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Food delivery rip off

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High Function ASD2
V.I.P Member
It seems a lot of people around the world are struggling with the cost of living at the moment, and there’s some large corporations out there that are milking us for all we’re worth.

I’m very lucky to have a corner take away food shop that’s really good and really cheap. I usually get a burger and chips there about once a week. A Hamburger with The Lot for $9.90 and it’s a big burger, it’s a very full meal. (Australian dollars)

I noticed a sign on the door that I can get delivery through Door Dash, and because it was cold and wet outside I thought I might get a burger delivered. I changed my mind pretty quick when I saw the cost though.

That same hamburger was $15.
Plus $5 delivery fee.
Plus 10% credit card surcharge.

With the ease and convenience of just punching a few numbers in to the computer I wonder how many people never look at what they’re actually being charged when they order online.

http://www.goldenwishbone.com.au/menu.php
https://www.doordash.com/store/the-...YXJ5X3ZlcnRpY2FsX2lkcyI6WzFdfQ==&pickup=false
 
I’ve had the same realization when I used, or decided against, using a food delivery service. The only time I’ve used them is when traveling and need food but can’t bear to leave the motel room. I found I was paying about double for the service.

Sometimes I closed my eyes and just did it. Other times I just made do with the crackers and peanut butter I had in my car.
 
Had to think about the exchange rate. Yeah, that does still seem in line with a quality fast food burger locally (Wendy's Dave's Double) and a little more for a few chain restaurants for a big burger and fries (chips).

Have to agree though about the delivery price. But then I would pass on delivery of a meal or groceries on general principle, given the usual disproportional markup. No way! :rolleyes:

I just hate recalling a time when a plain so-so hamburger could be purchased for a matter of cents.
 
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Forest Cat said:
10% surcharge? That's outrageous, I think that's actually illegal here. You can't just add 10% like that.
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I think it will soon be illegal here too, it's only US based companies that do it and it's something our government's currently looking in to.

Alexej said:
I expect that the webmasters of these places will be wondering why they are having so many people from al over the world visiting their site.
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I suspect that the shop's own website was put together and is maintained by one of the family members. They'll probably never notice. :)

Judge said:
Had to think about the exchange rate. Yeah, that does still seem in line with a quality fast food burger locally (Wendy's Dave's Double) and a little more for a few chain restaurants for a big burger and fries (chips).
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Here all the larger chain stores are quite expensive in comparison to the little family owned corner shops, and the food quality from locals is far superior in most cases.

It's quite easy to pick which food shops are the best too, at lunch time they're packed out with people wearing hi-vis shirts and steel capped boots.
 
Outdated said:
Here all the larger chain stores are quite expensive in comparison to the little family owned corner shops, and the food quality from locals is far superior in most cases.

It's quite easy to pick which food shops are the best too, at lunch time they're packed out with people wearing hi-vis shirts and steel capped boots.
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Since the pandemic the chain restaurants have been struggling here. Looks like they are trying in vain to compete with fast food restaurants, which are also not doing well.

But whew...just buying a burger nowadays is a costly matter. :(
 
Judge said:
But whew...just buying a burger nowadays is a costly matter. :(
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The typical Aussie burger is a bit different to what people are used to in the US, we put a lot more stuff in them.

Home made beef patty with real flavour, lettuce, tomato, cheese, onion, bacon, egg and beetroot.

McDonalds doesn't do anything like that, patty lettuce cheese onions and a bit of mayo seems to be all they've got, and most Aussies don't like pickles. Hungry Jacks, our version of Burger King, does do burgers similar to what most Aussies expect. They don't do so well in the US but they're pretty big here because they try a bit harder to cater to the local palette. They're still very expensive compared to the little family run shops though.

https://www.hungryjacks.com.au/menu/what-s-new
 
Outdated said:
The typical Aussie burger is a bit different to what people are used to in the US, we put a lot more stuff in them.

Home made beef patty with real flavour, lettuce, tomato, cheese, onion, bacon, egg and beetroot.

McDonalds doesn't do anything like that, patty lettuce cheese onions and a bit of mayo seems to be all they've got, and most Aussies don't like pickles. Hungry Jacks, our version of Burger King, does do burgers similar to what most Aussies expect. They don't do so well in the US but they're pretty big here because they try a bit harder to cater to the local palette. They're still very expensive compared to the little family run shops though.

https://www.hungryjacks.com.au/menu/what-s-new
Click to expand...

I don't even consider McDonalds when discussing hamburgers.

I'm not sure what it is that they serve. ;)
 
The latest fast food craze here is the Halal Snack Pack. We have a lot of middle eastern restaurants here and kebabs are a big thing.

East meets west. Kebab meat and cheese and sauces over a bed of hot chips. Really tasty and reasonably cheap.

I can't imagine that name becoming popular in the US though.

HALAL-SNACK-PACK-1.png
 
This is the way it is in the United States, in the biggest way. I was in an office the other day when somebody droppped off a huge McDonalds bag. McDonalds is bad enough right over the counter--but just think what it's like when you pay double for something made a half hour ago.

In fact this is the whole Amazon business model. Relatively mundane products, at 2X what you'd pay for them elsewhere in some cases. Especially food items. I try whenever I can to find other sales channels instead of buying on Amazon. When I do, I can often beat Amazon's price, sometimes by a lot. But they are killing the in-person sales options everywhere.
 
Outdated said:
The latest fast food craze here is the Halal Snack Pack. We have a lot of middle eastern restaurants here and kebabs are a big thing.

East meets west. Kebab meat and cheese and sauces over a bed of hot chips. Really tasty and reasonably cheap.

I can't imagine that name becoming popular in the US though.

View attachment 130059
Click to expand...
Up here (in Canada), we might be tempted to call that "poutine." It certainly is inspired by it.
 
Third-party food delivery services are almost always more expensive compared to either going in-person (whether for eating there or pickup) or getting delivery directly from the restaurant - especially so when you're talking about local places.

It's a really screwed up thing. Doordash charges restaurants a commission of anywhere from 6 to 30% that they have to pay Doordash for every order made through the platform and a lot of restaurants have slim profit margins to begin with so they're basically forced to raise the prices on platforms like Doordash to offset this fact and then there's the delivery fee, the service fee, tax, and tipping too.

It's just so ridiculous.

I do use food delivery services because I can't drive but I make it a point to NOT order from any restaurant that has delivery fees higher than $2.

I mean criminy just look at my local Chinese restaurant.

If I order a shrimp lo mein combination plate with pork fried rice and egg drop soup for pickup from the restaurant's own website, it'll cost me $12.57 total ($11.25 for the actual item itself and $1.32 for taxes and fees, no tip because tipping for pickup is for suckers).

Then at Doordash, the same meal would cost me $21.92 ($13.75 for the actual item itself, $4.17 for taxes and fees, and $4 for the tip).

Hell, if I wanna be fair and compare the delivery costs between the Chinese restaurant's own website vs Doordash, the actual website still comes out cheaper - it's $17.59 total ($11.25 for the acutal item itself, $3 delivery fee, $1.32 for taxes and fees, and a $2.02 tip).

It's ridiculous. (Although the fact that it's Chinese food does take the sting out of it a bit since Chinese restaurants always give you enough food for multiple meals lol)
 
Princess Viola said:
it'll cost me $12.57 total ($11.25 for the actual item itself and $1.32 for taxes and fees, no tip because tipping for pickup is for suckers).
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That's the Australian law that these US based companies keep breaking and why our government's going to intervene. In Australia by law shops are obliged to only charge the advertised price. Tax is included in that price and not added on afterwards because we pay the advertised price.

We don't tip in Australia either, not unless someone has gone absolutely way beyond what they're being paid for. We pay the advertised price. Also, our wait staff get paid a real working wage and aren't forced to go begging for extra from strangers, which is also illegal in Australia.

screen71.jpg
 
Outdated said:
I’m very lucky to have a corner take away food shop that’s really good and really cheap. I usually get a burger and chips there about once a week. A Hamburger with The Lot for $9.90 and it’s a big burger, it’s a very full meal. (Australian dollars)
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That is a damned good price.
Where I used to live (about 25 km away now) I get a burger with the lot for around $14 and that is cheap in Sydney.
And yes, that is a full/big meal.

Burgers where I am now in a "take-away place" cost around $24-$27.
Macers and Hungry Jacks are better value.
 
Outdated said:
We don't tip in Australia either, not unless someone has gone absolutely way beyond what they're being paid for.
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Tipping is uncommon here too, you pay what it costs and the employees get a salary. But an American who was used to tipping pointed out to me that for example pizza delivery drivers in the US often had to pay for their own gas and use their own car. If they did that here, I would be mighty generous with the tipping. If employees had to cover work expenses out of their own pocket.
 
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