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V-Thru: The Virtual Drive-thru App

V-Thru is an app similar to Carriage and Deliveroo but instead of it being a food delivery service, it’s a virtual drive-thru service that allows you to pick up food from restaurants that don’t have a drive-thru. I originally refused to use the app since it required me to sign up and register before I could explore it and I HATE apps that force me to sign up and hand over my personal information without letting me explore first. But eventually I had to cave in since I needed to experience the app for work purposes and now I kinda like it.

Before the pandemic anytime I wanted to pick up food I’d just go down to a restaurant, order my food and then pick it up and head back to my car. Some places even allowed me to call ahead of time so they could prepare my food that way I wouldn’t have to wait for long at the restaurant. But now with the pandemic, I prefer not leaving my car, touching restaurant door handles or using Knet machines which is why I’m liking V-Thru.

The way V-Thru works is you find a restaurant you want to order from and then once you place an order the app will let you know how long your food needs to be ready and navigates you to the restaurant. You also have to describe your car type and color because once you get to the restaurant the app recognizes you’re there and informs the restaurant that you’re outside. If your food is ready the restaurant will then come outside and find your car to deliver the food. All payments are done digitally through the app and you can even communicate with the restaurant via a chat box.

It’s actually a very practical service and the app fees are minimal at just 200fils. The app also isn’t packed with thousands of restaurants either so if you just want to randomly browse through the options its actually doable. They also regularly have virtual drive-thru events like one taking place this weekend called Street Crafters. So if you want to try it out and download the app, here is a link to their website. They also have a cute Instagram account you can check out which is @vthru.

23 replies on “V-Thru: The Virtual Drive-thru App”

How is this any different from just calling the restaurant directly, leaving your order and number and have them call you when the food is ready and they bring it outside in your car. Ive done this with a number of restaurants here in Kuwait, and all have been kind to call me and come out and drop off my food.

Well a lot of restaurants won’t accept orders by phone, you can’t pay for an order over the phone either nor you can you see the menu over the phone. But, more importantly, majority of the restaurants operate ghost kitchens which don’t have phone numbers and you most likely aren’t aware of their locations. For example with my company we have multiple ghost kitchens spread out around Kuwait each handling around 5-6 different brands.

Oh and of course you have the convenience factor. Order by phone or pay 200fils and not have to deal with a person, you can flip through a menu to order from, pay digitally and more importantly, be able to track the progress of your order.

how precise is their timing usually? I only ask because that would be a very important factor in me using the app. I would want my food to be ready as i arrive, so as to be as fresh and hot/cold as possible, while also not wanting to wait 15 minutes once i arrive to receive my order.

My wife used it once, and it stated 15 minutes, but she had to wait a further 20 minutes once she arrived to get her food. Granted this was in Bnaider pop-up thing, so maybe its a little off there.

it’s fairly accurate, i’m assuming bnaider pop-up was a different scenario since there it’s an event and didn’t have proper data to set an accurate timing.

Honestly until you mentioned it I forgot they both even had a pick up option. I’ve never used them but maybe someone who has might chime in here and let us know if v-thru has any advantage over them.

I’ve used Deliveroo pick up twice. Two advantages I’d say is there is no additional charge and you use the same app.

On the other hand, I had a pretty rough experience the first time in which the location they had for pick up was miles away from actual location and in the end I couldn’t pick up the order (curfew timings). So yeah, maybe opt for cash payment first time round..

This application will cause a lot of accidents! There are always so many cars stopping in the middle of the street waiting for their V-Thru order. It’s such an inconvenience in places where there is already no parking. Horrible idea if you ask me!

what kind of accidents to cars parked on the side of the road or cars double parked caused? Are they a nuisance? yes, do they cause traffic? yes but saying they will cause a lot of accidents is rubbish.

No he’s right! There was a car parked on Mubarak Al Kabeer street in the second lane, as I was overtaking it another car in the first lane bumped into me. It was not a serious accident but definitely an avoidable fender bender

I had to use this app when I needed to order from Pick and I couldn’t order inside. I had some minor technical issues, but it was okay after. My only issue was that in some branches the sandwiches didn’t always taste good even if I heated them up at home.

Also, you forgot to mention that the app allows for in-app credit to be used instead of just credit card payments. Just add money as top-up credits and pay for your order(s)

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