SeamlessWeb is much more than a way to order lunch at the office. Each month we’ll be posting a story from one of our faithful SeamlessWebbers, highlighting an interesting use of our services. To kick things off, SeamlessWeb designer and new dad, Dan Betz, tells how he ordered meals through SeamlessWeb while in the hospital for the birth of his daughter.
Hospital food is for sick people
When I drove my wife to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center on the Upper East Side early in the morning on October 22nd, food was the last thing on my mind. She was 35 weeks pregnant and having contractions. Aside from disbelief that this couldn’t be the big day, my mind was racing with all of the things we had yet to cross off of our baby checklist: buy a crib, clean the entire apartment, learn how to install that crazy car seat, pack the ‘overnight’ bag for the hospital stay, etc. Turns out that none of that really mattered because after a whirlwind of a day, our daughter was born – 5lbs 9oz, healthy, and cute as a button. I could go on and on about her, but this is a SeamlessWeb story, so I’ll get right to the food part.
Once things settled down, hunger set in and food suddenly became a serious concern. The standard hospital stay is 2 nights after the day of delivery. For us, that amounted to five meals at the hospital. Since my wife just went through the most intense, painful experience of her life (without any drugs), I was NOT going to let her eat hospital food. I also wasn’t about to leave her or the baby’s side to go get food. So I pulled up the SeamlessWeb mobile site on my blackberry, entered the hospital’s address (525 East 68th Street, 10065), and found 175 restaurants in delivery range – no shortage of options!
The logistics of ordering food to a hospital couldn’t be easier – once the food was ready, the delivery guy called my cell when he got to the main entrance and I went down to get my food. We had a few really good meals including a late night binge from China Fun (2nd Ave), an egg feast from Benvenuto Grille (I couldn’t believe how sad the hospital breakfast offerings were), and the highlight of our stay – the fantastic Fresh oven-roasted turkey & stuffing sandwich aka Thanksgiving on a roll from Lenny’s (Upper East).
So we ended up eating pretty well during our stay in the hospital, thanks to SeamlessWeb. I won’t go so far as to say “SeamlessWeb saved my life!” but it sure made our stay less stressful and more enjoyable. Of course if you don’t have a mobile device, most hospitals have computers with internet access in some of the waiting rooms so you can always order your meals through SeamlessWeb…and unless you’re a patient with some dietary restrictions, you’d be crazy not to!
Now, after being under house arrest with a needy newborn for a few weeks, I’ve come to appreciate SeamlessWeb on a whole different level, but I’ll save that for another post.