Food delivery apps like DoorDash, UberEats, and Grubhub have become a staple for many people. However, the convenience they offer comes at a steep price. Customers, restaurants, and delivery workers are all unhappy with the current state of affairs. Customers feel gouged by an avalanche of fees, restaurants feel gut-punched by the commission apps take from them, and delivery workers feel underpaid for their efforts.
In response to new minimum pay laws for delivery workers in New York City and Seattle, these apps have added new “regulatory” fees. Uber claimed that orders had dipped by 30 percent as a result. These new fees were not required by the new laws, but both DoorDash and Uber Eats introduced them nonetheless. The message is clear: if you try to mediate how the apps operate, things will just get worse.
The delivery apps have spent a lot of effort (and money) making the case that we — restaurants, workers, and consumers — desperately need them. They argue that our desire for convenience is the problem, not their business model. However, many are questioning this narrative and calling for changes in how these apps operate.
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