Does toast provide any value to the customer going to the restaurant now that they have added this fee? Why wouldn't I go on the toast menu, pick everything I want, see the fee and then just call the restaurant? Door Dash and GrubHub have tried integrating into the restaurants website and charging ridiculous fees for delivery, there is even less value in having a fee for pick up.
Are you so awkward that you would rather pay a dollar than talk?
Slowly picking what you want on a website and seeing all your options without having to quiz an employee for a bunch of time on the phone is the convenience. Knowing exactly what you want and saying it aloud is not an inconvenience.
I'm not the person above, but I don't miss calling to place orders. I miss it even less at the end of a long day, a few beers in, in a country that speaks a third language.
I book through a screen when I can, at my own speed. It's nicer.
Calling in orders was unthinkable most times, unless I knew that the business was accustomed to delivery orders anyway. But usually, there was just no need or reason for me to call in ahead for orders. (I don't own a car, so I certainly wouldn't be picking up, always dining in.)
However, ordering pickup food online is an amazing service now. I picked up this habit quite recently, when I realized that Google Maps makes it super easy. They present your choices between GrubHub, or the restaurant's own website, or other services. So what I do is get on the bus, then when I'm about 20 minutes away, I'll just open up my phone and order ahead. Credit card payments are no problem; I often use PayPal with GrubHub, or Google Pay.
Calling in an order on the bus would be unthinkable, since I would not be reciting my credit card details by voice in a public space. But online ordering makes it a piece of cake.
This Toast fee may be affecting me soon; I recently started patronizing a coffeehouse that uses Toast, and ordering ahead seemed like a really good idea. We'll see.
