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NYC is on a whole other scale than just about any other city in North America. The density of NYC changes the economics of just about anything drastically.

nobody9999 4y ago
>NYC is on a whole other scale than just about any other city in North America. The density of NYC changes the economics of just about anything drastically. Absolutely. Which is why I qualified my statement with "YMMV." That said, I think one aspect is broadly applicable: Most low to mid-price restaurants (not chain restaurants) operate on pretty thin margins. And the 12-30% (just for "listing" on their website) can often eat all the profits from the business. And that doesn't include the "service" fees and delivery charges either. Making the whole enterprise a bad deal for everyone except the UberEats/DoorDash/GrubHub/etc. Edit: Fixed typo.
- admax88qqq 4y ago
  I'm unconvinced. Restaurants are not "forced" to eat those service fees, they can up their prices on delivery apps to compensate. Does that make it a bad deal for the consumer? Maybe, but lots of people seem to be willing to pay the premium for the experience and convenience of ordering through the app. Locally I've seen plenty of restaurants have different prices on UberEats than online.
  - nobody9999 4y ago
    >I'm unconvinced. Restaurants are not "forced" to eat those service fees, they can up their prices on delivery apps to compensate. I'm talking about service fees to the customer, not the restaurant. The restaurant is already paying 12-30% on every single order. That includes phone orders via the fake websites these services set up with a VOIP number (not the restaurants' own numbers) that forwards to the restaurant. As for upping the menu prices, IIUC, these services (GrubHub definitely, the others I'm sure do the same) require restaurants to charge the same prices as their eat-in menu. You're welcome to disagree as to whether or not it's a good or bad deal for anyone, but I've seen (and had it confirmed by several former restaurant owners) restaurants go out of business because they, can't make a profit via the delivery services. Even ones that had been doing just fine for decades. >Locally I've seen plenty of restaurants have different prices on UberEats than online. Fair enough. I wouldn't use UberAnything even if it was free, so I wouldn't know. But I am certain about GrubHub/Seamless. I expect you're still "unconvinced." Which is no skin off my nose. I'm loathe to tell anyone what to think, do or say, as it's neither my business nor my concern.

nobody9999 4y ago

>NYC is on a whole other scale than just about any other city in North America. The density of NYC changes the economics of just about anything drastically. Absolutely. Which is why I qualified my statement with "YMMV." That said, I think one aspect is broadly applicable: Most low to mid-price restaurants (not chain restaurants) operate on pretty thin margins. And the 12-30% (just for "listing" on their website) can often eat all the profits from the business. And that doesn't include the "service" fees and delivery charges either. Making the whole enterprise a bad deal for everyone except the UberEats/DoorDash/GrubHub/etc. Edit: Fixed typo.

admax88qqq 4y ago
I'm unconvinced. Restaurants are not "forced" to eat those service fees, they can up their prices on delivery apps to compensate. Does that make it a bad deal for the consumer? Maybe, but lots of people seem to be willing to pay the premium for the experience and convenience of ordering through the app. Locally I've seen plenty of restaurants have different prices on UberEats than online.
- nobody9999 4y ago
  >I'm unconvinced. Restaurants are not "forced" to eat those service fees, they can up their prices on delivery apps to compensate. I'm talking about service fees to the customer, not the restaurant. The restaurant is already paying 12-30% on every single order. That includes phone orders via the fake websites these services set up with a VOIP number (not the restaurants' own numbers) that forwards to the restaurant. As for upping the menu prices, IIUC, these services (GrubHub definitely, the others I'm sure do the same) require restaurants to charge the same prices as their eat-in menu. You're welcome to disagree as to whether or not it's a good or bad deal for anyone, but I've seen (and had it confirmed by several former restaurant owners) restaurants go out of business because they, can't make a profit via the delivery services. Even ones that had been doing just fine for decades. >Locally I've seen plenty of restaurants have different prices on UberEats than online. Fair enough. I wouldn't use UberAnything even if it was free, so I wouldn't know. But I am certain about GrubHub/Seamless. I expect you're still "unconvinced." Which is no skin off my nose. I'm loathe to tell anyone what to think, do or say, as it's neither my business nor my concern.