What Is Your Opinion on Higher Prices When Ordering through Food Delivery Apps

plastererJazz on 26/04/2022 - 15:59

Hey

Obviously, the food delivery service is quite a competitive market and those major players are throwing tons of money to get more customers using their apps.

There are all kinds of promotions from different companies. cashback, discount, free delivery couple etc.

And I get that one of the reasons us using it was about convenience.

But the item price on these platforms is clearly much higher than the regular price not to mention the extra service fee and delivery fee.

My personal experience was that it averages 20% ~ 30% higher than ordering by phone.

Sometimes the promotions only offset the extra charge on orders.

So the question is what are your thoughts on this?

Would you prefer the current fee structure on these platforms?

Or would you wish regular price + a higher delivery fee?

For me, I would much rather go for restaurants with free delivery over $xx via phone.

Regard

Food & Grocery

Comments

  • 87percent on 26/04/2022 - 16:01
    +61

    Used to be OK to pay 10% higher, but now you’re paying 20-30% higher - no thanks

    • Binchicken22 on 28/04/2022 - 06:34
      +10

      Uber eats take 30%. It's their business model, (silly) people go, oh look it's only $5 for delivery, why not.

      But do we really think $5 is going to cover someone's time who probably has to drive 5km so the takeaway store, spend a minimum 5mins picking up the order, sometimes waiting 10-20mins, then drive another 5km and spend a few mins dropping he order off.

      The true "cost" for a couple of people to order uber eats vs picking up is probably at least $20.

    • Intoxicoligist on 28/04/2022 - 09:15
      +3

      Then UberEats sticks its 10% "Service Fee" ontop of whatever the inflated cost is.

  • SF3 on 26/04/2022 - 16:04
    +45

    So the question is what are your thoughts on this?

    I go direct (pick up) and cut out any middle person(s).

    If one cannot go pick up, then expect to pay a price premium for the convenience. Just like the saying, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

    • brendanm on 26/04/2022 - 16:21
      +7

      I go direct (pick up) and cut out any middle person(s).

      This, it's not hard.

      • Bozman on 28/04/2022 - 16:43
        +2

        Do you know how often local places have no menus available online? Or its a photo of a menu from 3 years ago a customer took, the dishes have changed and the prices are wrong. Happens a lot.

        I often use the apps to check out the menu and then call, but I wish there was an easier way.

    • djones145 on 26/04/2022 - 16:50
      +13

      or you can order it, be the delivery driver, pick up ur own food and give urself a tip.

      great way to wash money :)

    • LFO on 27/04/2022 - 13:03
      +3

      Just like the saying, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

      Unless you are a politician in Canberra.
      Then food and drinks are free.

      And travel allowance is great as well.

      • SF3 on 27/04/2022 - 19:22
        +2

        They indeed do ride on someone's coattails, our taxes.

        Someone is paying for it somewhere.

    • Yamai on 27/04/2022 - 19:18

      Yeah but Isn’t that the delivery fee? Why am I then paying 20-30% on top of normal prices

      • Intoxicoligist on 28/04/2022 - 09:16
        +1

        You get to pay inflated prices, plus a delivery fee, plus Uber Eats "Service Fee" of 10% of the total cost. Isn't convenience great.

        • Hangryuman on 28/04/2022 - 14:02

          aka the 'Lazy Tax'

          I've never used food delivery services - tho' I see it all around me - a neighbour once told me they used it to order a 'cheeseburger' - dunno but wonder what would be the added delivery cost for that $3-something item ?

          I understand young people want to try different things - and can feel it's a luxury to have food delivered to their door after a long day at work or something - or avoid the social embarrassment of being seen to eat alone

          but I've seen comparisons of the received food quality between sit-down (or over the counter) fresh-made vs. 20 minutes later delivered after being bumped around in an insulated bag - and the experts' rating of delivered food enjoyment was generally in the ballpark of 'disgusting'

  • pao2x on 26/04/2022 - 16:04
    +14

    I prefer a clearer structure where delivery is priced accordingly and the food is equal to takeaway prices. However I understand that this will be detrimentral to their marketing because everyone hates delivery fees, just look at internet shopping (Delivery always kills the deals).

    • plastererJazz on 26/04/2022 - 16:27
      +1

      General speaking, there ain't a 30% markup on the product price across the entire shopping website.

      The same product could sometime cost less if shopping online ever with a delivery fee added.

      But yes delivery fee is some sort of deal-breaker.

    • cuteseal on 28/04/2022 - 14:59
      +2

      Someone should come in and disrupt this industry.
      Just implement a gateway to this network of delivery drivers.
      Users call the restaurant directly and place the order, then book the driver to go and pickup your order and bring it to you.
      Then you are just paying for the delivery fee.
      No involvement from the restaurants, no inflated food prices and service charges and admin fees.

      I'm sure this is ubereats they envisaged originally but they got greedy and had to get their cut from everyone…

  • Soluble on 26/04/2022 - 16:05
    +7

    Deliveroo charge us bang on 30%, we add that 30%.

    • JimmyF on 26/04/2022 - 16:20
      +23

      Ubereats is about the same 30% cut too…

      But if you're adding 30% then you're still missing out.

      Say something costs $100 normally for walkin/phone order, so you add 30% to that on the apps and sell it for $130.

      BUT the 'apps' take 30% of the total, so taking $39. So you only get $91 for the item.

      You have to add just over 40% to recover costs. Even at 40%, it means the now gasp $140 item you still only get $98!!

      Its insane!!!

      • plastererJazz on 26/04/2022 - 16:29
        +12

        Exactly the more I think about this the more I realize how fxk up these platforms are.

        • sjj89 on 26/04/2022 - 21:15
          +5

          However, what kind of % increase in sales do these platforms offer?
          A vast majority of people only order food from these platforms, so by not being there, a food business will lose much more than the 30% charge

          • sjj89 on 26/04/2022 - 21:16

            @sjj89: But being charged so much just to be present in the market, is counter to free market capitalism

            • barcer on 27/04/2022 - 07:58

              @sjj89: It's really not, unless you can demonstrate that the various delivery platforms are colluding to set their fees.

          • ln28909 on 28/04/2022 - 00:24
            -3

            @sjj89: As long as you're not hitting your capacity to service, 70c on a dollar is better than 0, so these food businesses are not losing anything, not to mention the savings of seating, waitstaff dishy, etc.

            People always make these food delivery service bad guy, but in fact they're highly beneficial to the small businesses

            • norrisrules on 28/04/2022 - 11:00
              +2

              @ln28909: 70c on a dollar is ignoring costs, if you're only making 30c on the dollar when you sell your food, someone taking 30% off the top is your entire profit.

      • Soluble on 26/04/2022 - 21:22
        +2

        Fair call actually, hadn't looked at it that way. I'll have to crunch the numbers!

        • hayne on 28/04/2022 - 01:58
          +1

          The thing is, even at these mark-ups, the businesses barely make any money.

          As of 2022, Deliveroo has never turned a profit ever.

          https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/2022/03/17/delivero…

          Ubereats made $25m EBITDA off $5b+ of revenue - that's profits before tax (and other stuff). It's a 0.5% margin. That's awful profitability.

          https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/feb/09/uber-eats…

          So as much as it feels like the consumer is getting ripped off or the poor restaurants are getting shafted - the way the businesses currently run, it sounds like they don't make much either. The only thing is - hard to know if the Australian businesses specifically are loss-making or if we're subsidising other markets.

          But basically - right now if you want the convenience, you have to pay.

          • Hangryuman on 28/04/2022 - 14:09

            @hayne: 'Deliveroo has never turned a profit ever'

            sounds like Amazon and many multinational corporations

            have you heard of transfer pricing ?

            the company 'borrows' from related entities in overseas tax havens to 'show' that their loan interest liabilities are equal to and thus cancel out the hundreds of millions of dollars in profit they made in Australia last year - thus - they pay NO TAX !

            an alternate possibility is start-ups where the young entrepreneurs float their private company (sell shares) onto the sharemarket and receive $1B in market capitalisation - of which the young entrepreneurs might take $10-100M each, before not really caring anymore about the company they sold - becos they got the money already honey - they let it go down the toilet for a couple of years - then declare bankruptcy - gee sorry - we tried - ('tee hee') - laughing all the way to the bank (or more likely secret tax haven trust fund).

            • SirCH on 28/04/2022 - 14:30

              @Hangryuman: Actually, Deliveroo almost went bankrupt during the pandemic. They lose money on every order, so the higher number of orders meant they lost more money.
              What a crazy business model, with what they charge consumers, and the restaurants, how have they not figured out how to make money yet? Consumers won't pay more, restaurants won't pay more, and drivers won't accept being paid less.
              https://www.reddit.com/r/deliveroos/comments/mbr87l/after_ne…

            • hayne on 05/07/2022 - 01:40

              @Hangryuman: @Hangryuman: if you read my comment properly, you'll see that I never referred to the Australian business specifically. I referred to the entire Ubereats operation. Your comment on transfer pricing would apply if I was commenting on the Australian business and a reference to their minimal profit. But I'm not - as I noted above, I have no idea what the Australian business earns as it's not reported. So your comment is irrelevant. Sorry.

              As @SirCH noted, Deliveroo almost went bankrupt. It's not because they were transfer pricing their way to almost going under.

              So while you might get really excited about tax havens (and yes, plenty of profitable MNCs use tax havens to "minimise" tax - no one is disputing that)… the likelihood here is that these are businesses that have not achieved proper scalability to be profitable, or are engaged in a land grab so after the costs of customer acquisition are taken into account, they lose money. Or sometimes the business model is fundamentally flawed. With a delivery business, you need sufficient route density to be profitable. Easier in cities like NYC or HK (which also happen to have lower labour costs), not as easy to make it work in Australian cities which tend to be sprawling.

              Start-ups like these are awesome for consumers. Usually they are funded by VC funds who lost money in the vast majority of their investments and end up generating returns via the home runs they hit. So basically it's a transfer of wealth from investors in loss-making businesses to consumers who get "new customer" deals or a loss-making business to deliver their food.

              I'm not saying feel sorry for Deliveroo or Ubereats - I'm not particularly fussed about what happens to them. At the end of the day, everyone complaining about the high costs of food through Deliveroo or UberEats has a choice. They can either pay for the convenience or stop using it.

          • JimmyF on 28/04/2022 - 22:31

            @hayne:

            So as much as it feels like the consumer is getting ripped off or the poor restaurants are getting shafted - the way the businesses currently run, it sounds like they don't make much either.

            Uber has never been a money smart company. They don't make money because they are simply poor at managing money always have been, always will be.

            When you're taking a 30% cut of the total + a delivery fee + service fee, paying the delivery 'partner' next to nothing (which they also take a 30% cut from BTW) and still can't make a profit, you really shouldn't be trying to play the 'poor me' card.

            • hayne on 05/07/2022 - 01:46

              @JimmyF: Eh. I couldn't really care less about whether UberEats or Deliveroo can't make money. Or Uber, for that matter.

              My point was more that there seems to be this natural assumption that these guys are making money hand over fist and ripping consumers and restaurants off. That's really lazy thinking. You actually need to understand the cost base for the business (including tech infrastructure, cost of customer acquisition, marketing, etc.) and that seems to be missing in all this whining about how much they're charging.

              I don't love the increasing fees either but at the end of the day, I - like everyone else - have a choice. Either pay for the convenience or at some point decide it's not worth it and go pick up (or cook) the food myself.

              • JimmyF on 05/07/2022 - 09:09

                @hayne:

                My point was more that there seems to be this natural assumption that these guys are making money hand over fist and ripping consumers and restaurants off. That's really lazy thinking

                Credit for coming back to answer after 2+ months!

                No Uber ARE making money hand over fist and ripping the consumers and restaurants off in the process, they are just also spending money like a crazy teenager with their first credit card.

                As above, When you're taking a 30% cut of the total + a delivery fee + service fee, paying the delivery 'partner' next to nothing (which they also take a 30% cut from BTW) and still can't make a profit, you really shouldn't be trying to play the 'poor me' card.

                like everyone else - have a choice. Either pay for the convenience or at some point decide it's not worth it and go pick up (or cook) the food myself.

                With inflation kicking in, Uber is about to see a massive downturn in business. So look out for more 'record' profit losses coming up.

                To date, Uber has NEVER posted a profit…. think about that for a bit. From the first day Uber was started till now, Uber has NEVER posted a profit, only posted losses.

      • Blitz001 on 28/04/2022 - 09:37

        Would you rather sell one item for $100, or three items for $91?

        • JimmyF on 28/04/2022 - 09:42
          +8

          Oh we have a Ubereats salesman here! As that is the line they use!

          It will depend on the 'cost of goods', we are talking food here, so they are pretty thin. So yeah I would rather sell a single $100 item and make $10, than sell 3 $100 items for $91 and make $3 ($1 each)

          • Blitz001 on 28/04/2022 - 16:34
            -1

            @JimmyF: Well don’t sign up as a delivery partner. The restaurants have a choice, it’s not forced on them.

            • JimmyF on 28/04/2022 - 22:23
              +2

              @Blitz001:

              The restaurants have a choice, it’s not forced on them.

              HUH? Your question was, "Would you rather sell one item for $100, or three items for $91?" and nothing to do with being forced to sign up. So strange reply.

          • leiiv on 30/04/2022 - 10:10

            @JimmyF:

            we are talking food here, so they are pretty thin.

            Wrong. The overhead of running a restaurant may be significant, but for each portion of food, the actual cost of ingredients and labour is much smaller than even 50% of the price.
            So yes, instead of selling one $15 curry rice and make $10 profit in an hour, I'd rather sell ten and make $5 each for a total of $50. That is why a lot of places are participating. They are not that stupid you know.

            • JimmyF on 30/04/2022 - 10:24

              @leiiv:

              Wrong. The overhead of running a restaurant may be significant,

              Food can have some great profit on it for sure, but not everything is as profitable as you say.

              Also, how is the significant overhead of running the restaurant covered in your example?

              So yes, instead of selling one $15 curry rice and make $10 profit in an hour, I'd rather sell ten and make $5 each for a total of $50. That is why a lot of places are participating. They are not that stupid you know.

              You assume you're going to sell 10x the amount you normally would, you assume your labour costs don't need to increase to cover the extra workload etc.

              You still need to cover your overhead costs. You do know profit is after all costs are paid, including overhead, uber fees etc. Not what you make on a single dish ;)

              But yes, more money can be made sometimes by moving volume, you just need to understand all the costs etc. You also don't want customers who might have picked up a dish before start ordering via uber, as there goes your profit!

              Ubereats is a good way to get word out about your business, but not sure about long term profit as while profit can be good on food at times, the 30% Ubereats is taking is basically your main profit.

    • Cyphar on 26/04/2022 - 23:55
      +3

      Not only do they charge you, the restaurant 30%, but then they add a service fee for the buyer too. Double dipping bastards.

      • orangetrain on 27/04/2022 - 09:17
        +1

        That's only for free delivery. Normally it's triple dipping!

  • Jason Genova on 26/04/2022 - 16:05
    +15

    have stopped ordering, but i feel since the lockdowns etc have ended, places near me have been charging extortionate prices

    charcoal chicken place near me for example:

    in store $14 for half chicken, chips, garlic and drink - on UE it was $18 —-> now $25. yeah nah

    i like convenience but im not a mug

  • Ocker on 26/04/2022 - 16:09
    +4

    I was quite happy in days gone by where you would simple ring up and place an order. Either for pick-up or some food outlets had their own delivery service.
    The 30% now charged by food delivery services to the food outlet is a rip off and I don't know how they can afford it - but guessing lower food sizing

    • Brian McGee on 26/04/2022 - 16:45
      +1

      I have thought the portions in the large takeaway containers was getting smaller, that or you get a medium container when 3-4 years ago it would be in a large. I even experience this when doing a phone-in to pick-up order, so must be skimping on servings for everyone.

    • AustriaBargain on 26/04/2022 - 17:01

      They can afford it because for most restaurants without Uber Eats those orders would never have been made in the first place. 70% of each order is basically the wholesale price. Which tragically turns restaurants into wholesalers instead of retailers, but no one else is putting their hand up to offer Uber Eats style service with online ordering and delivery for less.

      • leiiv on 30/04/2022 - 10:15

        That is because food delivery needs economy of scale in order to do it efficiently and successfully. And anyone who are able to start things at scale are all greedy bastards.

    • surg3on on 28/04/2022 - 11:22
      +1

      Materials are a relatively small proportion of costs compared to wages/rent. Cutting sizes wont help

      • leiiv on 30/04/2022 - 10:16

        But that's what they do anyway, dominos is the perfect example.

  • dizzle on 26/04/2022 - 16:10
    +1

    It's understandable when the delivery company charges them a % of their sale.

    Saying that, I think it's a way for uber/deliveroo/etc to hide the charges that essentially the customer is paying and not the restaurant. I think it's bad form to charge the restaurant a fee and the customer so menu prices should be the same in-store and the fee should all show in one sum.

    You also now have a delivery charge, an admin charge and the fee to the restaurant.

  • Quantumcat on 26/04/2022 - 16:11
    +23

    I like to use menulog and Uber eats to browse for a nearby restaurant, then call up the restaurant directly for a pickup order. I hate paying extra when I don't need to.

    • [Deactivated] on 26/04/2022 - 16:23
      +1

      Food delivery is the main thing we have cut back on when prices for everything went nutso.

      We still order food delivery for pizza as the price doesn't differ between instore pick-up/delivery.

    • SF3 on 26/04/2022 - 18:45
      +4

      use menulog and Uber eats to browse for a nearby restaurant, then call up the restaurant directly for a pickup order.

      That deserves a OzB Gold Membership!

    • orangetrain on 27/04/2022 - 09:19
      +3

      I used to do that until they raised their prices to match their uberlog prices EVEN for pick up. Then now I eat elsewhere or order via uberlog. Ridiculous.

    • whatgift on 27/04/2022 - 19:29
      +2

      Excellent idea - I do the same with hotel booking apps, since they not only charge a fee but don’t allow hotels to charge cheaper rates outside of the app.

    • ankor on 28/04/2022 - 21:41
      +1

      I do this too haha

  • JimmyF on 26/04/2022 - 16:15

    My personal experience was that it averages 20% ~ 30% higher than ordering by phone.

    That is because ubereats takes a 30% cut of the order total…… So they have to offset those costs.

    (and yet to this day, Uber has NEVER turned a never…. NEVER.)

    • dizzle on 26/04/2022 - 16:22
      +5

      Never? or never…never?

      • JimmyF on 26/04/2022 - 16:24

        Some people think Uber is 'profitable', but they have NEVER turned a profit EVER.

        • AustriaBargain on 26/04/2022 - 16:58

          They will turn huge profits after they cement their monopoly on deliveries and online orders. And they deserve it imo, no one else has managed to figure out how to offer online ordering and delivery to any and all restaurants. These things used to be black arts that only major chains and experienced independent restaurants could handle.

          • JimmyF on 26/04/2022 - 20:11

            @AustriaBargain: They said the same when Uber took down/over the taxi industry, but profits never came……. Then it was self driving cars, then same for scooters, now food. Yeah I'm not overly convinced they can turn a profit ever, if during 2020/2021 when most people had stayed at home and ordered in food, Uber still didn't make money.

            • AustriaBargain on 26/04/2022 - 20:54

              @JimmyF: You don't think self driving cars will revolutionise public transport? Or deliveries for that matter? There will be lower profits because anyone can commit their self driving car to work for them when they aren't using it, but there will still be profits. Uber is positioning itself well by building a monopoly now before the self driving revolution arrives.

              • jorf on 27/04/2022 - 08:26

                @AustriaBargain: Self-driving cars that don't require a pilot are much further away than you think - even if they perfect the technology, you've got significant liability problems that everyone just happily ignores (ie. who is responsible when your self-driving car runs over and kills someone). Uber will be a memory by that point, like so many so-revolutionary-that-they-cannot-possibly-fail businesses before them.

                • AustriaBargain on 27/04/2022 - 09:03

                  @jorf: Uber will be a flash in the pan, like Amazon, Tesla, or FedEx.

                  • JimmyF on 27/04/2022 - 10:22
                    +1

                    @AustriaBargain:

                    @hcca: Uber will be a flash in the pan, like Amazon, Tesla, or FedEx.

                    Only 3 of those make money……. One of them doesn't.

                  • hayne on 28/04/2022 - 02:27
                    +1

                    @AustriaBargain: @AustriaBargain: Hold on, did you say Amazon and Fedex are flash in the pan businesses? Amazon, the business that was founded 28 years ago and had revenue of $470b last year? Fedex which has been around since 1971 and still has a market cap of $52b?

                    Surely that wasn't a serious comment?

              • JimmyF on 27/04/2022 - 10:16
                +1

                @AustriaBargain:

                You don't think self driving cars will revolutionise public transport? Or deliveries for that matter?

                I never said that, I said that was what Uber was claiming to be their path to profitability was going to come from. Which didn't happen. Ubers self driving tech ran over and killed a person, they ended up selling the self driving unit off. So that path to 'profit' is gone now.

                Uber is positioning itself well by building a monopoly now before the self driving revolution arrives.

                Uber is a 13 year old company, it's time for positioning itself to be a monopoly in any area has well and truly come and gone. They flooded the Uber driving market many years ago in all major countries and yet still never turned a profit.

                Has mega losses after every quarter for years now, losing $1-2B USD every quarter. Sounds like a great business model. 13 years old, still haven't made money.

                Even if Uber started to make profit next quarter, its going to take decades to recover the losses from the last 13 years.

  • pjetson on 26/04/2022 - 16:21
    +2

    NEVER turned a never…. NEVER

    ???

    • johnno07 on 27/04/2022 - 15:32
      +1

      NEVER

      • Gnosh on 27/04/2022 - 19:37
        +2

        … ever have I ever felt so low 🎵

  • jorf on 26/04/2022 - 16:23
    +8

    I'd rather see regular food prices with a single delivery + platform charge. That way I know what i'm actually paying for.

    30% premium to the service provider is ridiculous when they're charging service and delivery fees on top of that.

    I didn't mind these delivery services when the first started, but i've pretty much stopped using them. The last few times I tried, I had to figure out which platform to look at, then work out what to get, then looked for discount codes etc, then realised that even with a discount it was a blatant ripoff, then abandoned it and just drove to pick something up.

    The "service charge", which is just a fee for doing nothing on top of all the other extorsion prices was enough to just get me to avoid them entirely.

    • JimmyF on 26/04/2022 - 16:25
      +5

      30% premium to the service provider is ridiculous when they're charging service and delivery fees on top of that.

      They'll all Ubereats 'fees' that you listed that Uber keeps not the service provider.

      Then Uber thinks you should TIP the driver…. Ummm this isn't America!

      • Jason Genova on 26/04/2022 - 16:31
        +2

        doordash is charging this bs fee too

    • Presence on 26/04/2022 - 21:37
      +2

      The last few times I tried, I had to figure out which platform to look at, then work out what to get, then looked for discount codes etc

      This is the worst part - I don't want to play stupid games with codes to order dinner. At least if I just call a local independent i know I'm paying the same price as everyone else.

    • TheMills on 27/04/2022 - 13:09

      And what % do you think these aggregators charge restaurants to collect orders on their behalf ?
      I wonder why restaurants don’t offer discounts for pickup order on phone when they are happy to pay commission to the aggregator for the same?

      • leiiv on 30/04/2022 - 10:21

        Maybe the same reason why hotels (even a small family-owned ones) don't effer discounts for booking direct, but happy to pay commission to the aggregator.

        • TheMills on 30/04/2022 - 10:39
          +1

          I feel the most important reason is the payment. What if the customer after placing the order doesn’t turn up? But with the evolution of payments like PayId, the businesses should give it a thought and offer better pricing to the customers directly.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/04/2022 - 16:30
    +3

    i would rather go pick up the orders myself, i wish every restaurant had a drive through

  • AustriaBargain on 26/04/2022 - 16:56
    +1

    Some polls suggest 25% of people don't have a car and don't plan on getting a car soon, they have no choice but to pay or cook for themselves.

    • Presence on 26/04/2022 - 21:35
      -1

      Most of these people probably live walking distance to restaurants though.

      • Trekky on 27/04/2022 - 09:13
        +1

        I don't have a car, so to pick up an order can be a 30 minute walk each way, or wait for buses that only run every hour and then take more than 30 minutes to get there. (I've used UE and DD). I may only order food once or twice a month due to their fees.

        • [Deactivated] on 29/04/2022 - 08:40

          Ever heard of a bicycle?

  • Benoffie on 26/04/2022 - 17:09
    -1

    I just don't use the apps. Click the number, dial, order, pickup.

    Revolutionary, I know!

  • capslock on 26/04/2022 - 17:09
    +2

    I think people outside of OzBargain are happy to pay the premium for convenience.

    We know better so we only buy if a promotion makes it cheaper or the same as ordering directly.

  • Hvrd on 26/04/2022 - 17:15
    +2

    my local indian and pizza have the same menu prices instore and online so I'm happy to pay $4 for it to be delivered

    • ankor on 28/04/2022 - 21:41

      Sounds like they aren't good at maths to me..

  • AdosHouse on 26/04/2022 - 18:16
    +9

    I don't understand why all the platforms charge ~30% of the meal total to the restaurant, then charge a delivery fee which doesn't all go to the driver, and then have the audacity to charge a 'service fee' on top of that.

    • JimmyF on 26/04/2022 - 20:20
      +4

      and ask for a TIP for the driver too!!!

      • orangetrain on 27/04/2022 - 09:21
        +1

        Bet driver sees no tip. American delivery services have the reputation of encouraging tips and keeping it!

        • JimmyF on 27/04/2022 - 10:08
          +2

          Uber being evil and screwing over the driver? NEVER!!!

          But yes, Uber has a track record of screwing over the driver for both Uber and Ubereats. Its pretty much Uber 101 business plan, screw over everyone as much as you can!

          • Hangryuman on 28/04/2022 - 14:11
            +2

            @JimmyF: and when uber rider struggling to feed his family is killed on the road, uber say 'gee sorry but they were an independent contractor' - and not their problem

            that's the business model - pretend to care - but carefully avoid any liability

            • JimmyF on 28/04/2022 - 14:45
              +1

              @Hangryuman:

              that's the business model - pretend to care - but carefully avoid any liability

              I don't even know if they pretend to care anymore. They certainly distance themselves from any uber drivers having crashes with paxs on board, and as you said, a ubereats delivery partner getting killed who now isn't a 'partner'.

    • ln28909 on 28/04/2022 - 00:32

      Because you're expected to pay for the subscription which makes delivery fee = 0

      A monthly subscription is only about $13, say you order delivery twice everyday, with a average delivery fee of $4 each so $240 for the price of $13, that's why deliver fee is considered as 0 which then makes sense for them to add a surcharge on top

  • bobbified on 26/04/2022 - 18:39
    +3

    Someone's got to pay for the extra costs.

    Or would you wish regular price + a higher delivery fee?

    If they had the actual delivery cost and cost of the food itemised, customers would probably baulk at the price of delivery and probably put more effort into going to get it themselves.

    But they often include a chunk of the delivery costs into what appears to be the pricing of the food so that customers might go "it's only an extra $2 to get it delivered" when it's actually a shitload more than that.

  • Stopback on 26/04/2022 - 18:49
    +1

    Pretty obvious bait and switch from uber.

    They gave us great service and good prices. But it's unstable so prices have increased.

  • del preston on 26/04/2022 - 18:58
    +5

    These companies got us hooked with cheaper prices/cheap or free delivery at the beginning, then the prices snuck up. So you stop buying, but they lure you back with promo codes. But as mentioned, it often just offsets the fees and higher prices. Then they added the Service Fee, which was said to have originally been charged in the delivery fee - bullshit. Now the prices are insane and I won’t use delivery services at all.

    I was babysitting my nephew the other night and forgot to buy kid-friendly food, so I checked out how much a burrito from Zambrero would cost to deliver: $26. For one burrito.

    I understand everyone has to make money, but a treat is breaking the bank, these days.

    • Jason Genova on 27/04/2022 - 07:51
      +3

      100%, they think we are mugs paying that much for a burrito

  • sane on 26/04/2022 - 19:34
    +2

    To me its a service offering that's never really made sense.

    The fast food likes of KFC, McDs, Hungry Jacks, etc. are refuelling stops. They exist to add energy when you are out and about - not somewhere you seek out, and certainly not somewhere you would want to go to the expense of delivery when you are already at home AND CAN EASILY COOK SOMETHING BETTER YOURSELF.

    The only place for delivery is when you want something that could actually be described as food, something from a restaurant, at home, and without the hassle of booking at table, etc. or trying to make a recipe work over many hours. You know, at least $30+ per head prices. However, when you look at the breakdown of costs, a significant amount of cost goes in waiters, rental, costs of the property, etc., utils, - at least 30%. So they should be able to offer free delivery on a typical order and still make more money than they would get from a restaurant diner, and be able to scale beyond the limits of their dining area at rush times - making them even more money.

    Upshot is, I can't see the case for paying for some minimum wage uber driver to deliver a cold, non-fast food delivery. No matter how many times they offer me $30 promo deals.

    • plastererJazz on 26/04/2022 - 23:45

      Couldn’t agree more

      I often see people getting on those 20% off gift card or $10 off for some orders on these platforms and couldn’t comprehend why would they consider this as a bargain.

    • endolphin on 27/04/2022 - 18:20
      +4

      Yeh but, what if, like me, you HATE cooking and are happy to pay to have a meal cooked for you? What's wrong with that?

      I'm not necessarily talking about uber eats. There is an Indian place walking distance from me that does a "couples pack" which is easily enough for two dinners for myself, for $25. Great value, I say.

      • Hangryuman on 28/04/2022 - 14:32

        sure - when I used to do this comparison years ago I came up with I might spend the same $25 for supermarket supplies - from which I could make 3 meals for two.

        when I shared house with a fellow uni student who never cooked, he'd always say 'let's go to Marios' for breakfast, lunch and dinner - which was fine for a while - until I did some sums - and worked out that was costing me an extra $400 per week (in 1988) !

        those who don't need to care about $20Kpa of your after-tax income - enjoy !

        although maybe watch out for the fact that most restaurant food is high fat/salt/sugar and unhealthy if eaten frequently - some say more than a fast-food burger once a week risks heart disease (not now baby - a bit later)

        those claiming to be unable to save enough for a deposit on their first home - might like to reconsider …

    • Jolakot on 28/04/2022 - 14:17

      Isn't the entire point of ordering in to avoid having to prepare, cook and clean?

      Especially if you're having guests over and have to juggle food intolerances, allergies and preferences; making a dish that's low FODMAP while also vegetarian with no peanuts, tree nuts or gluten is infinitely more effort than just handing over your phone and letting each person pick whatever they want

      It's a luxury service with a significant convenience fee attached, just like paying $6 for a bottle of Coke at a train station, or paying $80 to park at an airport overnight. The discounts just negate part of the convenience fee

  • Blokeinhisundies on 26/04/2022 - 19:59
    +5

    I used to use these services but with the advent of service and delivery fees plus the already higher costs I haven't ordered through any of them for probably twelve months. It was glorious while the venture capitalists were happy to burn through cash subsidising us fatties but the party has well and truly ended.

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