1

I'm trying to find one general expression that describes all sorts of businesses that serve you where you are as opposed to being a destination, that is, food delivery, electricians, personal trainers, doctors who make house calls, etc.

The resulting sentence would look like:

"What is the best business category that sought-after expression North Beach?"

Example:

"What is the best Indian restaurant that delivers to North Beach?"

This is a category-dependent example though ("delivers to" doesn't work for services), so what I need is the shortest term that covers both delivery and on-site services (even if it ends up being a compound expression like "serves/delivers to").

3
  • 2
    Delivery of a good is still a service. I think that services is acceptable. Your above sentence really doesnt make any sense though.
    – Chad
    Jul 25, 2011 at 20:36
  • You mean the example sentence? Those are placeholders, which when completed would yield sentences such as "What is the best chinese restaurant that delivers to North Beach?" Delivery of a good is, indeed, a service, but it would be ambigous to just use "What is the best restaurant that serves North Beach?" because (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not a native) this could also mean it's open for business there and you can visit it, although it doesn't deliver. Jul 25, 2011 at 21:13
  • I dont think there is a word that will sound natural for this. Services will cover it but it will not really convey what you want. Any word that will sort of convey is probably going to sound unnatural or unclear.
    – Chad
    Jul 26, 2011 at 2:13

2 Answers 2

2

I would probably just use the word "covers". Or maybe "handles", "deals with" What is the Indian Restaurant that covers North Beach? Which electrician covers North Beach?

To me, it probably works a bit better for the services than for the deliveries but it still conveys the sense accurately.

1

"What is the best Indian restaurant that caters to North Beach?"

This works for general businesses, for both services and for deliveries of goods.

It has a very specific meaning in the food oriented industry (catering a dinner), but a such a business that provides both services and goods (cooking and the food itself) can easily also be doing that specific activity of catering. But of course that may be inappropriate for say pizza delivery (which does not do catering). In the later instance, delivery is perfect.

1
  • 1
    While I agree this word would be acceptable I do not think it really conveys the delivery to home. It can also mean that it attends to the needs of the people of north beach. If I read this I would think that the restaraunt served food geared towards the tastes of North beach. If you change it from "caters to" to "caters in" the I would expect the delivery but I would expect group service as opposed to delivery of a single meal.
    – Chad
    Jul 26, 2011 at 16:32

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.