When you think of ordering food, which delivery brands come to mind? We’re guessing you’re thinking about UberEats, SkipTheDishes and DoorDash. These third-party apps have become household names. Why wouldn’t they? They each provide a convenient way for customers to order food from their favourite restaurants without leaving the comforts of their homes. However, as a restaurant owner, these platforms can be pretty costly, in more ways than one.
Yes, they can expand your reach. However, to take control of your business and significantly boost revenue, you should stop relying on third-party apps.
High commission fees can erode your profits.
Using third-party delivery apps can cut heavily into your restaurant’s profits. When customers depend on these apps to order food from your restaurant, you allow a huge chunk of your profits to go straight into the pockets of the app providers. While these apps bring in new customers, the fees significantly reduce the profitability of each order. This makes it especially difficult for smaller and mid-sized restaurants to stay afloat.
As reported by Amy Carlberg of blogTO, “Uber Eats is the worst offender with the highest rate of 30 percent. Restaurants have been seeking to abandon this app especially, not only due to high fees, but because their service went haywire recently, causing many to lose business.”
You lose control over the customer experience.
It is your team that prepares the food, right? However, from the moment it leaves the kitchen until it reaches the customer’s doorstep, you’re not in control of how the meal is handled or presented. Let’s suppose the delivery person, working for the delivery app, makes some sort of mistake, like dropping the package. The contents get all messed up and your business ends up looking bad, as a result.
Chris Szego of MENU, Canada’s Foodservice Magazine, highlights the lack of control restaurants have once an order leaves the premises. “Delays and disruptions are often unfairly attributed to the restaurant rather than the delivery service,” he points out.
Your access to customer data is limited.
UberEats, SkipTheDishes and DoorDash often only provide you with basic details. Generally, you’ll learn a customer’s name and delivery address. However, by relying on these apps, you miss out on key insights that could help improve your marketing efforts, build loyalty and increase repeat business. According to Meredith Sandland and Carl Orsbourn of Nation’s Restaurant News, restaurants have lost their relationships with their guests and, with it, their ability to engage in hospitality.
“Many restaurants lament the lack of guest data coming through third-party channels,” they write, “Who is ordering? How often do they order? What do they order? While this lack of data seriously affects feedback loops and a restaurant’s ability to remarket to the guest, it isn’t really that different from recent history.”
Make use of Priority Pay’s online ordering system!
With Priority Pay’s Online Ordering System, you will have the in-house technology you need to put your business back in your hands. You can stop relying on third-party apps and increase revenues with a system designed just for your business. To learn all about it, please don’t hesitate to call Priority Pay at 1-888-431-4344, email info@prioritypay.ca or request a quote on our Contact page!