Ordering Food in India
As I’ve learned from my time in India, everything seems to take a lot longer time than expected, and it’s always a process. Ordering from a takeout restaurant is not excluded. Whether it be delivery or regular takeout something seems to go wrong.
For delivery, the difficulty is usually in placing the order. The first problem stems from the fact that my Hindi is very poor – as it’s non-existent. The English of the person on the other end of the line is going to have to be somewhat understandable for this to work. The conversation starts with “Allo” and the “Allo” will be repeated for quite some time. I may think that the connection is wrong, but it isn’t. The person taking the order simply doesn’t understand what is being said. After “Allo” is repeated for some time, I make some progress and get an order placed. From there, the next step is to cross my fingers and hope someone calls my number in about 45 minutes. When I receive the call the delivery man will hopefully be just outside the door, but this isn’t always the case. Often they’ve gone to a different location, or maybe a different Marriott across the city. Finally, once the location has been figured out I can purchase the food and end the extravaganza.
Ordering at a takeout restaurant can often be just as difficult of an experience. Lines in are not really a thing. Everyone simply just pushes to the front, similar to how traffic right-of-ways go. It’s imperative to be ready to order and assertive, because with any hesitation someone else will take the spot. For whatever reason I’ve also had a very difficult time getting change. Just a couple days ago, I was ordering pizza and I needed about 160 rupees change, after completing my order I was given 100 rupees change and told to wait to the side for a bit because there was no change left in the cash register. After waiting for some time and repeated questioning for my change I was given my food – still no change. I completed my meal and went back up to ask a final time for my change. Only then, and only after I showed my receipt was I given the final 60 rupees of my change. Normally I wouldn’t worry over 60 rupees, but it was more the principle of not receiving my change. I was done feeling like I had been played, and I wasn’t leaving without those 60 rupees.
I chalk a lot of the difficulties that I’ve had to the fact that I don’t speak Hindi, or any of the other local languages. I’d certainly have an easier time communicating if I did, and I think people would be more likely to not try to trick me into paying more. While frustrating at times, I think the experience has been fun and it makes me grateful that English is spoken throughout the world. I can’t imagine what I would do if I couldn’t communicate with anyone. I mean the truth is that the people I’m interacting with speak English a lot better than my Hindi.
