An independent Italian restaurant owner is revolting against food delivery services like Uber Eats, blasiting them as a “headache” for businesses.
Italian restaurant Dolce Napoli, located in Balmain in Sydney’s inner west, told customers it was no longer using the apps from Thursday due to the corporate giants’ huge fees.
“Dear customer, from today we will no longer be available on Uber Eats or DoorDash, 30 per cent commission is way too much,” the post read.
The restaurant advised customers to call directly to pick up takeaway orders, for which they would receive a 10 to 15 per cent discount.
“This way customers don’t get their food cold or delayed and is way cheaper if you pick up your order,” the post read.
Uber Eats can charge restaurants a commission fee of up to 30 per cent on orders.
Speaking to news.com.au, Dolce Napoli owner Martin Prenga said he was fed up with the food delivery apps after using them for three years.
“It’s just a headache,” he said. “I’m done.”
Mr Prenga estimated customers could spend between $8,00-$10,000 on meals ordered through Uber Eats or DoorDash on an average week, but a huge chunk of the money would be taken by the food delivery services, leaving him with little-to-no profit.
“Anyone who works in hospitality will know that there is no profit. 30 per cent goes straight to Uber (and then there’s) the cost of labour, food, and electricity bills. There’s literally no profit. The only reason people keep it (the apps) is more for advertising the business.”
To help with costs, Mr Prenga has had to slightly increase the price of meals ordered through the apps, but he said raising them any more would hurt his business.
“You can’t really put up the price too much. You cannot add 30 per cent more to the price or you will end up $45 and $50 dish for paper bag food. Who will pay for that?,” he asked.
“I just think it’s not fair.”
Adding to the pain, Mr Prenga said delivery drivers often cancel or are get delayed, causing his food to turn cold while waiting in the restaurant.
“The food is ready and the next thing you’ll see is the driver has decided not to pick up, it turns over to the next driver and the next driver takes 15 minutes,” he explained.
“The food gets cold and you get the blame.”
As a result, chefs often have to reheat the meal or make a new one entirely.
“Making a new one on a busy night Saturday night just causes more trouble and you don’t actually do a great service for actual customers who come in,” Mr Prenga added.
Customers online appeared to support the restaurant’s decision, with some expressing shock over the steep commission charged by the apps.
“OMG 30 per cent,” one person wrote on the Facebook post.
“30 per cent is absolutely ridiculous! Totally understand you taking this stance. Good on you and hopefully all your locals will support this decision,” said another.
Mr Prenga isn’t the only business owner who has scrapped Uber Eats and Door Dash over the years.
In 2018, a Sydney cafe announced it would refuse any more orders through Uber Eats, claiming the organisation was “incredibly exploitative” and made it virtually impossible to turn a profit.
“Uber Eats has taken its 35 per cent share, it is virtually impossible for us to make a profit, in fact we basically run at a loss with our Uber sales,” Petty Cash cafe’s wrote on social media at the time.
“Uber Eats is incredibly exploitative of small business AND drivers.”
The cafe also said they “despaired” at the plastic waste generated by packing up all the orders.
Over in Melbourne, restaurateur Chris Lucas said he was ditching third-party providers in 2022 and would instead go in-house when it came to delivering food from his many businesses.
In a statement to news.com.au, an Uber Eats spokesman said the company offers restaurant control over how they chose to partner with them.
“Restaurant partners can choose a pick-up only option that carries a marketplace fee of only six per cent, allowing them to reach a larger range of customers via the Uber Eats app,” they said.
“Restaurant partners requiring additional support can choose scalable solutions, including a ‘bring your own courier’ option or a full-service solution using Uber Eats’ network of delivery people.”
The spokesperon said a “significant portion” of the fees restaurants pay are reinvested “to cover the cost of delivery and fund demand generation – bringing customers to restaurants through advertising, marketing and incentives”.
News.com.au contacted DoorDash for comment.