Ordering Food and Groceries Online With Shuttle In Korea
If you tried to order food online in Korea, chances are you’ve come across Shuttle (셔틀) especially if you were searching in English. The company that caters to foreigners looking for foreign food continues to add more services for their growing customer base across South Korea.
Want to order food online in Korea? Get groceries delivered to your door when going to the grocery store in Korea is overwhelming? There are options and even if you don’t have a local bank account or bank card, you can still use Shuttle which makes them the go-to option for tourists in Korea too. Staying in a hotel but want to order in? Check out the options on Shuttle.
Want to order food for delivery or get groceries tomorrow in Korea? Find out how to use Shuttle:
- Who is Shuttle?
- Shuttle Services
- Why you should use Shuttle for delivery in Korea
- How to use Shuttle for food delivery in Korea
- Why I appreciate Shuttle’s vetting process
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Who is Shuttle?
Shuttle is a bilingual food delivery service provider that caters to foreigners in Korea. Founded in 2016 and a merger of two Itaewon-based foreign owned food delivery services called Y-Not Takeout and Bird Riders Delivery that were both launched in 2014, they’re nearing a decade in the business and are just getting better.
They offer a diverse range of local foreign restaurant options to choose from. Shuttle is the best food delivery option in Korea if you can’t read or speak Korean though their information is also available in Korean for those that do. They offer both a website and app to use to try and make it as easy as possible.
Shuttle services
Local food pick-up/delivery service
Well-known for their delivery food service, Shuttle allows you to place orders for pick-up at a certain time or for delivery. This is what Shuttle introduced themselves to the Seoul market with and has been continuously expanding their reach to other major areas of the country with large foreign communities looking for easy access to food delivery.
- Where: Shuttle serves communities in Seoul, Osan, Pyeongtaek, Daegu, and Busan with regional hubs near Osan Air Base, Camp Humphreys, Camp Walker, and Camp Henry.
Grocery delivery service
A service that became necessary during the pandemic for many people stuck in quarantine, now this is a standard option nationwide in Korea. If you are looking for easy next day grocery delivery, you can order grocery items, home essentials, bakery items, vegan food, wellness and beauty items, and Halal food. These options can all be found in the “Next Day” shops on the Shuttle app.
- Service Hours: Sunday through Friday and orders are accepted from 11:00am ~ 7:00pm daily.
- Where: Nationwide
Catering services
Schedule drop-off catering for events, meetings, or special occasions. Hot food can be delivered for groups of 10 or more and bookings can be made 5 days in advance. There are also corporate payment plans and subscriptions available for repeat orders. If you like the foreign food options you’ve found on the Shuttle app, then make it a thing and introduce those great eats to your friends and co-workers.
Why you should use Shuttle for delivery in Korea
- Great customer service available in English. English speaking staff are available and are very helpful if you have questions.
- Easy to use. While other food delivery apps like Yogiyo and Baedal Minjok are larger and cover more ground currently in Korea, Shuttle is a lot easier to use if you don’t yet read or speak Korean. See what services they provide in your area.
- Multiple payment options accepted. Shuttle accepts everything from local bank cards to international cards, Paypal, and even bitcoin. This is a major reason that new foreign residents and tourists are among their happy customers. Whether you’ve lived in Korea for awhile or just got here, they make it easy.
- Curated and trustworthy restaurants. One thing that will stand out is the list of options. Shuttle doesn’t seek to let just any restaurant on their app, but finds trustworthy and of course delicious partners to work with.
How to use Shuttle for food delivery in Korea
What To Know
- Hours: 11:00am ~ 11:00pm
- Minimum order: The minimum order starts at W7,000 depending on the restaurant.
- Delivery fees: ~W3,900
- Shuttle charges customers a base delivery fee with incremental fees incurred based on the distance from the restaurant.
- Depending on the service area, many restaurants may offer free or reduced delivery fees to Shuttle customers for orders of a qualifying value.
How to set up on the Shuttle app
Step 1: Download the app which you can find in the Apple Store or in the Google Play Store.
Step 2: Input your address. You can input your address in English or use your current location.
Step 3: Create an account with your email address or sign in with Facebook or Apple.
- Use code “SHUTTLE” when signing up for a W5,000 credit to spend.
- Note: Phone number verification is required to start using the Shuttle credit.
Step 4: Place an order. Note that on that first order, someone will contact you to ensure that you are at the address you’ve input. This helps the drivers get to you without fail.
- Personal Note: After placing my order, I received a message to my phone that said to keep my phone nearby as the customer service team would be calling to verify my location. Three minutes later I got another message, despite staring at my phone in a hangry manner for the duration of time, that read my order had been placed on hold as I was unable to be reached. I don’t think anyone actually called, but the message also said to message them via Live Chat on the app in the next 10 minutes to avoid cancellation. I did, and the order was sent through just fine. Just be ready that first time to contact them via the app to let them know you’re a real person and where you said you are. I think this is meant to be helpful as many tourists, or new residents might not know how to input Korean addresses properly. For people like me who can, it was a minor inconvenience.
Step 5: Once through the verification, the delivery of the food happens pretty seamlessly. I received a message to my phone with the projected time of delivery. You may receive a phone call from the delivery driver when they arrive to make sure they find the right person. You’ll then receive one more message that says the food has been delivered.
Step 6: Eat!
Why I appreciate Shuttle’s vetting process
A key take away I’ve come to after using Shuttle for years living in Seoul is that I know the food I get will always be delicious and high-quality. I appreciate that Shuttle goes the extra mile in vetting top quality restaurants and partners rather than adding everything and everyone to their app. While I sift through review after review on other apps to make sure the pictures are in fact the food that I will get, I know on Shuttle, what I see is what I’ll get.
Not only is what I see, what I’ll get, but it’ll be good too. Rather than adding every hamburger restaurant in town to their app, they’ve added the best hamburgers in town. The restaurants are a selection of eateries with authentic foreign cuisine. Their curation of restaurants really sets them apart from their major Korean competitors for me. I hope this is something they continue shoot for because it really does make them special in a country where you can get almost everything delivered now.
I also think a key aspect for foreigners and tourists in Korea is that they accept multiple payment options and they don’t have to be local Korean banks. Just paying on Korean apps can be cumbersome when you’re not used to it and Shuttle makes it easier for more people to use their app. All in all, I think Shuttle is the delivery service in Korea for dinner, groceries, and catering that you’ll want to use. If they’re not in your area of Korea yet, keep watching them too because they’re continually expanding who they can reach.
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