Uber Eats doesn’t operate in Argentina. You can open the mobile application and connectivity is not an issue. But there are no Uber Eats drivers and there are no restaurants on Uber Eats in Argentina. And Uber Eats is now shutting down its operations in Argentina.
What are the alternatives to Uber Eats in Argentina?
Uber Eats Is Shutting Down In Argentina
Uber Eats got its ass kicked in Argentina. Argentina has Rappi and PedidosYa. And you’ll find them in Buenos Aires and in smaller cities across Argentina.
Both PedidosYa and Rappi have the same functionality UberEats is known for. But both Rappi and PedidosYa have a much broader selection of items available for delivery.
PedidosYa and Rappi include grocery, pharmacy, liquor, kiosk, pet and travel categories. And they have a broad range of stores from a wide variety of conventional retailers. On Rappi you can buy and have delivered, anything from a Hamburger to a new set of lingerie.
What’s The Best Uber Eats Alternative In Argentina, Rappi or PedidosYa?
The design and user interface (UX) is easier to navigate on Rappi. It just feels more intuitive. And it looks like a more premium app.
PedidosYa on the other hand has better discounts and gives its users access to a wider variety of restaurants and food delivery services. And PedidosYa has the same menu items listed at much cheaper prices.
Side by side, the same hamburger from the same store delivered to the same address, will often be up to 50% cheaper on PedidosYa when compared to Rappi. And it will be much cheaper than both delivery apps if you simply pick it up yourself.
As an example, a dish from the Peruvian restaurant a couple of blocks from my apartment costs A$1200. That same dish is A$1600 plus delivery fee on PedidosYa. And A$2000 plus delivery fee on Rappi. Meaning I can walk down the street and buy it for A$1200, have it delivered on PedidosYa for around A$1800 or pay A$2500+ on Rappi.
Delivery Apps in Argentina – Only Pay With Cash
I find that having both the Rappi and PedidosYa apps loaded onto my device works best in Argentina and Colombia. And I will often switch between apps to check prices and payment options before ordering. Or when either app tries to convert me from cash on delivery to electronic payments. Which happens often.
I personally would refuse to pay via electronic means with a foreign credit card. As the resultant transaction would have the official exchange rate applied and a hamburger could cost as much as $50. Plus you will have no recourse if your order doesn’t turn up or arrives in an inedible condition.
If you’ve never used a food delivery app in Latin America, you’ll soon learn that the service level isn’t all that great. If your order turns up late, is missing items or is destroyed in transit, customer service is almost non-existent. And you’ll still be charged for the goods.
I’ve had Macdonald’s orders turn up with coke spilled into the bag. With the entire meal resembling a soup (burger and fries mixed into a coke slushy). The response I received from Rappi’s customer service department was to offer me a voucher for the delivery fee but they still charge me for the destroyed meal.
In other instances I’ve had missing items. And Rappi will shrug it off and hope you give up trying to get a response from their customer service department. In the end if you persist over the course of a few hours, they will offer you a portion of the delivery fee as a credit with no recompense for the actual goods that you’ve paid for but haven’t received.
Delivery Apps In Argentina – Don’t Bother With Ratings
If you have a terrible experience on a food delivery app in Latin America, leaving negative feed back is for naught. The tech company that owns the platform will reset user generated ratings at a clients request.
Everybody could give a restaurant zero stars. And the delivery platform may choose to reset the user ratings at that restaurant’s request. Which is to say that the next person to consider that restaurant’s ratings prior to ordering, won’t see the negative feedback and will be instead lead to believe that the restaurant is better than it actually is.
There’s a restaurant near me now that has the lowest possible rating on Google. With hundreds of angry user reviews. On Rappi it’s a 4.5 star establishment and it seems to have a lower rating count every few days. Indicating it is able to have its negative feedback removed.
Instead of leaving feedback through the app (Rappi or PedidosYa), I leave feedback directly on the Google listing for that restaurant. And I note (for good or bad experiences) which delivery app I used to order from their restaurant.
I rate deliveries through their Google listing as opposed to the delivery app because the review can’t be altered. And Argentines frequently use Google maps to evaluate businesses and pick restaurants. So if a business gets a lot of bad Google reviews, it will experience a drop in new customers.
Delivery Apps In Argentina – Look Out For Automated Tips
The final thing to be aware of with food delivery apps in Argentina are automated tips. Rappi in particular is horrible for this. Instead of paying it’s delivery staff (independent contractors) a liveable wage, it will add on a tip in the back end of the app.
The tip amount that Rappi adds on to orders can be found and altered by customers. But it takes some digging around to find it. When you do, you’ll also see all the other charges they add to your bill. And it looks like this:
| Fee | Rappi (September 2022) |
| Service Fee | A$149 |
| Delivery Fee | A$109 |
| Tip | A$200 |
The tip amount added to your bill by delivery apps will change regularly. And it’s not the only tip you will pay the food delivery courier. As they will also expect a cash tip. Or they’ll simply have no change to give you. And the automated tip amount will go up randomly and without warning, so keep an eye on it.
The automated tip you give the delivery person via your chosen food delivery app is not tied to the quality of their service. If the courier with your sushi rolls decided to go home for a siesta with your food in their backpack, only to try and deliver it hours later, you can’t remove the automated tip from the bill. You laugh, but I’ve had it happen.
Personally, I entirely zero out the automated tip. I only tip in cash direct to the courier. If the courier takes hours to deliver something and its a cold mess, they get no tip. If it comes in a moderately decent condition and isn’t hours late, I give them a big tip. And I’ve had decent success getting my orders on time by doing this.
Final Thoughts On Delivery Apps in Argentina
It’s not all doom and gloom using delivery apps in Argentina. Even if there are a lot of pitfalls. You’ve just got to laugh off the stupid and argue like a porteño (lots of swearing, shouting, beeping and hand gestures).
The biggest game changers for me were when I started removing the automated tip and started rating my deliveries on Google. Once the tip was made conditional on good service and bad service would be guaranteed to leave a lasting negative impact on the business, service level standards went up markedly.
As for what you can buy on Argentina’s Rappi and PedidosYa mobile apps, the sky’s the limit. They really do have just about everything and are much more convenient than Uber Eats ever was in Argentina. And it’s no wonder to me why Uber Eats got its ass kicked.
Where Can I Get More Information About Buenos Aires?
If you’re interested in Buenos Aires or Argentina in general you should visit our Complete Buenos Aires City Guide.
The Complete Buenos Aires City Guide is updated regularly. And it seeks to answer all of your questions regarding Buenos Aires and Argentina in one place.
You can read the Complete Buenos Aires City Guide for free here.
