The Risk Of Incorporating 3rd Party Food Delivery Services At Your Restaurant

Incorporating delivery into your restaurant’s management requires careful planning to fully understand what it entails. This includes everything from driver training to keeping food safe in transit, as well as how it relates to your business model and budget.

Find Out How A Cloud-Based POS System Can Streamline Your Restaurant

Like all business ventures, incorporating 3rd party food delivery services like GrubHub, Doordash or even a local delivery company comes with certain risks that you need to weigh against the benefits of partnering with them.

3rd Party Food Delivery Can Be Pricey

Food Delivery AppsBefore you partner with a 3rd party food delivery services, you need to understand the costs associated with them and how they can affect your budget and income. Can you afford costs like commission fees? In fact, some services can take up to 30% of your menu costs for themselves in commission.

GrubHub says it does not charge delivery fees itself, but rather the restaurant sets the costs as well as the minimum order cost. Other services have what is called “surge pricing,” meaning they up the cost of delivery during busy hours such as lunch and dinner.

Keep in mind that you may not be able to raise prices to accommodate any losses. Not only could it be against the terms of service you agreed to in your contract, but it could drive customers away.

Utilize Your Cloud POS To Understand Your ROI

Just because you have signed up with a 3rd party food delivery service doesn’t mean you can get behind and not pay attention to your ROI. Some delivery services like GrubHub have Toast and Oracle Hospitality integration that easily allow you to monitor orders from one device.

A dedicated cloud POS will keep track of your customer data as well as help you set realistic restaurant goals while providing analytics on the menu items that perform best. Remember, not every item on your menu has to be available for delivery.

Food Safety, Delivery Times, & Driver Professionalism

Depending on the delivery service, it can take up to an hour for a customer to receive their food. This can cause food safety concerns, especially if the driver has multiple deliveries and does not use a cooler to keep food hot or cold.

With 3rd party food delivery drivers, you may not know who you are getting to deliver food to your customers. For example, they could accept the order and then bail without notification, leaving customers and restaurants scrambling.

Don’t Be Afraid To Step Away From A Food Delivery Service

If you discover that a 3rd party food delivery service is not working for your restaurant, don’t be afraid to step away and move on – especially if it is hurting business. You can always look to find another solution.

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