8 ms·

> I value privacy more than the ability to order food through my phone. I know you didn't mean it like this, but I find it funny that it reads like we've aband

> I value privacy more than the ability to order food through my phone. I know you didn't mean it like this, but I find it funny that it reads like we've abandoned the idea of calling a restaurant and just talking to a person to order takeaway.

walterbell 4y ago
> talking to a person to order takeaway Also supports small business by saving them double-digit app fees!
- Jeremy1026 4y ago
  Not necessarily. The delivery apps set up proxy numbers to pass calls through, taking a lead fee. So you can't just search "sub shop near me" and call, as it might not be their actual phone number. Your best bet if you want to save the local place fees from the apps is walk in the first time, then call the number off the paper menu from then on.
  - xeromal 4y ago
    If they have a website, that's usually a good number too
  - walterbell 4y ago
    PiTM (Parasite in The Middle)
- scarface74 4y ago
  I know a couple of small restaurant owners. Even ones that don’t go through UberEats or GrubHub that use SaaS restaurant software that also come with a white labeled restaurant specific app that accepts Apple Pay (standard credit card fees - not 30%) and other payment methods. They actually prefer it.
  - SoftTalker 4y ago
    Weird. The small places here (I'm thinking chinese take-out, for example) take cash only, order tickets are on paper, they don't deliver, and seem to be thriving. Have the Uber Eats and other tech middlemen started taking such a big slice of the profit that it's not worth it? Having worked in a restaurant, if someone took 30% of my gross it certainly would have been all of my profit and then some.
    - walterbell 4y ago
      NYC currently caps fees at 20%. Grubhub is lobbying for 30%. https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/nyc-could-ease-its-20-delivery-fee-cap https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/nyc-coul... > New York, like many cities, put a limit on third-party delivery fees during the pandemic to help restaurants that had come to depend heavily on the service. Last August, it became one of the few jurisdictions to make the emergency measure permanent ... Last year, it passed a first-of-its kind law that would force delivery providers to share more customer data with restaurants.
    - scarface74 4y ago
      I just said the opposite. Restaurants apps do not pay 30% even when going through the App Store. It’s a physical good and even if they do accept Apple Pay, they get charged standard credit card processing fees - $0.25 + 2-3% of the amount. I said they do not use GrubHub. They have their own system run as SaaS. The company they use takes care of the POS system, merchant accounts, and a white labeled app just for their store.
      - walterbell 4y ago
        Are customers willing to download a new app for each restaurant? Does the SaaS/POS company let customers use one app and "install/subscribe" to each restaurant as needed?
        scarface74 4y ago
        They also offer a white labeled website. Once you have a website, creating an “app” that’s just a web view that provides notifications for delivery and or when your table is ready is relatively easy. Of course it’s more about branding than anything else. They can also just send text messages
handedness 4y ago
Many restaurant managers already have: I'm increasingly finding places won't allow phone orders, at least during peak hours.
- SoftTalker 4y ago
  So call the places that do. This is called free market competition.
  - msm_ 4y ago
    But why? Ordering via app is more convenient, and the restaurants clearly don't mind fees.
A4ET8a8uTh0 4y ago
<< just talking to a person to order takeaway. The sad thing is that even if you do that, the restaurants are now almost guaranteed to use your phone as unique identifier and use that data for, hopefully, their own purposes ( hopefully, because the lure of selling data might be too much ).
- walterbell 4y ago
  It's good privacy practice to use cheap and disposable VOIP numbers for online/phone shopping, changed periodically.

walterbell 4y ago

> talking to a person to order takeaway Also supports small business by saving them double-digit app fees!

Jeremy1026 4y ago
Not necessarily. The delivery apps set up proxy numbers to pass calls through, taking a lead fee. So you can't just search "sub shop near me" and call, as it might not be their actual phone number. Your best bet if you want to save the local place fees from the apps is walk in the first time, then call the number off the paper menu from then on.
- xeromal 4y ago
  If they have a website, that's usually a good number too
- walterbell 4y ago
  PiTM (Parasite in The Middle)
scarface74 4y ago
I know a couple of small restaurant owners. Even ones that don’t go through UberEats or GrubHub that use SaaS restaurant software that also come with a white labeled restaurant specific app that accepts Apple Pay (standard credit card fees - not 30%) and other payment methods. They actually prefer it.
- SoftTalker 4y ago
  Weird. The small places here (I'm thinking chinese take-out, for example) take cash only, order tickets are on paper, they don't deliver, and seem to be thriving. Have the Uber Eats and other tech middlemen started taking such a big slice of the profit that it's not worth it? Having worked in a restaurant, if someone took 30% of my gross it certainly would have been all of my profit and then some.
  - walterbell 4y ago
    NYC currently caps fees at 20%. Grubhub is lobbying for 30%. https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/nyc-could-ease-its-20-delivery-fee-cap https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/nyc-coul... > New York, like many cities, put a limit on third-party delivery fees during the pandemic to help restaurants that had come to depend heavily on the service. Last August, it became one of the few jurisdictions to make the emergency measure permanent ... Last year, it passed a first-of-its kind law that would force delivery providers to share more customer data with restaurants.
  - scarface74 4y ago
    I just said the opposite. Restaurants apps do not pay 30% even when going through the App Store. It’s a physical good and even if they do accept Apple Pay, they get charged standard credit card processing fees - $0.25 + 2-3% of the amount. I said they do not use GrubHub. They have their own system run as SaaS. The company they use takes care of the POS system, merchant accounts, and a white labeled app just for their store.
    - walterbell 4y ago
      Are customers willing to download a new app for each restaurant? Does the SaaS/POS company let customers use one app and "install/subscribe" to each restaurant as needed?
      - scarface74 4y ago
        They also offer a white labeled website. Once you have a website, creating an “app” that’s just a web view that provides notifications for delivery and or when your table is ready is relatively easy. Of course it’s more about branding than anything else. They can also just send text messages

handedness 4y ago

Many restaurant managers already have: I'm increasingly finding places won't allow phone orders, at least during peak hours.

SoftTalker 4y ago
So call the places that do. This is called free market competition.
- msm_ 4y ago
  But why? Ordering via app is more convenient, and the restaurants clearly don't mind fees.

A4ET8a8uTh0 4y ago

<< just talking to a person to order takeaway. The sad thing is that even if you do that, the restaurants are now almost guaranteed to use your phone as unique identifier and use that data for, hopefully, their own purposes ( hopefully, because the lure of selling data might be too much ).

walterbell 4y ago
It's good privacy practice to use cheap and disposable VOIP numbers for online/phone shopping, changed periodically.