Comment by ericmay | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ericmay | Hacker News Reader

DoorDash, GrubHub, Uber Eats, they’re taking blame almost like they’re Ticketmaster or something. McDonald’s jacks up their prices, then they charge even more via food delivery, and then both DoorDash and McDonald’s make more money and we’re just focused on DoorDash.

I think the “driver” aspect of it and wages there are probably a big part of the visceral reaction people continue to have. Though I personally don’t get it. Nobody was filing lawsuits on behalf of pizza delivery kids.

Truth be told outside of Uber (questionable) I don’t think any of them are good investment opportunities. Neither was Blue Apron.

Also just stop ordering takeout from subpar restaurants or food chains. Go out to eat with friends or cook at home. High prices for mediocre convenience services isn’t worth it.

Corporate GrubHub isn’t going to take a pay cut and they don’t run a non-profit. If Seattle wants to create legislation like they did here there is no sense in being surprised that prices have gone up.

The cuts Uber, DoorDash etc take are astronomical- that’s the real issue. Thirty percent! Nobody filed lawsuits about pizza delivery in the past because you didn’t pay a 100% premium for delivery!

I don’t do delivery services because for a family it is entirely unreasonable. I looked once- a $40 fast food order would be nearly $90 after inflated menu prices, fees, delivery, and tip.

It’s a very optional luxury. People getting mad about the price of milk is entirely different than people getting mad about the price of Rolexes.

You’re equating having a meal delivered to luxury watches like Rolexes?

In terms of optionality they’re pretty similar.

“Getting food delivered” isn’t a right or basic necessity. It’s just an expensive convenience.

Tell me you don't know anyone disabled without saying you don't know anyone disabled.

"Getting food delivered" is nearly a necessity for some people, and a massive boon for others (eg, people who work enough hours that there's little time to make food or eat out, while also having enough time to, y'know, spend time with the family, relax, etc).

Just because delivery is purely a luxury for you doesn't mean it is for everyone.

Highly non-central but sympathetic example designed to justify your outrage over the central, non-sympathetic case.

Yup, seen that rhetorical trick before.

And just so do uncaring and bigoted people the world over justify shutting disabled people out of so much of regular life.

"Non-central", that's a new one. A very detached way of making sure you never have to consider the situation of people who aren't as lucky as you.

I’m sure that the one and only way for disabled people to participate in regular life is for you to save money on your order in sushi. How lucky for you—-cheap sushi and righteous indignation. What a delicious combo!

We would also have accepted: it’s somehow necessary to save the planet or it’s a question of racial justice.

It is optional, yes, but in the past, there were no internet based middlemen taking a 30% cut. You paid the local kid driving the pizza to your house, not some nameless software developer making 200k+ a year.

Very few places delivered. The reason pizza is always the go-to example is because that was basically it.

Chinese food often delivers too.

And that was because pizza has a very, very high markup to begin with.

From a few years ago:

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/much-profit-margin-pizza-621...

Cost to make a pepperoni and sausage pizza: $1.90. Average sale price: $14.00.

How do you square this with dollar pizza wars in nyc destroying so many formerly good places because $1 isn’t enough for real cheese?

Maybe the overhead is a lot higher there?

I know rents are high in the Bay Area, but IIRC they're much higher in NYC?

Could be wrong, but that would be my guess.

My company uses GrubHub. We get a fixed allocation each day to order lunch.

I pay for the grubhub+ and I often order from places close by that I can walk to and pickup. This saves on the extra tip for delivery and it also gives me some exercise.

But what I have noticed is that the prices are $3-$4 more per item on the grubhub menu for a restaurant than the prices shown on the menu at the restaurant.

It seems like restaurants are jacking up prices to pass on the grubhub fees to the customer.

>But what I have noticed is that the prices are $3-$4 more per item on the grubhub menu for a restaurant than the prices shown on the menu at the restaurant. > >It seems like restaurants are jacking up prices to pass on the grubhub fees to the customer.

This is exactly what they're doing. Restaurant margins are rather thin and most places can't absorb the fees Grubhub, Doordash, etc. charge. If they charge $7.50 for cheeseburger and fries,, which covers their cost and a reasonable profit; they can't pay $1 (or whatever) more when it's via a food delivery service. Grubhub (and the rest) charge the restaurant for hosting them and the customer for delivery -- they charge everyone.

So in the end we are all paying for overpriced software, instead than for food?

maybe at some point we get some type of open source system that leaves only the credit card fees for the restaurants to deal with.

Thank you for bringing up Ticketmaster! Seems the deal now is we are all playing a shell game of one company obfuscating blame by hiring another company to do their dirty work.

I can't believe how the majority of people (including our law makers) have fallen for the trick and are blaming Ticketmaster for Taylor Swift charging as much as she can for tickets.

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