20 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MARCH 6-12, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com menu prices—totaling up to 40 percent above in-person dining levels. If this trend continues, restaurants might realize a slight bump in revenue compared to traditional phone orders. Data presented by Deliverect suggests that pizza parlors average 18-percent more revenue from online ordering than those made over the phone. The report goes on to speculate that consumers are willing to spend more thanks to the ease of searching and ordering on digital platforms, “benefitting restaurants and delivery platforms alike.” “The fast food industry brought the mindset that food can be easy,” Wolff observes. “But you pay for convenience.” And for some restaurant owners, the gain is still tenuous. “There is almost zero margin in this,” Ranansky says, adding that marking up menu prices is the only way to profit. Gesturing at Togo’s dining room, she adds, “If I carry the 30 percent, I’ll have to close this.” • The scenario of the deli sandwich— ordered and smoothly delivered—happened at Togo’s. But the transaction is not always without trouble. Imagine instead that the order is accounted for by a driver who shows the correct customer name to a staff member from his or her phone. The driver then heads out the door. A few minutes later a second driver arrives at the counter, looking for the same order. It’s a scam that occurs with enough frequency to be noticed. On a recent Reddit thread among DoorDash drivers, one “Dasher” claimed to run across situations where she accepts an order that turns out to have been picked up already at least once a day. “There are humans involved—what could go wrong?” Heirloom’s Foley observes with a laugh. “Sometimes the food gets picked up but not delivered.” Natasha Ushakoff, the manager at Togo’s, knows the drill well. A driver in search of free lunch will accept an order and pick it up, but not toggle the button on the phone. Instead, the driver sends notification through the app that he or she is now unable to make the trip. So the order goes back on the app for another driver to accept. “It’s a cycle that affects the business, the customer and the other drivers who are trying to make a delivery,” Ushakoff says. DoorDash and Uber Eats drivers act as independent contractors. They can pick and choose deliveries. While some may commit fraud, they are more often the target. There are a number of phishing or impostor scams affecting the delivery companies and drivers. Arab points out that Uber Eats employs two-factor identification and other tools to combat each new threat. A few, such as tech support scams, hit restaurants, as well. “There’s a scam where they will call and say our Uber tablet is down,” Ushakoff says. “We don’t have an Uber tablet.” Incidents where drivers apparently take a meal are a nuisance not unlike other non-delivery-related scams restaurants must contend with. Ranansky recalls the time a man ordered two large sandwiches for takeout. Later, after pickup, he complained that they were prepared incorrectly. “I looked at the camera [footage]— everything was correct,” she says. Unhappy with the failed attempt, the man and his wife then posted negative comments about the Togo’s location on social media. This allowed Ranansky to check his background. “He’s an injury lawyer,” she says. “A scammer by nature.” According to Ranansky, her restaurant loses about $7,000 a year to such cases. Banks, she adds, tend to side with the customer on chargebacks, especially if the credit card was not physically present at the restaurant. Imposter and chargeback scams predate the internet, of course. The non-delivery of food is a problem of the third-party system. Ranansky admits that it tends to occur when the shop is busy. Some places with high delivery volume even set orders on racks for driver pickup, with no effort at confirmation. “You shouldn’t be careless,” says Wolff, adding that JeJu Kitchen has not experienced scam attempts. “If you aren’t having staff take the time to check—every driver has to show us the name.” It’s also ideal if a staff member watches the driver tap the button acknowledging a pickup. “For customers, our goal is simple: every order, delivered,” Arab notes. “If something goes wrong and they’re charged for an order they never received, we ask them to reach out right away.” DoorDash and Uber Eats work with law enforcement when crimes such as robbery from a driver occur. But food-related scams may slip through. There were no reported incidents on the Monterey Police Department log book for a recent two-week span. But Lt. Jake Pinkas says that such thefts are no different than “porch pirates” stealing Amazon deliveries. “Monterey Police Department will never have a problem investigating a theft,” he says. Admittedly it may be difficult to identify the person responsible, and the delivery services compensate restaurants and ensure the delivery is made. But, Pinkas adds, “It doesn’t mean [victims] can’t call.” Ushakoff says that the restaurant cannot initiate an investigation, but that DoorDash and Uber Eats follow up on customer complaints. Thirdparty intervention can prove beneficial. “If we make a mistake, the customer can get a chargeback,” Foley explains. In cases where the fault is on the company or its driver, “We still get paid. They cover their mistakes.” The damage is minimal, other than food costs for a second order or a frustrated customer. “For some reason people tend to blame DoorDash mishaps on us,” Ushakoff notes. Last year Grubhub agreed to a $25 million settlement following accusations of deceptive business practices in an apparent bid to grow its profile in a DoorDash-Uber Eats world. The company listed some 325,000 restaurants on its app without a partnership agreement—without even informing the restaurateurs. This not only resulted in confusion, it also led to delayed deliveries, order cancellations and frustration. A Federal Trade Commission statement noted that “diners blamed the restaurants, causing reputational and other harm.” • Perception is perhaps the most challenging hurdle for restaurants in the delivery age. Success comes to those in the service industry—hosts, servers, bartenders and chefs—who can understand guests and set a mood. Third-party delivery reduces guests to a name on a bag. There is no feel for the diner’s mood or sense of urgency. There is no interaction, no chance to offer guidance. Uber Eats and DoorDash excel at providing tools, such as marketing aids or programs that track, filter and provide insight into recurring issues. “Uber Eats launched a suite of products to help merchants generate demand, attract new customers and grow their business,” Arab reports. The company also added a “grow your store” asset that tailors recommendations to the particular shop. An Uber Eats order sends staff at El Cantaro in Monterey into action. The vegan Mexican restaurant is both popular and highly rated on Uber Eats and DoorDash.
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