This was my first (and last) time using Uber Eats, and I want to share my experience so others don’t make the same mistake I did.I was in an unfamiliar town after taking my mother to urgent care. As she was being prepared for hospital transfer, I needed to order food quickly and chose Uber Eats thinking it would simplify the process. I picked McDonald’s—a safe, simple choice—and trusted the app to guide me to the most logical nearby option.Big mistake.While the app’s interface is clean and inviting, it creates a false sense of intelligence. It shows you restaurants that are currently accepting orders, but makes no effort to match you with the closest location. In my case, Uber Eats routed my order to a McDonald’s 26 miles away, down winding back roads, past railroad crossings and stoplights, even though there were clearly closer locations.By the time a driver picked up my order, it took over 45 minutes to reach me. Not only did that increase the delivery cost, but by the time the food arrived, my mother had already been transferred to the hospital. Fortunately, a kind staff member at the urgent care center got a free lunch.Trying to get in touch with customer service was another battle. The app is designed to loop you through a maze of help topics that assume the only issues are food or driver-related. Finding a way to actually speak to a human required persistence, luck, and sheer determination.When I finally reached someone, the customer service representative was cold and dismissive. I explained the issue was with how the system assigns restaurants, not the food or driver. Her response? "That’s how the system works." According to her, I should have known better and checked which location my order was going to. Apparently, the burden is on the user to outthink the algorithm.Bottom line: Uber Eats doesn't prioritize the customer experience, location relevance, or meaningful support. It prioritizes what’s easiest for the system—not what’s best for you.If you plan to use Uber Eats, you better know what you don’t know, because the app certainly won’t help you figure it out.
