Your meal, just a click away

WHY SHOULD YOU order your meal from your favourite food joint online? You already have their number on speed dial and they have your name and address in their database.

Well, for starters there's the accuracy advantage, so you won't have to go through the hassle of arguing with the drivers when you're handed a botched up order (seriously, there's nothing as upsetting as unsolicited pepperoni on a cheese pizza to a vegetarian).

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Secondly, and more importantly, you'd have access to updated menus and promotions, which circumvent the exhausting hunt for the ancient menu you just know you have resting in some long forgotten corner of your house.

This week sees the launch of foodonclick.com, a website dedicated to delivering food to your doorstep at no extra cost.

City Times caught up with founder and US Presidential Summit entrepreneur Nevzat Aydin to find out more.

What inspired the concept for foodonclick.com?

I was studying for my MBA in the University of San Francisco in Silicon Valley and I used a similar service to order my food there. When I returned to Turkey, I decided to introduce the idea to Istanbul in 2001. Back then we had approximately 200 restaurants on board. And now, in 2010, we have more than 4,000 restaurants on the website and almost 800,000 users in total with an average 75,000 people using it to order daily. Next we went to Russia.

And what brings the website to the UAE?

I met Shekhar Rao, our CEO here, when he was down in Turkey for a visit. He recommended entering Dubai, and after market research we turned up some very positive numbers and feedback from restaurants.

How many restaurants in the city are on board currently?

Right now we have more than 500 branches from a total of 200 outlets on board. We're hoping for a much larger number by the end of the year – almost 1,000. Currently, it's only a soft launch in Dubai. Every week we will add new restaurants and updates.

How would one go about placing an order on foodonclick.com?

Everything on the website is classified by region, cuisine type and finally restaurants. Once you've decided which one you want to order from, the menu along with a list of promotions available in the outlet will show up.

What other information will we get to see?

You'll also be able to see the ratings of the restaurant according to service, speed and taste as determined by other users. It will also feature the minimum amount required for a delivery to be made and a space for special instructions (such as, don't ring the bell, just give me a missed call when you arrive or please bring me some extra ketchup). We've kept it extremely user-friendly.

What about payment?

The main motto right now is that a credit card is not required to place an order; you'd pay cash on delivery. And it's at the exact same price. However, we feature many more discounts and special offers. Once we've built customer confidence in us, we'll step into the 'credit card phase'.

Are there any particular criteria for a restaurant to join on?

It is very important to us to work with the best restaurants that have excellent delivery services in place. If they don't meet our customer service standards, we're not very keen to take them on.

How much does it cost for a restaurant owner to bring his outlet on board?

The restaurants pay us a monthly commission depending on the quantity of business we bring to them. If they do not receive any orders through us at the end of the month, they are not charged at all. Coming on board is free of cost with absolutely no hidden charges.

What's next for foodonclick.com?

Within the next few months we'll be launching in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. And before the end of the year we'll be entering other GCC regions such as Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. Also, besides the option to use a credit card, a mobile application, including one specially created for the iPhone, will be added.

Who does one contact to follow up on deliveries, complain or provide feedback?

We can be messaged, called up, e-mailed and there are user ratings on the website. We even have a special life support channel. Customers can log on and interact with our agents immediately, who will in turn contact the restaurants and check up on the status of the delivery and get back to them.