Why Restaurants Are Furious With Delivery Apps — and You Should Be Too

If you ordered takeout anytime during the coronavirus pandemic, you're not alone. Especially when you've cooked for what seems like days and days, the convenience of delivery apps is super enticing. There are so many options for where you can order, too.

Influence Central released data from a May survey of 630 people that confirms food orders were popular. Of those that answered, 70% of them got takeout recently. Restaurants that stayed open, though, are furious. Although they saw an increase in orders, they had to pay delivery apps large fees, according to the New York Times. Some apps even charged customers more by raising menu prices on the app without telling the restaurant. And that's making restaurants angry.

"You have no choice but to sign up, but there is no negotiating," Matt Majesky, the owner of Pierogi Mountain in Columbus, Ohio, told the New York Times. "It almost turns into a hostage situation."

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Majesky says Uber Eats and Grubhub charge him every time someone orders food through the app. He also acknowledges that, even though Grubhub takes 40% of the money from an average order, he had no choice but to keep using the apps because of the pandemic.

The good news is that some customers are noticing this. In the Influence Central survey, 60% of people who got delivery lately ordered directly from the restaurant. This ensures that all of the money the customer pays for the food goes directly to the restaurant. People want to support restaurants — 87% of people surveyed said they order from a specific place to do just that.

Restaurants are opening dining-in options now, but there are still safety precautions to consider. Avoid these bad habits at restaurants, and sign up for our newsletter so that all the latest COVID-19 updates are right there in your inbox every day.

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