10x how to find out if you're addicted to UberEats
From acai bowls to Surinamese baka bana with peanut sauce: name an exotic dish and I know exactly where to order it. I do this regularly. Okay, actually just every day. Well, it’s painful but true: I am addicted to UberEats. It undoubtedly has something to do with working from home. Yes, I blame corona again, but there is a kernel of truth in it. I actually spend a lot less money on clothes. I mean: who sees me in my kimono sitting behind the laptop, dog and boyfriend aside? Good: money left over. The perfect excuse to justify my UberEats behavior.
When you’re working from home all day, that doorbell is really the highlight of the day. Who doesn’t get happy from food? With some shame, I accept my order at the door daily, because I am aware that the neighbors can see this scene. Therefore, I try to grab that bag inside as quickly as possible. Fortunately, the neighbors next to us also have an UberEats addiction, so that’s nice. It felt really good the other day to tell my boyfriend: “Wow, our neighbors really order food a lot, huh?” But now seriously: I really want to get rid of this UberEats behavior. Because yes, I really experience this as an addiction. I can really enjoy cooking and yet I refuse to do it. UberEats makes you lazy, that should be clear. Due to the habit of convenience, all other options simply seem no longer efficient. Time is precious after all, right? My resolution for 2022 is at least: less UberEats.
Do you recognize yourself in the points below? Then we can say that you have caught the UberEats addiction.
1. You have developed a ordering routine
In other words: you know exactly where to order what. I have about five favorites that I switch between. The best sandwiches for lunch, the tastiest Japanese, crispiest pizza, and a few more. When one of these restaurants is closed, I am really not amused.
2. You get furious about stops
And not just a little. Then that button of ‘preparing’ finally jumps to ‘on the way’, and the delivery person suddenly has to go to all sorts of other houses first. What a disappointment.
3. You have tried multiple times to cut back
You have added up your UberEats expenses and thought: wow, this is extreme, I will cook more. Then the next day you just order something again.
4. You recognize the delivery person at the door and vice versa
That is of course never a good sign.
5. You order multiple times a day
Not only do you order lunch, but a few hours later also your dinner. I really try to avoid this. Once a day is the max. Okay, sometimes I do order twice a day, but that is really an exception, you know.
6. You bike past the supermarket and yet ordering seems much more efficient
We all use the excuse ‘I’m too busy to go grocery shopping’. Sometimes it’s really true. When you have a deadline and need to keep working, ordering is ideal. But the UberEats addict just bikes straight past the supermarket.
7. You have all the ingredients at home and yet you open UberEats
You had planned to cook. Got everything at home and even picked a recipe from your Ottolenghi cookbook. But then you suddenly get overwhelmed by fatigue and there’s only one thing to do: order. Those ingredients will still be good tomorrow.
8. You get discounts as a reward
As a regular member, you are of course rewarded with discounts. And rightly so. Often I feel proud too when I get free delivery after twenty orders at the same restaurant. What a victory this deal is, I think. That’s what we all do it for.
9. You obsessively check where the delivery person is
The panic I feel when the delivery person seems to be standing still for even a second: unprecedented. Often I zoom in with my fingers to see if that bike symbol is really not moving forward. When I’m very hungry, I often shout something at my phone like: ‘Where are you?!’
10. You never receive emails anymore, because you’re already a regular customer
In the beginning of my UberEats era, I still received emails with calls like: ‘We miss you, Ella, will you order something again soon?’ Or: ‘We’ve missed you for a while, that’s why we’re offering you 10% discount now.’ Meanwhile: radio silence. I don’t receive a single email anymore, because I’m already in. Regular customers don’t need to be emailed anymore. Clear story.
