to ask you to order from your takeaway directly not via Deliveroo/Uber Eats if possible?

[roses2]

I was having a chat with my local takeaway owner last week and he said he gets a lot of orders from Deliveroo/Uber Eats and the fees are crippling and he is now selling his business.

Deliveroo and Uber Eats take 30% + vat commission which he just can't sustain. This is also contributing to the high prices and low quality.

I am lucky that all my favourite take aways are walking distance so always order direct and collect.

If you want to save your local takeaway please go direct where you can

If it's in walking distance I'll do so, if not I'll get it delivered from Uber eats/deliveroo.

How is it not cold anyway if it travels the same distance?

one of our locals aske if we order diret from now on as you end up paying more with servie fees and they get charged aswell

Yes, I order direct.
My local Chinese is telephone and pick up orders only but when we order from the pizza shop we order via their own website. The main reason being there is no extra charges and it’s cheaper.

But if the takeaway goes bust due to the crippling costs what are you going to do 1 in 3 food outlets close within the first year. Around 60% don’t last for more than three years.

The reality is that the food industry is brutal, and it’s almost impossible to make a restaurant or takeaway work long term.

If your local takeaway has stopped trading it’s unlikely to be purely because of Deliveroo, and more likely because they just don’t have what it takes to be successful. That’s not a failing, it’s just the nature of the business they’re in.

For me, it’s a few reasons.

For the convenience of being able to write down any specific requests, like leaving something off an order, so if there’s a mistake you have written evidence. It’s a lot easier to get refunds through the app than going directly if things aren’t right.

And lastly but probably most importantly for me, going direct often means they want cash on delivery. I haven’t carried cash since before the pandemic.

We must have some very loyal customers here. I’m thinking of all my favourite take aways and they have all been open over 10 years.

I so agree with this. There are load of local restaurants and shops around here that we all support - because the service and experience are worth it. the ones that aren't, rapidly close. I popped into a local eatery this mornig that I don't go into often - I was greeted enthusiastically, had a lovely chat with the owner (who I've spoken to before) and had an excellent coffee and breakfast with a friend.

There was anther similar place up the road I went to a few times. It was dark and a bit dingy. The owner was lovely and kind, but very inefficient as she was often the only person working there so trying to cover the front and the kitchen. There was no decent bathroom. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, she closed down after less than a year.

A third place has been the centre of our community for 10 years. They have a very busy business and are very popular. But, it's hugely competitive and I know that the owners work insanely hard and that profits are good, but they're not exactly getting rich, that's for sure.

They are more likely to go bust if they are giving away their profits to delivery companies. I'm sure you can understand that. Trying to pretend it would make no difference is a very odd and weak argument

They’re not though. Because they’re typically 20/30% more expensive on Deliveroo, so they’re just increasing their prices to match the app.

Of course they do...

Its a choice of using Deliveroo/Uber eats/Just Eat or not getting 90% of customers.

And they have to deal with the irate customers who suddenly CAN ring them to complain when the DeliJustUber driver brings the wrong thing/turns up super late/doesn't turn up at all because unlike the external delivery service, the restaurant CAN be contacted, found, etc etc.

So they have less money and more aggro.

If you would order direct over the phone except you struggle because the person answering doesn't speak english well enough... tell them that. The takeaway my sister works at has a fluent english speaker on the phones at all times once they realised that was an issue (they genuinely hadn't!) and an upgraded phone system with headphones so the conversation is clear. It's meant a good proportion have switched back to ringing.

A lot of takeaway owners were really pushed the external delivery/website model as being super helpful, when they weren't able to sort out a website for themselves... told they'd easily be able to update prices/menu items etc... and the truth is most can't and find it a huge struggle but are now tied into a system that costs them a lot and doesn't generate the revenue they were promised.

Well that would also be a business killer. They have to be on the apps to get the trade - but they do get royally screwed by the commission and fees.

I would wonder how long it had been sitting there.
Cooked? Boxed up? Delivered? In ten minutes?

We always use the business's own website. Every takeaway we use has one, except the chippy, and it's always cheaper than the generic apps.

Never used Deliveroo or Just Eat. Always collect takeaways.

I don’t mind paying extra to be honest.

I never used to order takeaway when I had to ring up. Too much faff trying to make yourself heard down the phone to someone in a busy kitchen who speaks English so poorly I’m never sure if they’ve understood my order correctly. Or who has such a strong accent I can’t understand them. Plus being able to deliver to a GPS location as well as an address makes life so much easier.

i don’t mind using their own app/website if they have one but having them all in one place is much easier. Especially as I live between about 4 towns with takeaways that deliver but I don’t necessarily know exactly what restaurants are in each place or whether I’m precisely within their delivery distance!

Why is that "geared to the uber eats market?" People don't go on Uber Eats because they fancy a tiny plate of crap food.

Before there weren't any photos of the food online, but they had loads of it. Just a typical Chinese takeaway

You kinda know what to expect. But now, the photos of the food look glossy, there aren't many menu items, the price is sky high. Even though it was business before and is one now, it doesn't feel authentic anymore.

We have moved to a new area and the very delicious Chinese does do their own delivery, luckily I'm not afraid of making phone calls, but you do need to allow about an hour which we allow for, if I'm in a rush I go and collect it.

I see a lot of the impact of UE/Deliveroo here (s London). Lots of "dark kitchens" on industrial estates which are big brand restaurants which cater only to delivery customers.

I have three brilliant independent takeaways near me and I do my best to order directly from them and collect but my timing (and often napping children) means that I sometimes do order via UE. What's better for the restaurant - no order at all or an order via UE?

And yes, absolutely higher prices on UE than direct. I hope that's the restaurant upping its prices to account for UE's fees.

This. Local takeaways don’t have the technology to do this. There’s a reason I use deliveroo, I like to see my progress.

Taking photos for your online ordering system makes sense.

Reducing the menu items to specially appeal to online ordering makes no sense.
Upping the price to specially appeal to online ordering makes no sense.
Making food inauthentic to specially appeal to online ordering makes no sense.

I'm assuming it's a chopstix type place, and it clearly does make sense because they do very well. It's just a different target market.

I order from our local Indian and pizza shop direct for this reason, they do both have websites where you can order direct so it makes no odds to me whether it's through them or through ubereats. I order through them quite a lot so I know how long it'll take and I'm not bothered about tracking them

Don’t restaurants charge higher prices on Deliveroo and Uber Eats? The grocery/convenience stores certainly do.

If they are VAT registered, they can claim back VAT charged to them from the VAT they charge customers.