesting
  7. Would you use our service? Why or why not?
     1. Yes, I would try it out! If I like it, I will come back.

 

Buyer Interviewee 9 (Emmy)

• Name: Maya Arengo
• Grade: Sophomore
• Questions:
  1. What is the ratio between take-out vs. in-dining?
     1. I usually try to eat all in-dining because I am on the meal plan
  2. Do you enjoy eating takeout with others?
     1. Yes, I am open to that idea. I haven’t done it often though
  3. On average, how much money do you spend on lunch? Dinner?
     1. Nothing if on the meal plan. Outside, around 20.
  4. On average, how much time do you spend on having lunch? Dinner?
     1. Around 30-45 minutes
  5. Does the price of an online order change your decision to buy it?
     1. Yes, if it is too expensive then I would not buy it. However my price range is quite reasonable.
  6. What features would you like to have in our service? (show Participatory Roadmap)
     1. I like the friend-matching idea and affordability.
  7. Would you use our service? Why or why not?
     1. Yes, I would try it out. I think that reputation will have to precede my participation though.