HOUSTON – You want a coffee, but you don't want to get off the couch. It's 9 p.m. and your first-grader just told you she needs a dozen cupcakes for school in the morning. You're craving late-night sushi, but your favorite restaurant doesn't deliver.
Favor says it can solve all those problems. It's a new app that bills itself as "your personal delivery assistant" letting you order just about anything you want and have it delivered right to your door.
"People are realizing that their time is valuable, and there's better things to do than wait in traffic and fight for getting through the line faster," said Zac Maurais.
Maurais created Favor with an old high school classmate. They launched the app at the University of Texas in Austin two years ago. It's now expanded to Boston, Cambridge, San Diego, Dallas, San Antonio and finally Houston.
We asked two Channel 2 producers to try it out to show you how it works. Aaron ordered dinner from Pei Wei by typing his order into the app on a Thursday night just before 8:30 p.m. In about 42 minutes. his delivery arrived.
Before the runner shows up at your door, Favor sends a bill that shows the actual cost of what you ordered, a 5 percent processing fee, a $6 delivery fee and a suggested tip for the driver.
Aaron's total bill was $44.24. If he had gone to Pei Wei himself, he would have paid $29.28, a difference of $14.96.
Channel 2 producer Tera asked a Favor runner to pick up a large black T-shirt from Target. It was after 8:30 p.m. on a week night. She couldn't easily make the request through the app, so a runner texted her to take the order. The T-shirt was at her door in about 45 minutes.
Target charged $7.57. The Favor processing fee was .38 cents. After a suggested tip of $6.25, plus the $6 delivery fee, Tera's total bill was $20.20.
"I think the pricing is a bit steep if you're not doing a lot of shopping," Tera said.
Heights resident Brian Edmundson, who has used Favor three times, agrees.
"I think the pricing is fair on maybe some of the larger orders," Edmundson said. "You get down around $5 or $10, it's kind of excessive."
It's clear the convenience of delivery will cost you, but most thought the app was easy to use. For now, Favor only delivers inside the loop, but Maurais said they do hope to expand to the University of Houston next.
The biggest downside we discovered is that you never know who's going show up at your door with your delivery.
By phone, Favor told us they do not do criminal background checks on runners before they're hired. After hire, they said checks are random. On camera, Maurais said he couldn't get specific.
"Much like Uber and Lyft, they go through a screening and onboarding process," said Maurais. "I can't speak to to many details of it, but it's very similar to what those other services go through."
He said customers also fill out ratings on runners. The runners have to maintain positive ratings to keep their jobs.
Do you want to get a favor? The company has extended a special promo code so you'll get the $6 delivery fee waived on your first order. Just type in "KPRCTV" at check-out.