AMflier

True This. NYC is currently debating capping the fees that the delivery companies charge to the restaurant at 20%. IIRC 15% Delivery and 5% "Marketing". A couple of restaurants that I have spoken to have said that it can get as high as 40% if you want a favorable listing on the app.

Also note that if you call the restaurant from the app, the delivery company still charge referral fees. In some cities the restaurant's phone number via an app is actually different from their direct line.

We try and go directly to the restaurants to order by using their websites and calling their phone numbers. We're trying to keep as much of our spend local.

teddybear99

I saw a story on CBS This Morning that more cities are looking to cap fees to the restaurants with local legislation. The Companies are saying it will cost more to the consumer as they will pass those fees to them instead of the restaurant. IMO, if the restaurants feel the fees are too much, then they should cancel the contract for the deliveries. I only use restaurants that have their own drivers and have dropped a few who decided to forgo their own drivers for these delivery companies. I use to be a part-time driver in my younger days as well as a restaurant manager. I can understand removing the drivers from their payroll as it reduces costs including having to carry insurance in case the driver gets into an accident. As usual, it all comes down to the bottom line as it cuts into the real reason the restaurant is in business- MAKE MONEY

kipper

I can understand not having delivery drivers for other reasons. In my area, most restaurants don't do enough business for delivery to make having a delivery driver worthwhile. DoorDash and GrubHub have been great because drivers can drive 5-10 miles away and pick up orders from restaurants that would otherwise not deliver to this area.

diburning

My biggest gripe with Grubhub is that they don't disclose what the delivery fee is until checkout.

My biggest gripe with DoorDash is that they're terribly dishonest and their business practices are borderline fraudulent. I will definitely be complaining to regulatory authorities on this one.

Here is what I mean.

Scrolling through the front page, it shows "Free Delivery over $10" with no disclaimer, asterisk, or logo indicating that there's a catch.


Tapping on the restaurant will bring up the menu, which also says free delivery over $10 inside of a box.



But when I go to check out, I am charged for delivery



I contacted them and this was their response

gaobest

Ugh. It’s not a fun situation. I only used caviar, who I believe were recently bought by DoorDash. I loved caviar but fees aren’t ever cheap - best when buying a bunch Of food that I could reheat, like Asian, to offset the high fees. Paying $20 in fee / tip for a single meal felt high but paying $40 in fees/tip for 3-4 meals felt fine and I appreciated the convenience. My last caviar was late February when I hosted a poker night and I had 3 big pizzas for like $130 total including fees & tip and it was worth it to me because I didn’t want to spend 10-20 minutes with fetching it and I was cleaning & prepping for the party.

enviroian

That's better than Uber Eats, who I use 99% of the time. Same monthly fee but delivery is waived at $15 and above not $10 like Door Dash.

miamiflyer8

I know DoorDash allows pick up instead of delivery for certain places, but anyone know of other apps that allow it too?

diburning

Uber Eats and GrubHub have pick-up options as well. The restaurant has to opt in though. There's a restaurant two blocks from where I work that will deliver, but I can't select a pick-up option. I suppose I could call in the order, but I'd rather order through the app because it's easier.

miamiflyer8

This.

Especially when it's a food item that is customizable, listing every ingredient over the phone is tiresome.

gaobest

and sadly I fear there’s too much potential for human error with the phone conversation. This is separate from the human error with the food preparation.

caviar also has a pickup option. i assume they’re not nationwide.

diburning

Caviar has been acquired by DoorDash and will be integrated into DoorDash soon.

gaobest

due to Covid, I started to cook; thankfully just in time. I loved caviar but won’t miss it; I love all of our cooking.

kipper

This. I've also had issues where the human answering the phone did not understand my order or where we were placing a large group order and it took ages to list each item.

miamiflyer8

Then, of course the establishment runs out of something. Better ask that person who ordered it to now come up with something alternative.

kipper

Yes!