City-County Council to consider proposal to limit food-delivery fees

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28 thoughts on “City-County Council to consider proposal to limit food-delivery fees

  1. what?? if they don’t make any money using the service then don’t use the service! the market will correct itself. this is not a problem for gov’t to fix. just going to make it worse (like most things they do)

    1. It’s really odd, when Martha Hoover pushes for a law for just Indianapolis it’s awful but when IMPD or the apartment industry push for the legislature to strip away the ability for Indianapolis to make laws … that’s different.

  2. I don’t like the fees and think they are crazy, but… A. I chose to order the food and pay the fees. B. The restaurant chose to work with that company and pay the fees.

    Once again, no one wants the drivers to make any money. We won’t have a service if they can’t make money. Next thing up is drivers not making minimum wage and we need to subsidize their incomes.

    Side note: What happened to high school kids being delivery driver for restaurants? That was a thing when I was growing up. Hire some high school kids at $10/hour plus tips and create a feasible delivery area. Boom, no more added fees.

    1. Many of the jobs previously taken by h.s. students have been taken by those pushed out of manufacturing/factory jobs. While some jobs, yes, were sent abroad by companies looking for less expensive wages, much of the displacement is due to automation. I’m not sure what the solution is.

    2. @Joe B – thats the first I have heard of a restaurant automatically being added. That is not right and 100% disagree with that scenario.

    3. Yep. All these services should be opt-in. I’m not sure that’s the case… which leads to all kinds of business frustration to restaurants.

      That’s the law change we need, now. If a business wants to not engage with a third party service, the penalty for a company willfully ignoring that should be … steep.

  3. I tend to agree with letting the free market sort this stuff out. That said, how will a max fine of $500/day (rather than per offense) discourage delivery companies who probably make at least 500 deliveries a day on average? They will be better off charging what they do now and accept a $1/ order haircut.

  4. I agree with the general tone of the reactions. This is a market. There are some insurance and HR issues with hiring your own folks for driving (this should be addressed sometime in tort reform at some point). But putting an artificial cap on fees will punish drivers and force delivery vendors to restrict delivery (punishing customers and drivers) in unexpected ways. Do business with the vendors that treat you right or put together your own delivery consortium.

  5. Of course Martha Hoover supports this. I wonder if she would support the City Council reviewing and legislating her outrageous menu prices? Let the free market work. If you don’t like the delivery prices, figure out an alternative.

    1. I do not think you understand the core issue, the edge issues, nor how much Martha does for Indianapolis….

      Perhaps keep uneducated comments to yourself in the future?

  6. I could support legislation to require full disclosure of “all” fees both diner and restaurant facing. I would also support a requirement to show how much (really how little) of the fee goes to the driver. Analogous to challenges with pricing for health care services, markets work best when the customer has all the information.

  7. I don’t know why they are proposing this during the legislative session. A Republican lawmaker has undoubtedly read this story and is already drafting a bill to ban Indianapolis from doing this.

    1. If you’re offering to pay me to bother you with my comments, I’m more than happy to send you my venmo information.

  8. This is absurd government over reach. There are at least half dozen companies offering third party delivery services which naturally keeps the fees competitive. Restaurants not making money on delivery services don’t understand how it works. Law makers don’t get it either.. Prices listed on the apps can be increased by the restaurant owners to make up any fees, they do not have to be the same price as the dine in or carryout menu. Business also forget the advertising that comes naturally by being listed on an app of a delivery service. This exposes the restaurant to customers that may not otherwise be familiar with the place, or otherwise not read the menu at all. There are other benefits too, such as adding a link on your website to the delivery service provider allowing customers to choose the carryout option which has no fees or mark-up with some delivery service companies as they see it as you advertising them on your website by providing a link to their company. So basically they provide a complete online ordering service on the restaurant’s website which otherwise is costly to set up yourself. Some third-party delivery companies waived or reduced fees charged during the lockdown on their own. I speak only from my experience with doordash. They know without restaurants being in business, they would have no business either. If the industry becomes monopolized or otherwise starts price gouging then okay regulate it, otherwise let it be! Both the customer and the restaurant CHOOSE to pay those fees, there is a cost for a service. It’s way cheaper than doing deliveries in house. You will find that many pizza restaurants that offer their own delivery are also listed on the third-party apps.

    1. That’s all fine if it’s opt-in for all parties. But delivery services that don’t have permission to work … need to have the book thrown at them.

      Which I freely admit isn’t what the proposal is, but it should be. I hope that feedback is given … would be a lovely idea for the Marion County GOP to steal and propose…

  9. If Indy imposes regulations the delivery companies can simply make a nominal political contribution to an Indiana Legislator, who will gladly draft a bill outlawing all Indiana cities from having such regulations. They will claim this regulation is confusing the market (where are those city limits?) and stifling tech businesses (blah, blah, blah). The gerrymandered, super-majority Republican Legislature will then rubber stamp and even the Governor will be powerless to stop.

    1. Mike M Kind of like how Chicago and Democrats force their wishes upon the rest of the citizens of Illinois whether they want it or not? Have you ever looked at the Gerry meandered districts of Illinois? It’s okay when Democrats do it but bad when Republicans do it I guess.

    2. Rhea, I oppose gerrymandering in all States. You’re correct this is a national issue that likely needs the US Supreme Court to help solve. However, my comment to Indianapolis Business Journal readers regarding an article about Indianapolis and the Indiana legislature remains valid. HA.

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