scrubbedexpat091

Just always keep in mind with IC, none of those fees go to the driver/shopper, and IC isn't very generous most of the time with the pay they offer drivers. A 30-40 unit shop + 15km drive may only pay $10-$14 and take 2 hours total.

DigitalGhost

Yeah I've noticed there's quite a campaign on Reddit atm for people in Ontario to avoid Uber Eats and DoorDash and order directly from the restaurant instead because of how those companies treat their delivery drivers.

bats

Nobody delivers here! No groceries, no takeout. It's tough.

BristolUK

Yes...by doing it the way I do - saving the individual delivery fee and cutting the 5% down to 2% - I can tip better.

DigitalGhost

Where is that?

Tbh it surprises me just how many options are available in Canadian cities. You would think that options in the UK would be plentiful given its small size and hugely centralised population but they're not. Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and a few other major supermarket chains have their own plus Amazon Pantry and Ocado offer online only alternatives. Trying to get a slot with one of them since last March has been a constant uphill struggle though and when you can get a slot, the minimum order requirements are insane.

Tesco charge an exorbitant delivery fee atm if you order below £50 so you either end up ordering a bunch of things you don't need or essentially paying out money for nothing.

DigitalGhost

Just a little heads up for anyone this might help, Revolut does work on Voila at least. I noticed they allow you to have a CAD balance on your Revolut account these days too so I just transferred some money into that and I have a grocery delivery coming later today. There was a temptation to live on takeaways for a fortnight but I think my wallet and waistline will thank me for not doing that.

Metro will not deliver to my postcode for whatever reason which considering I'm only a couple of blocks from the Eaton Centre seems a bit weird.

Jerseygirl

That’s one hurdle crossed...good for you and welcome to T.O.

DigitalGhost

Cheers, I don't think I could have done it without the help from you and Siouxie tbh. It's going to be a bit awkward for the next couple of weeks or so though because I need to remotely work my notice in my old job from the UK so I'll need to be up in the wee hours every morning.

Fortunately in addition to the stay at home order, the weather isn't exactly inviting me to go outside atm so that definitely makes quarantine easier. I went out on the balcony for a few minutes yesterday but not for long and the weather today looks much worse.

Some of the deals on DoorDash are really good as well. When I got here I managed to get 4 meals worth of really good quality Japanese food plus some drinks delivered for under $60 including the tip. You wouldn't get that anywhere in the UK.

Jerseygirl

We went for a walk yesterday morning, the sun was shining and it felt quite pleasant. Although in some places where the wind blows between the buildings it was uncomfortable. Also how high up you are will make a difference. One summer we went to look at a condo on the 50th floor. When I opened the door onto the balcony, all the inside doors closed with a bang. It was windy on the balcony, which surprised me because at ground level it was a beautiful day, with no wind.

ChrisBan

odd, I used to live a couple blocks away from Eaton centre and they would be delivering there. I guess they’ve blocked off some postal codes for lack of parking, I guess they figured loss of business would be less than the stack of parking tickets their drivers would be driving around with.

who did you use in the end? I’ve been tempted by Voila but their $8 delivery fee just makes me go in store instead.

DigitalGhost

It could be a parking thing although DoorDash don't seem to have an issue with it and brought the food right to my front door. Unfortunately they decided not to knock for some reason so I didn't realise it was there until I received a delivery confirmation SMS and opened the door on the off-chance.

I did use Voila because they had some offers on that grabbed my attention. As a supposed-to-be mature professional in my 30's I could pretend it wasn't the BOGOF offer on chocolate milk that initially grabbed my intention but I would be lying through my back teeth.

I grabbed a $6.99 delivery slot though. It's only a dollar under the normal rate but it's a principal thing really. In the UK most of them either won't charge you or will only charge you very little if you order over £50.

DigitalGhost

Oh another hint for anyone who might be arriving for the first time or returning after a long time away. A lot of the Canadian grocery, food delivery, and transport are geo-locked to the local app stores only but if you have an Android phone then you can sign up for a 2nd Google Play account from Canada and add it to your phone. It lets you install stuff from both the UK and Canadian app stores and plus you can get an extra email address, free Google drive etc.

You can switch your UK account to another region but you'll lose any credit you have on it plus any geo-restricted UK content that way including movies or TV shows you might have paid for.

ChrisBan

sorry, reread your post and you mentioned Voila! Good experience using them?

DigitalGhost

Not sure, I chose a cheap slot so they're not due to arrive to me until 9-10pm today. Siouxie and JG both recommended them though.

Jerseygirl

Voila and Gateway are best IMO.