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On Tuesday, May 17, food delivery service Grubhub offered New York City residents a free lunch with a special promotional code between 11 AM and 2 PM. Many customers reported that the app crashed due to overloaded servers, as NYC residents and office workers used the code FREELUNCH at checkout.
However, when the app became overburdened, hungry office workers were left wasting precious break time haggling with customer care over orders that never arrived.
Company spokesman Christopher Krautler said:
“We saw an unprecedented amount (of orders), more than we’ve seen before with any promotion, Grubhub was trying to process 6,000 orders per minute from its New York customers."
Krautler said the technical issues were resolved later during the 11 AM to 2 PM offer period. Due to the sheer volume of orders, participating restaurants were backed up in delivering them.
Memes galore as Grubhub crashes after offering free lunches to New Yorkers
On Tuesday, the food-delivery company handed residents of New York a $15 lunch credit as part of a promotion to boost the business during the lunch hour.
As reports of technical troubles faded, consumers began to raise new problems that appeared to be caused by the promotions. Those who chose to pick up their orders or went to a restaurant during the event reported massive lineups waiting for food.
Others said they waited over an hour for their food and were placed in a customer service queue with 2,500 others.
However, some people noted another issue that many restaurants in New York City seemed to switch off delivery during the campaign, thereby opting out of the enormous surge of customers.
Some New Yorkers took to social media to vent their dissatisfaction with the difficulties in placing orders. However, a few people found the situation amusing.
"Grubhub" became the top trending topic on Twitter after users claimed the app crashed, their promo code expired, and local restaurants refused to participate.
Twitter users demanded that the company accept responsibility for the lack of planning and compensate restaurants for potential losses.
Why did the company offer free delivery in NYC, only for restaurants to turn it off?
A moment of silence for the NYC front-line food service workers who were laid off today due to the company's $15 free lunch promotion.
Grubhub's reasoning behind the campaign
According to the company's promotional materials, the campaign was inspired by a poll conducted among roughly 1,000 professionals in the city. According to 60%, a proper lunch break helped them mentally reset during the workday.
However, despite their fondness for lunch, the findings revealed that over 69% of the participants frequently skip it because they are busy or take fewer breaks than before the pandemic.
Although the official food delivery service Twitter account has responded to consumers who have received their free lunches, the company has yet to respond to most complaints from users who have had problems with the app.
