Deep-fried crystal ball: Seamless’s recent missteps pave the way for competitors

Seamless has had almost two months to respond to user issues, so all of this feels tone deaf for a service that has become such a huge part of the cultural lexicon. Nowhere does it explicitly address issues that people are actually steamed about, like those misleading text notifications:

As a (mobile) editor, I don’t appreciate Seamless’s text messages using “Breaking News” pic.twitter.com/KdBwz2gtJq

— Emily Banks (@emjbanks) July 10, 2015

Or the blasé error notifications …

Hi @Seamless, your cheeky error messages are not cute when they prevent me from ordering food. pic.twitter.com/UNtIjUlbrY

— Tyler Coates (@tylercoates) July 3, 2015

Now it appears possible that Seamless’s design misstep paves the way for other food delivery apps with a more … seamless ordering experience: On Twitter, people have been recommending an alternative service called Caviar to Seamless refugees. It’s owned by payment app Square, itself renowned for its sleek design, and delivers food from a selection of restaurants that don’t normally deliver, with delivery fees starting at $1.99.

Indeed, since late June, Caviar users have been calling out Seamless’ problems, coupled with a coupon for $15 off.

Caviar is like foodler/seamless/grubhub but better. Here’s $15 off. It’s restaurants that usually don’t deliver https://t.co/CYW6qxoe94 — Ariel (@Ajocccccy) June 22, 2015

Why does everyone love seamless…. Caviar is 100x better in every way

— venus in furs (@trilllmom) June 19, 2015

Seamless, however, shows no outward sign that they will be deterred. “The changes to our site are just the beginning,” a rep wrote in an email to Digiday. “We think it’s wonderful that people love our service, and we’re taking feedback very seriously; we want to continue providing a service that people love.” And one that, in theory, doesn’t leave a bad taste.