Ottawa is one of Canada’s most polite cities when ordering food: report

OTTAWA – Ottawa is one of Canada’s more polite cities when it comes to ordering food and we love our extra pickles, according to a new report from Uber Eats.

The food delivery app on Wednesday released its third annual “Cravings Report,” showing who tips the most, who says please and thank you most often, and which cities are picking up the most.

According to the report, Ottawa and Kingston, Ontario. are the second and third most polite cities in Canada, behind Nanaimo, BC, ranked by how often users say please and thank you in their ordering instructions.

Users in Gatineau, Que. are in sixth place for the largest dumpsters in Canada (Nanaimo is once again number one). Maybe that’s because they make a lot of special requests, as Gatineau is the ninth toughest city in Canada (Regina came first).

Anique, an Uber Eats user, told CTV News Ottawa that it’s important to tip your driver.

“People are treated terribly in customer service,” said Anique. “I think it’s important to make an effort to be as nice as possible to compensate for people who are just cranky and horrible.”

Extra pickles were the most popular special request in Ottawa and five other cities across Canada.

At the World Burger restaurant in Ottawa, extra pickles are very popular.

“Probably about 35% of my orders, they want extra pickles,” manager Brian Perry said.

“You’ll see extra tomatoes, extra pickles, extra pickles, extra pickles, extra pickles, extra pickles, and we get the point. So we’ve put in lots of pickles,” added co-owner Lenny Andonakakis.

When those special requests come in, he adds that is when Ottawa’s politeness shines through.

“As a general rule, when we receive requests for additions or deletions, there is usually a please involved,” he said.

And it’s never a dill moment at Cadmans Montreal Bagels.

“It’s like every second order has extra pickles,” said employee Jasleen Kaur, who added that polite requests are always appreciated.

Since the pandemic, many restaurants have had to switch to take-out and delivery orders because their dining rooms were closed. Delivery apps made the difference.

“Before the pandemic, we were maybe around 20% of sales with Uber Eats and other third-party delivery services. Now we’re closer to 80%,” Andonakakis said.

Another finding from the report is that Kingston likes their healthy foods. This city ranked second in Canada for the most orders from restaurants labeled as “healthy” in the app. Gatineau finished seventh. Halifax had the healthiest drives.

Uber Eats says its most expensive order in 2021 was a $ 1,600 order in Vancouver – and that it may have come without scallions, as it was the most requested special instruction in that city .

Canadian tastes are also worldly. According to the report, here are the top 10 most popular food styles:

1. Japanese

2. Asian

3. Indian

4. Mexican

5. Hamburger / sandwiches

6. Salads

7. Korean

8. Italian

9. Vietnamese

10. Thai

Chicken nuggets, fries and poutine were the three most popular side dishes. Ice cream is the number one dessert, but pearl milk tea edged out cake to complete the top three.