Through the years, third party food apps continually try to outdo each other to become the most sought after delivery systems. However, a couple of restaurants are trying to change this by doing some streamlining of their own. Reuters reports that some casual restaurants are refraining from using delivery apps. It’s because more often than not, they increase costs and even complicate their operations in the resto.
Although the restaurant owners admit that food delivery platforms like DoorDash or GrubHub boost the number of orders they receive daily, it is a tradeoff. These apps are creating operating headaches behind the scenes and don’t even have that great an impact on profit margins. A delivery app needs to have its software and hardware to communicate with these restaurants. In turn, the employees are forced to juggle multiple orders coming not only from their in-store lines but from their phones and iPads as well. According to the Reuters report, not only do the owners need to hire more staff to execute such orders, but the commission fees are eating up to 30 percent from each order.
So before jumping into the traditional third-party delivery platforms, here are a few things to consider.
Be Prepared for the Increased Costs
As mentioned earlier, while the delivery service is capturing the growing percentage of food sales. What’s happening is they are threatening to drain your restaurant’s profit margin by charging up to 30 percent per delivery. Not only that, but this also encouraging the consumers to stay put and eat their orders at home rather than enjoying the in-house restaurant experince that owners are promoting for their brand.
Restaurant owners feel their back is against the wall and wouldn’t consider this option unless they have a better choice. Yes, delivery is an integral part of their business, but they must also consider the financial impact this will have on them in the long run.
Losing Control of Your Brand
Losing control of your finances is terrible, but what’s even worse is losing control of your brand. Once the delivery service takes the order from your resto, you lose control of your brand. The moment it leaves your premises up to the time it arrives in the customer’s home. You might have read about the report about the couple who claimed to have used UberEats to order pizza from a resto and got sandwiches filled with mold and wilted salad instead.
This incident can have a grave impact on people’s perception of your brand of the business. To put it more simply, if your customers experience a traumatic incident like this from the delivery service you use, they might automatically associate it to your resto even if you had nothing to do with any of these unfortunate incidents.
Your “Personal Touch” Is Put At Risk
Most of the consumers enjoy interacting directly to place their orders in their favorite restaurants rather than going through a delivery service. They love the “personal touch” the customer service relationship they get from your brand itself. The moment restaurants engage in third-party delivery services, they sever their ties with their customers. They, in turn, associate their meal and experience with the delivery service who brought it to them. Gone are the hard-earned customer relationships you’ve worked so hard to keep through the years.
So What’s The Solution?
Decrease if not eliminate your restaurant’s presence on other platforms. Develop your app, just like what some restaurants are doing. Other apps have pre-ordering or loyalty programs; the app they’re using is different. Aside from letting customers order ahead and pay, they also have their delivery capabilities.
By doing this, it will also improve the restaurant’s profit margin because the equation is easy to figure out. When your resto is generating orders organically through your platform, you eliminate the commission fees that the third-party delivery service is charging (which is sky-rocket high, by the way). This process makes having your in-house ordering capabilities more efficient and rewarding, just like Deanna’s Kitchen.
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Bottomline
The food industry yearns for the growing numbers of convenience-minded delivery customers. However, it is also very important that your base of customers who still want to come in, eat, or pick up their own food for off-premises occasions get only the best experience from you. True, delivery customers are willing to pay a high price in exchange for convenience, but your carryout customers tend to be more value-driven. These people enjoy witnessing their food being prepped and personally experience themselves how clean your store is. So in the end, it’s both about convenience and a fantastic customer service experience. Whether you plan on coming up with your own in-house, organic delivery system or serving people with their carryout, always remember to make a sound, lasting impression. So, what’s your next move?
