Maureen Wallenfang
Appleton Post-Crescent
Published 12:48 PM EST Jan 17, 2020
With a few taps on an app, it’s now possible to eat restaurant food at home every night of the week.
But with the growing number of third-party restaurant delivery companies, some restaurant owners says the process is getting so competitive that some companies are using their names without permission, and others are causing customer angst by posting outdated prices or menus.
Delivery companies clamoring to bring food to Fox Cities homes include EatStreet, Grubhub, Uber Eats, DoorDash and Food Dudes.
For the most part, it’s a smooth, convenient process for the customer. Tap in an order on a phone app and 30 to 45 minutes later a driver knocks on the door with food in hand.
Two billion delivery orders were placed in U.S. restaurants last year, up five percent from the prior year, said market research firm NPD Group.
Janel Bedor of Appleton has ordered delivery from multiple companies for years.
“I use the apps all the time. It makes life easier because I can keep working. I don’t like to cook and I like to eat,” she said. “The owner of Food Dudes told me I was his first customer.”
She also uses Grubhub and DoorDash.
“It’s pretty convenient to look at so many choices from one app. I do it all from my phone,” said another regular delivery customer, Bryce Wegner of Oshkosh. “Sometimes I don’t want to go out of the house and sit in a restaurant.”
He says most delivery fees are around $3 and some add a service fee up to $1. He likes using Grubhub, EatStreet and Uber Eats.
Some services have free delivery, but menu prices might be hiked over what customers pay in the restaurant. Customers also typically give drivers tips from $1 to as much as a standard restaurant server percentage.
If restaurants sign contracts with delivery services, they also may be paying a high fee, as much as 20 or 30 percent of the food tab. That can cancel out most of their profit, but they still do it for exposure to new customers.
“Is it worth it? I think it’s better to have it than to not have it. So many restaurants are available on these sites. To not have it would be doing a disservice to the restaurant,” said Natasha Banks, who recently sold her restaurant in Appleton, The Cozzy Corner, and now plays an advisory role.
“It’s a convenient way to get food to customers without the liability and extra staff,” she said.
“It has brought in enough revenue to make it worth it,” said Sarah Gregory, owner of Sangria’s Mexican Grill. She said Eat Street’s tablet makes it smooth and easy.
Red Ox owner John Hayes said his Grubhub delivery link is on pace to bring in an extra $15,000 to $20,000 per year.
Restaurant owners have divided opinions on DoorDash, which some say has timeliness issues or puts restaurants on its site without permission.
Banks asked to be removed from its site because, “they were using an old menu with old prices.”
DoorDash corporate spokeswoman Cat McCormack said the company is responsive to requests, and will immediately remove restaurants from its site when asked.
“I personally don’t mind DoorDash because they’re full-price orders,” said Paul VanderLinden, owner of Muncheez Pizzeria in Appleton. “But it is annoying to not speak to the actual customers to get their preferences, like thin crust or hand tossed, boneless or traditional wings.”
He prefers using his own delivery drivers, and added Food Dudes when he had a previous driver shortage.
Some restaurant owners were surprised to hear they’re listed on a delivery site called Postmates.
“That has to be the oddball one we could never figure out,” said Hayes. “Every once in a while, a phone order is placed and a third party comes to pick it up and pays full price right then and there with a credit card.”
One issue restaurants face is that not all food travels well.
Don’t expect a fine steak to be so fine after sitting in a cardboard box for 45 minutes. Also, the beautiful French onion soup in the photo might show up as a ball of cheese in onion broth in a plastic tub.
Contact reporter Maureen Wallenfang at 920-993-7116 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @wallenfang.
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