Uber Eats currently unavailable (what it means, how to do it + more)
People who turn to food delivery services like Uber Eats do so because it gives them the flexibility to decide when to place an order.
Sometimes things get complicated when restaurants on Uber Eats say they’re unavailable. We looked at why this happens and what you can do when it happens, so keep reading!
Why are restaurants not currently available on Uber Eats in 2022?
If a restaurant says it’s currently unavailable on Uber Eats, that’s probably because it’s cutting off customers’ ability to order. This can happen if the restaurant is overcrowded or understaffed. Uber Eats tablets in restaurants could also have problems in 2022. If a restaurant on Uber Eats is unavailable, you can only wait or order from elsewhere.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about restaurants unavailable on Uber Eats, including a deeper look at why it happens, other similar issues, and more!
How does the Uber Eats tablet work?
Uber Eats sends successful restaurants a tablet that they can use to manage their operations.
If a restaurant doesn’t want or can’t use a tablet, there’s an app just for them that gives them access to most of the same features.
Restaurants can set their own hours on the tablet, which determines when customers can place orders, but restaurants must also be online and active to receive orders.
If the restaurant logs out of the tablet, turns it off, runs out of battery, or anything happens that means the restaurant is offline, the status will change to unavailable.
In some cases, restaurants deliberately go offline to prevent new orders from coming in, for example if they have a large backlog of orders to fill or are close to closing time.
If you have this problem, you can order from another restaurant or wait for it to come back online.
Why does Uber Eats say restaurants are not closed?
If a restaurant on Uber Eats says it’s closed when it’s not, it’s because the restaurant changed its status on the tablet.
As we mentioned in the previous section, restaurants can change their status to “unavailable” from a tablet, but they can also change their status to closed.
This option allows them to block new orders from coming in, but they can stay online and still process their existing orders.
When this happens, your only options are to wait or order from another restaurant in a hurry.
Why isn’t Uber Eats working?
If Uber Eats isn’t working, it’s usually because the service is down, and you can check online to see if this is the case.
Sometimes it can be because of limited internet access on your device, but you can easily verify if this is the case by testing your connection on another app or service.
If these options don’t work, there may be a problem with Uber Eats on the device you’re using, and you can try restarting it to see if that fixes the problem.
If you’re using the app on your phone and restarting it doesn’t work, you still have the option to use the Uber Eats website.
Whatever the reason, Uber Eats doesn’t go down for long periods of time, and you can usually wait a short time for it to start working again.
Why is Uber Eats taking so long?
Uber Eats can take a long time for one of the following reasons:
- Your delivery driver is stuck in traffic
- You order from a restaurant that takes a long time to prepare an order because it is large, complicated, or overcrowded with staff
- You didn’t provide good enough tips for the driver to take your order fast enough
- Bad weather conditions make it more difficult for drivers to navigate or drive at normal speeds
If Uber Eats can’t find someone to deliver your food to you, the order will be cancelled, you will be refunded, and you can try placing the order again.
What time does Uber Eats close?
Uber Eats is a 24/7 service, so it never closes.
However, the service may be functionally shut down in situations that effectively mean that you cannot place and deliver your order, including:
- Late night if you live where there is no 24-hour restaurant nearby
- If you live outside the delivery range of restaurants in your area
- If you place an order when no driver is available to take your order
- If you live in an area deemed unsafe, the driver is reluctant to deliver
What happens if I order from Uber Eats when the restaurant is closed?
If you ordered from Uber Eats and found out that the restaurant is closed, you may be eligible for a refund.
However, this is not something you need to worry about as it doesn’t happen very often.
This happens when you place an order very close to when the restaurant status changes to closed.
Once this happens, you should report it to customer service so the refund can be processed.
Uber Eats says it will not consider refund requests for incidents reported more than 48 hours after the incident, so you should act immediately.
To learn more, you can also read our posts on Uber Eats orders canceled, Uber Eats orders never arriving, and when Uber Eats deliveries will stop.
in conclusion
If a restaurant on Uber Eats is showing as unavailable, it may be because the restaurant is offline on the Uber Eats ordering app or tablet. Uber Eats distributes the tablet to all restaurants it works with to manage operations on the platform, who need to receive orders online.
Restaurants can also deliberately change their status on Uber Eats to unavailable to prevent new orders from coming in. This is usually done if there is a large backlog to deal with or the restaurant is close to closing time.
