Discussion
Bit of a shame Food Hub isn't more widely promoted / used by the takeaways - FH seem to charge a fixed amount rather than JE's hefty commission. Not got as many places listed but so many takeaways do the same old stuff its not really an issue and it works out quite a bit cheaper for the same order.
I was staggered when I heard this, hence the post, it made my blood boil, not just for JE but also for the laziness of the general public. But that should not shock anyone when you look at the rise of companies like Amazon and home delivery shopping, car washing suites etc, people are lazy it's that simple.
I get that at some points it was impossible to pick up food in the pandemic, but for a leechlike company such as JE to NOT offer any kind of discount on their commission from these hard up eateries makes me sick, it's all about profit, I bet there are hardly any employees, PLC based in Luxembourg etc etc, you know the bloody story.
I get that at some points it was impossible to pick up food in the pandemic, but for a leechlike company such as JE to NOT offer any kind of discount on their commission from these hard up eateries makes me sick, it's all about profit, I bet there are hardly any employees, PLC based in Luxembourg etc etc, you know the bloody story.
LukeBrown66 said:
I was staggered when I heard this, hence the post, it made my blood boil, not just for JE but also for the laziness of the general public. But that should not shock anyone when you look at the rise of companies like Amazon and home delivery shopping, car washing suites etc, people are lazy it's that simple.
I get that at some points it was impossible to pick up food in the pandemic, but for a leechlike company such as JE to NOT offer any kind of discount on their commission from these hard up eateries makes me sick, it's all about profit, I bet there are hardly any employees, PLC based in Luxembourg etc etc, you know the bloody story.
How is it lazy that I don't get in my car and drive to get my shopping when a van carrying 20 households shopping can bring it to me (that's probably electric) thus negating the need for 20 car journeys to happen and not clog up the shop in the process? You need to stop being so outraged at everything and think about the millions of people that live in totally different places to you with different lives.I get that at some points it was impossible to pick up food in the pandemic, but for a leechlike company such as JE to NOT offer any kind of discount on their commission from these hard up eateries makes me sick, it's all about profit, I bet there are hardly any employees, PLC based in Luxembourg etc etc, you know the bloody story.
Those hard up can put their prices up, it's not rocket science. And if the slop they do is any good people will be happy to phone them directly won't they.
You know how everyone got annoyed that takeaways were cash only, you couldn’t look their menu up online or they wouldn’t deliver?
JustEat are just one of many companies out there that are willing to be middlemen services in the western world because businesses wouldn’t adapt, or the consumer was too lazy in the first place. Capitalism at its finest.
JustEat are just one of many companies out there that are willing to be middlemen services in the western world because businesses wouldn’t adapt, or the consumer was too lazy in the first place. Capitalism at its finest.
I made a post last night but I deleted it. Long story short, they are a cancerous company and employ very very dodgy tactics.
My family owned a restaurant/takeaway for 30 years. We were well known in the area and we also did free home deliveries, one of the first places to do that. Everything independent. So our own advertising, drivers, etc This model worked well for us and we avoided JE for many years but it came to a point where we had to move on with the times and their salespeople were also pushing with an attractive sales pitch.
The first few months were very good because they would push your business but soon after we noticed many of our own customers that had ordered via us moving to them. Customers that had been our regulars for decades.
The machines would also break down during weekends, which would result in massive losses as well as awful customer service, usually in Indian call centres with scripts. As you can imagine you're in a rush hour dealing with a particular query, all stressed out and you have a guy reading from a script that has no idea what you're talking about.
The cherry on top was them making dodgy deals and fake reviews with restaurants that would push them towards the top of the list. Such as buying advertising, buying JE packaging, merchandise, drinks etc If you didn't participate in this, your restaurant would move down the list thus getting fewer orders.
Within 2 years we lost most of our regulars to JE orders ( 14% but with admin and taxes it was close to 20%) this meant the profits became smaller and they then started promoting and making deals with the big chains and stopped caring about the indies. With my dad getting older and the margins getting smaller and companies like Uber and Deliveroo also becoming popular (35% commission ) We decided to sell up, which was sad and heartbreaking but it just wasn't the same as the old days.
If you really care about your local, avoid all food delivery apps at all cost.
My family owned a restaurant/takeaway for 30 years. We were well known in the area and we also did free home deliveries, one of the first places to do that. Everything independent. So our own advertising, drivers, etc This model worked well for us and we avoided JE for many years but it came to a point where we had to move on with the times and their salespeople were also pushing with an attractive sales pitch.
The first few months were very good because they would push your business but soon after we noticed many of our own customers that had ordered via us moving to them. Customers that had been our regulars for decades.
The machines would also break down during weekends, which would result in massive losses as well as awful customer service, usually in Indian call centres with scripts. As you can imagine you're in a rush hour dealing with a particular query, all stressed out and you have a guy reading from a script that has no idea what you're talking about.
The cherry on top was them making dodgy deals and fake reviews with restaurants that would push them towards the top of the list. Such as buying advertising, buying JE packaging, merchandise, drinks etc If you didn't participate in this, your restaurant would move down the list thus getting fewer orders.
Within 2 years we lost most of our regulars to JE orders ( 14% but with admin and taxes it was close to 20%) this meant the profits became smaller and they then started promoting and making deals with the big chains and stopped caring about the indies. With my dad getting older and the margins getting smaller and companies like Uber and Deliveroo also becoming popular (35% commission ) We decided to sell up, which was sad and heartbreaking but it just wasn't the same as the old days.
If you really care about your local, avoid all food delivery apps at all cost.
Edited by Motoring12345 on Monday 14th June 13:21
SpeckledJim said:
They're popular because the people who use them haven't realised how much of their dinner isn't getting supplied, as a result of their absent-minded choice of ordering channel.
Hence the usefulness of threads like this, to help awareness of the parasitic nature of these ordering platforms. There will be an organised push-back at some point, hopefully sooner than later.
I'm not saying they offer 'nothing'. I'm saying what they offer is disproportionately small in comparison to what they cost the customer, via what they cost the takeaway.
It's exploitative. Yes, yes, yes, it's 'voluntary'. You don't normally directly associate 'voluntary' with 'adapt or die' though.
I very much doubt there will be any push back, Deliveroo et al are imbedded in modern culture and treated like an essential part of city life. I ordered both lunch and dinner via Uber Eats yesterday, turkish/ vietnamese respectively. Hence the usefulness of threads like this, to help awareness of the parasitic nature of these ordering platforms. There will be an organised push-back at some point, hopefully sooner than later.
I'm not saying they offer 'nothing'. I'm saying what they offer is disproportionately small in comparison to what they cost the customer, via what they cost the takeaway.
It's exploitative. Yes, yes, yes, it's 'voluntary'. You don't normally directly associate 'voluntary' with 'adapt or die' though.
They open up broader markets for their restaurants and give consumers a huge choice. More competition will flood in ( e.g Getir) and I imagine there will be an opportunity for restauants to negotiate better terms along the way but right now they're simply being swept along with it.
Perversley there are times it's cheaper to order via the app than to walk up the road and collect yourself as the discount codes often outweigh the delivery and service costs.
Trophy Husband said:
Never used any of them and never will.
It is another scramble to the bottom.
How does a takeaway make margin when an app is taking 30%?
Simple.
Smaller portions and cheaper ingredients.
Thus, you don't get what you want for your tenner whilst somebody takes the 3 quid that would make it what you wanted.
If you use it you are the problem that makes my takeaway sub standard.
I agree, to some extent. Deliveroo are a necessary evil for most friends of mine who own restaurants.It is another scramble to the bottom.
How does a takeaway make margin when an app is taking 30%?
Simple.
Smaller portions and cheaper ingredients.
Thus, you don't get what you want for your tenner whilst somebody takes the 3 quid that would make it what you wanted.
If you use it you are the problem that makes my takeaway sub standard.
However, 'race to the bottom' takeaways are making plenty of margin already through cheap-ass ingredients.
Those tiny Spring Rolls you pay £2 for a 4 or 5? They are paying £8 for 100.
SpeckledJim said:
Just Eat: Doesn't work hard at all but wins.
"Doesn't work hard" So the entire JE Eco-system fell out of the CEO's arse one day and suddenly they make millions.. 
As mentioned in one of my earlier replies, as a developer who works in a similar space to Just Eat (Not take-aways, but online ordering, Order & Pay to table apps etc), and the amount of work that goes into systems to be able to support millions of orders per month is insane. It's more work than just chucking some chicken in a fryer and driving it to someones house.
I'm not familiar with Just Eat's backend operations, but if it's anything like ours, there will be all sorts of stuff your regular Joe doesn't see. Just because you don't see someone in a Just Eat uniform delivering your food, doesn't mean they aren't doing anything.
LukeBrown66 said:
I was staggered when I heard this, hence the post, it made my blood boil, not just for JE but also for the laziness of the general public. But that should not shock anyone when you look at the rise of companies like Amazon and home delivery shopping, car washing suites etc, people are lazy it's that simple.
When I order a delivery its usually after I have had a few beers so I take the sensible option of not driving to the resturant to pick it up. mw88 said:
SpeckledJim said:
Just Eat: Doesn't work hard at all but wins.
"Doesn't work hard" So the entire JE Eco-system fell out of the CEO's arse one day and suddenly they make millions.. As mentioned in one of my earlier replies, as a developer who works in a similar space to Just Eat (Not take-aways, but online ordering, Order & Pay to table apps etc), and the amount of work that goes into systems to be able to support millions of orders per month is insane. It's more work than just chucking some chicken in a fryer and driving it to someones house.
I'm not familiar with Just Eat's backend operations, but if it's anything like ours, there will be all sorts of stuff your regular Joe doesn't see. Just because you don't see someone in a Just Eat uniform delivering your food, doesn't mean they aren't doing anything.
For me, about 10% would seem fair. You?
IMO there's a very good reason that their model is to charge the takeaway 'invisibly' in the background. If the same fee was instead levied visibly on the customer, the customer wouldn't stand it.
Keeping the extent of their tithe hidden at the point of sale is clearly deliberate, and why would that be, when it's such great value?
okgo said:
Hardly. It’s a minnow compared to Deliveroo in London.
588 million orders and £2.1bn turnover...suggests they're pretty big to me. My reference to Amazon wasn't really about size though - they're basically trying to dominate the market so that people come to them automatically rather than going direct to individual suppliers. I'm not saying that's a good or a bad thing - for customers it's great, for suppliers it's not.
X% for JE is just another cost of doing business. Rent and rates aren't itemised and neither is the card fee explicitly.
JE has some competition so perhaps fees will go down but as another poster pointed out, setting up and running such a service isn't cheap. One reason why a lot of takeaways don't have websites or don't have effective websites.
Times change and businesses do too, or need to.
I'd use my regular's website but they charge more direct than through JE.
JE has some competition so perhaps fees will go down but as another poster pointed out, setting up and running such a service isn't cheap. One reason why a lot of takeaways don't have websites or don't have effective websites.
Times change and businesses do too, or need to.
I'd use my regular's website but they charge more direct than through JE.
SpeckledJim said:
Out of interest, at what percentage commission would your opinion be that JE no longer represents value for the service they provide customer and takeaway?
For me, about 10% would seem fair. You?
IMO there's a very good reason that their model is to charge the takeaway 'invisibly' in the background. If the same fee was instead levied visibly on the customer, the customer wouldn't stand it.
Keeping the extent of their tithe hidden at the point of sale is clearly deliberate, and why would that be, when it's such great value?
You could ask the same question of any business. How much profit should Tesco make on bog roll? The answer is as much as you can get away with that people will pay.For me, about 10% would seem fair. You?
IMO there's a very good reason that their model is to charge the takeaway 'invisibly' in the background. If the same fee was instead levied visibly on the customer, the customer wouldn't stand it.
Keeping the extent of their tithe hidden at the point of sale is clearly deliberate, and why would that be, when it's such great value?
Turn that question around onto the restaurants? If they buy a bulk bag of chips for £3 that will do 50 portions, but they charge you £1 per portion - Is that fair?
Most restaurants on JE will be paying 14%, plus card fees. People are lazy, and Just Eat must be doing something right considering they operate in a fair few countries.
For astute and motivated consumers the proliferation of delivery and subscription services offering big incentives to get users to sign up has been a huge benefit. Getir have been offering £15 refund on any £20 first order for example so I've used that many times over the last few weeks just by signing up as a new customer. Before that Deliveroo where offering a similar promotion as part of their IPO. I've signed up a few times with a website called Beer 52 similarly offering steep initial discounts.
One mans laziness is another mans opportunity.
One mans laziness is another mans opportunity.
Edited by speedy_thrills on Monday 14th June 16:41
My OH has a fish and chip shop and started with Deliveroo 6 months ago and then Uber 2 months ago, and I go in on Friday night and Saturday nights to help out. So I thought I would respond to a few comments on here.
He does not do deliveries himself, the cost of employing someone, making sure they have a roadworthy and insured vehicle and deliver promptly and diligently would seriously eat into the profits.
Deliveroo (and Uber) deal with all the data privacy and payment details which is a massive bonus for us at the moment. We do not even know the full name or address of the recipient, just their first name and we do not need to hold/encrypt their credit card details.
At the moment, the VAT is reduced to 5% so it balances out at the moment, when VAT goes back up, it will be a fine line but his competitors are doing it so what are his choices? He need to make sure he has the volumes as he won’t compromise on quality.
He has however increased his prices slightly for a delivery but we class it as a discount if you come into the shop. It works out as the same thing in reality.
He has 5 stars for hygiene, regularly wins awards and is a very successful shop so he doesn’t down grade the ingredients, he just won’t risk his reputation.
As for laziness or the delivery customers, if someone is alone with young children, then this may be their only option, or maybe they have had a couple of beers and don’t want to risk it. It is not only laziness (although I have seen some tiny orders and wonder why they bothered).
He does not do deliveries himself, the cost of employing someone, making sure they have a roadworthy and insured vehicle and deliver promptly and diligently would seriously eat into the profits.
Deliveroo (and Uber) deal with all the data privacy and payment details which is a massive bonus for us at the moment. We do not even know the full name or address of the recipient, just their first name and we do not need to hold/encrypt their credit card details.
At the moment, the VAT is reduced to 5% so it balances out at the moment, when VAT goes back up, it will be a fine line but his competitors are doing it so what are his choices? He need to make sure he has the volumes as he won’t compromise on quality.
He has however increased his prices slightly for a delivery but we class it as a discount if you come into the shop. It works out as the same thing in reality.
He has 5 stars for hygiene, regularly wins awards and is a very successful shop so he doesn’t down grade the ingredients, he just won’t risk his reputation.
As for laziness or the delivery customers, if someone is alone with young children, then this may be their only option, or maybe they have had a couple of beers and don’t want to risk it. It is not only laziness (although I have seen some tiny orders and wonder why they bothered).
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