Food delivery customers have a bone to pick their delivery. Amid the forced closure of restaurants for in-person dining due to the COVID-19 pandemic, take-outs were the only option of the customers for several months following the outbreak.
However, several customers said that they have had issues with ordering and picking up their food on-demand. These problems exist even if delivery affords a safe and sometimes contact-less option.
According to a study by communication company First Orion, more than 20% of Americans claim that they had encountered a problem when choosing to order delivery. The study went to a survey of 2,000 consumers who dished on their experience on food-ordering. The findings indicate that 70% had an issue that required customer service and suggests that delivery services have been inundated with new users.
Those food delivery customers who took the survey, the majority or 64% said they ordered through UberEats; 46% from DoorDash; 33% from Grubhub; and 28% used Delivery.com. Among the others mentioned, such as Postmates (21%) and Instacart (26%)
According to Fox Business, the food delivery market saw a surge in demand with to-go as the only option for most of the restaurants during the country's shutdown between March and April. Half of the food delivery customers surveyed said that the late delivery is the biggest issue.
Next to the delivery dispute is the incorrect order with 37%, followed by diners complaints about the food coming cold or wasn't fresh (36%).
Meanwhile, the third-most recorded complaint was the driver needed directions (33%), and others said the food never arrived (26%). There is also a result that food delivery customers experienced rude service (14%).
Customer service issues might be a common incident, considering the hospitality industry was among one of the hardest hit of the COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of people losing their job, according to separate data in May from NPD Group, a market research firm. The food delivery market continued to skyrocket at the height of coronavirus by 67% in March, while 63% increased in the digital orders.
As per Star advertiser, delivery these days is highly needed than convenience. Paying services as much as 30% of the customer's orders eat the decimated restaurant proceeds. Services like Uber Eats, DoorDash, Bite Squad, and Grubhub take orders through their website and apps. Then, the drivers will be sent to pick up and deliver the food of the customer. The driver usually charges both restaurants and customers for their service.
Bite Squad's Hawaii business development manager, Terrence Waclamik, said that the company's take from partner restaurants is less than 30% per order, which is "way less," according to him, without giving detail to the actual charges. A restaurant makes a substantial profit if it uses its service even if that number were 30%, as per Waclawik.
Part of Waclawik's sales presentation to restaurant owners explains that signing up with Bite Squad will not affect staff or overhead costs. Typically, 35% of a restaurant's costs to operate remains fixed. Thus, it is a win-win situation for the restaurant and the customers as well.
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