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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 l

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
Schroedingersat 4y ago
Middleman feudal tax garbage always seems great at first. In an abusive relationship that part is called the honeymoon period. The goals, the mindset of the perpetrator, and the end results are the same.
- scarface74 4y ago
  What feudal tax? The SaaS system that provides servicing and support for the point of sales system, merchant accounts, online ordering, designs web pages, and optional apps, optional hardware for pagers when someone’s table is ready or a text messaging notification system? Or are you referring to the app in the Apple Store that optionally supports Apple Pay (not in app purchasing) where the merchant is charged the standard credit card processing fee - $0.25 + 2-3% of the price? Would it be better if the person running the restaurant had to do all that themselves? I’ve seen a mom and pop pizza shop that had all of the technology of a papa Johns thanks to all of the SaaS offerings available
  - walterbell 4y ago
    Hopefully white label SaaS will grow their marketshare - any estimates on annual revenue for that sector? Revenue for the major US delivery apps is currently in the billions, with feudal taxes.
    - scarface74 4y ago
      The difference is that GrubHub has high fixed costs and high variable costs for drivers. A SaaS model has fixed costs for developers, sales, support etc. But marginal costs to add new customers is minimal. Revenue may be in the billions. But they are all losing money. The smaller companies can easily be “lifestyle businesses” that hire in low cost of living areas and go after “enterprise devs” who are very happy to make $135k - $165K and don’t expect “equity”. I spent most of my entire career as an “enterprise dev” working with SaaS companies in the bill payment space, field services, and health care. I’m in $BigTech now working in the cloud consulting department working with a lot of the same types of companies.

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

Schroedingersat 4y ago

Middleman feudal tax garbage always seems great at first. In an abusive relationship that part is called the honeymoon period. The goals, the mindset of the perpetrator, and the end results are the same.

scarface74 4y ago
What feudal tax? The SaaS system that provides servicing and support for the point of sales system, merchant accounts, online ordering, designs web pages, and optional apps, optional hardware for pagers when someone’s table is ready or a text messaging notification system? Or are you referring to the app in the Apple Store that optionally supports Apple Pay (not in app purchasing) where the merchant is charged the standard credit card processing fee - $0.25 + 2-3% of the price? Would it be better if the person running the restaurant had to do all that themselves? I’ve seen a mom and pop pizza shop that had all of the technology of a papa Johns thanks to all of the SaaS offerings available
- walterbell 4y ago
  Hopefully white label SaaS will grow their marketshare - any estimates on annual revenue for that sector? Revenue for the major US delivery apps is currently in the billions, with feudal taxes.
  - scarface74 4y ago
    The difference is that GrubHub has high fixed costs and high variable costs for drivers. A SaaS model has fixed costs for developers, sales, support etc. But marginal costs to add new customers is minimal. Revenue may be in the billions. But they are all losing money. The smaller companies can easily be “lifestyle businesses” that hire in low cost of living areas and go after “enterprise devs” who are very happy to make $135k - $165K and don’t expect “equity”. I spent most of my entire career as an “enterprise dev” working with SaaS companies in the bill payment space, field services, and health care. I’m in $BigTech now working in the cloud consulting department working with a lot of the same types of companies.