With the campaign to eliminate Uber Eats accelerating, what are the alternatives?

Since Covid-19 hit the hospo industry hard, the tide has turned against Uber Eats. Jean Teng looks at why people are increasingly against the app and looks at some (hopefully) less troublesome alternatives to quenching level three hunger.

Even before Covid-19, we thought food delivery was very good. For those who had little time between us, it was an easy way to refuel: tap an app multiple times, submit the order, and show yourself within 40 minutes or so before a bag pops up on your doorstep. Magic. Convenience. Everything should be life in 2020. And then, when the pandemic hit, delivery apps became mere convenience one of the only ways you could safely access your local take-out meals.

Naturally, many eyes turned to Uber Eats, our most popular food delivery service. Had concerns about the California-based company long before Covid-19’s success, unless it’s a big company with bargaining power, it takes around 30-35% commission from restaurant profits, which makes it completely Unsustainable for many small businesses, and this became even more irritation during a time when opening dinner service was not an option.

We expected Uber to cut its commission rates to ease a struggling hotel industry, but it didn’t. There was a backlash: New Zealand’s surrogate aunt, Hilary Barry, stated that he was removing the application, while our leader, Jacinda Ardern, urged us to lend support to local companies who make their own deliveries. It was only today, May 11, the day the government will decide whether New Zealand would move to level two alert, which Uber Eats announced it would limit the commission 30% In addition, it introduced a new option for restaurants to use their own delivery drivers, with a commission rate of 8% that will increase to 16% on August 1.

Cecilia Robinson, founder of My Food Bag, announced that she was removing Uber Eats through your website – and not just because of their commission rates. “They have taken their head office abroad, their profits go abroad and ultimately they are taking money away from companies that pay taxes and spend their profits in New Zealand,” he told The Spinoff. Social media plays a big role in influencing consumer decisions, says Robinson, so influencers have a responsibility to examine companies before accepting branded promotional offers. “Most of the influencers in New Zealand have become successful because we are supporting them; they are likely to have a large following made up of small local businesses.”

As common customers, we also have part of that responsibility. According to Robinson, we should ask ourselves: “Does this company benefit the New Zealand economy? Do you have a local team and presence? For the most part, social media has rallied behind our local businesses, posting takeout with #supportlocalnz and promising to stop using Uber Eats. Well, at least, that’s what they seem to say on Instagram.

After testing some Uber Eats competitors, it became clear that Uber still has an advantage over anything else available to us. It is by far the easiest app to navigate, has the most registered companies and the best live driver tracking system, and is generally the fastest to deliver. With the largest volume of orders by far, it is also a valuable source of income for some New Zealanders, whether as their main job or a hustle. This doesn’t necessarily absolve the fact that it charges New Zealand companies that crazy 30-35% commission rate, but it makes the company hard to beat; Sadly, convenience often trumps everything else, especially when you’re struggling with a hungry family.

Now we are heading to alert level two, which means that dining out is on the cards again. But with the new rules of social distancing (tables must be at least a meter away), takeaways are likely to continue to be our plate of food on Friday night for now. Many restaurants are also likely to stop making their own deliveries as resources are relocated to the main dining room, so external delivery apps like Uber Eats remain a necessary intermediary. But what if you decide you don’t want to support Uber Eats? Is there an option out there that takes less than 35% of our local restaurants?

The obvious answer is to call ahead and pick up the order yourself. But as we said: magic. Convenience. Everything should be life in 2020. We love delivery, and some of us (like me) don’t even own a car.

We have tested some of the apps for you, weighing the pros and cons and letting you know your commission rate where we can.

DELIVERY

FLAMENCA FOOD

Delivery via bright pink e-scooters has arrived. Flemish is an electronic scooter rental company founded and operated by Kiwi, operating in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, which launched its food delivery arm when we entered level three.

Pros: By keeping cars off the road, you are helping the environment and our clogged roads. Also, you know, novelty factor.

Cons: The use of e-scooters involves some inherent structural drawbacks, especially for any sprawling city (i.e.A Auckland). They can’t really operate on the bs burbs, or deliver beyond short distances.

Arrived: Quickly and efficiently – around 40 minutes after ordering (Ponsonby restaurant, Gray Lynn delivery address).

Commission percentage: 25% per transaction, with some special arrangements on a case-by-case basis.

Shipping costs: Fixed rate of $ 5.

EASI

If you live or work in Auckland city center, you will have seen the Easi delivery men dressed in bright yellow tracksuits, cycling with the packages on their bikes. Easi is another Australia-based food delivery (pickup also) app. In New Zealand, it only serves Auckland.

Pros: Easi’s application is quite easy to use and intuitive; This is the one that most closely resembles Uber Eats in the interface, although it is not as clean. There are tons of coupons and free delivery promotions to lure you in, and it does a pretty good job of keeping you up-to-date on what’s happening – you know exactly when a driver accepts the job and when the order is picked up.

Caccessories: The driver tracking system is less than ideal: distances will jump straight from 1600m to 15m, so don’t expect anything live.

Arrived: 50 minutes from the order placed.

Commission percentage: Between 15-25% per transaction.

Shipping costs: Starting price of $ 5.49 then $ 1.5 per km.

BUY HOUSE

Buy @ Home is a food delivery app that started in Australia and caters primarily to a Chinese market, though not exclusively. It also sells retail products and currently operates in Auckland and Christchurch.

Pros: You’ll find plenty of restaurants available that aren’t found in more mainstream apps, and it allows users to access restaurants that might have been intimidating for dinner. There is free delivery to some restaurants “in your area” and regular promotions for discounted meals.

Cons: Browsing Buy @ Home as an English speaker, even with its English setting turned on, requires a lot of guesswork and a familiarity with delivery apps that new users may not adapt well to. Push notifications are sent in Chinese, and there’s no driver tracking system, though it does tell you when food ends and on the road.

Arrived: 1 hour from the order placed, 10 minutes later than estimated.

Commission percentage: 18% per transaction (information received from a restaurant owner, rates may vary).

Shipping costs: It varies and we were unable to get Buy @ Home to confirm a fee structure, but the lowest appears to be around $ 4, going much higher depending on distance.

Other delivery applications

DELIVERY – Wellington-based app that operates in 12 New Zealand cities (if you consider Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt as cities), excluding Auckland, although it intends to expand to Auckland and Christchurch soon.

Commission percentage: 20% per transaction.

GOGO DELIVERY – Auckland based app that operates only in Auckland, and is particularly good for North Shore.

Commission percentage: 25% + GST ​​per commission, special merchant rate 23% + GST, Restaurant Association member rates: 20% + GST.

MENULOGO – MenuLog is based in Australia and is owned by a British parent company, operating across the country. Delivery is made by the restaurant itself.

Commission percentage: 14% per transaction, 7% until June 1.

HUNGRYPANDA – A Chinese-language-only app serving Chinese communities, founded in the UK.

Commission percentage: 18% + GST ​​per transaction (information received from a restaurant owner, rates may vary).

ONLY TO COLLECT

REGULR

Regulr is an app founded by Wellington that allows you to pre-order coffee and food from your local coffee shop, which you pay with your credit card for contactless pickup.

Pros: After a slight wobble on the first day of alert level three, Regulr has been easy to use, allowing you to easily customize your orders. It also has a tab system, which means you can let orders build up before you pay for them all at once at the end of the week, or you can pay right away.

Cons: It’s fairly new to the market, so there aren’t many cafes there, and living on Auckland’s north shore means there are only a couple of places close to me. He’s also a little prone to sparking.

Commission percentage: No transaction fee, but with a monthly fee of $ 30 + GST; payment company Stripe takes 2.9% + 0.30c per transaction.

PAW PRINT

Another local initiative, Foodprint’s original mission was to help combat food waste by offering a platform for restaurants to offer discounted meals at the end of the day. Since then, it has opened its service for all restaurants to host their menus, discounted or not, to click and collect.

Pros: The app looks good and works well too, which is really all you want. I like how it shows you exactly how many of each meal are left, and that it can notify you when a nearby restaurant has added discounted items. You pay by credit card within the application.

Cons: They are mostly cafes and lunch spots due to the app’s original intent, so it is not a good dining option, and is currently only available in Auckland and Dunedin.

Commission percentage: 12.5% ​​per transaction.

EAT LOCAL NZ

Another New Zealand company, Eat Local NZ, was started by Tim McLeod, initially just to pick up. It is nationwide and it intends to expand to delivery in the future, so take a look at this space.

Pros: It’s a web-based app, so you don’t need another square to clutter up your phone, and it lets you know when your order is ready to be picked up (which Regulr doesn’t do).

Cons: The same treatment: it is new, so there is not much variety to choose from, so it is difficult to see the added value of, for example, calling the restaurant and avoiding none commission rate charged. But that could change in due course.

Commission percentage: 5% + 0.30c per transaction.

Other apps just to pick up

Tuckr – New not-for-profit app, not yet released, launched by Apolinar Ventures, a New Zealand company, for online restaurant orders, which will operate first in Auckland before being rolled out in other cities.

Commission percentage: 2.5% per transaction

Zomato – Generally known for being a publicly sourced restaurant review platform, Zomato has launched a take-away option that’s free of commissions for two months starting in April.

Some other apps that help restaurants operate during level three are listed on the New Zealand Restaurant Association website.

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