Did Restaurant & Catering Australia just sell their soul to the devil, or do they really have the best interests of the restaurant industry at heart?
Who else is confused, or is enraged more the word I’m looking for?
There are certainly a few of you by the chatter flying around on social media.
Today (April 7th, 2020) Restaurant and Catering Australia (R&CA) announced a partnership agreement with Uber Eats - the very company that R&CA was pleading with customers to let go on March 19th, 2020.
"We encourage people to actually go to their favourite restaurants to either pick up their food or dine in rather than use a delivery platform” R&CA CEO Wes Lambert told Business Insider Australia.
"Convenience is obviously a strong driver for patrons, but it is important diners understand that restaurants will close if something doesn’t change soon.”
I get it. A lot has happened between now and then, and everyone is welcoming stimulus measures that are helping to soften the blow felt by small businesses.
However, fundamentally have food delivery behemoths changed at all?
By encouraging restaurants to sign up today, aren’t you just signing their death warrant tomorrow? I mean what has really changed as far as their business models are concerned?
These platforms are still charging exorbitant commissions (even if they have been marginally reduced) and they are still collecting your customer data to promote your competition.
As I said before who else is confused?
There has never been a more profitable time for commission-based online ordering platforms. And now Wes Lambert and R&CA are endorsing them, so let look at what’s on offer:
- Discounted rates from 4 May to 31 December 2020 for:
- Eligible R&CA members* that join the UberEats platform or
- Any business already signed up to UberEats on or before 6 April 2020 who joins R&CA as a member by 3 May 2020
So, discounts for any establishment that signs up to both organisations. What a nice symbiotic partnership where both organisations financially benefit. Not sure about the restaurants?
Notwithstanding, let's continue…
There are a bunch of limited number exclusions that you can read for yourself, and then there’s this:
*An eligible R&CA member is a member who joins the R&CA on or before 3 May 2020. Under the partnership, R&CA members could potentially save with discounted rates with UberEats from 4 May to 31 December 2020. The potential savings will depend on a number of factors, including your turnover volume through UberEats.
|
|
Potential Savings for the period 4 May – 31 December 2020 ** |
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$2,000 per week |
$350 savings over 8 months |
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$5,000 per week |
$875 savings over 8 months |
|
$10,000 per week |
$1,750 savings over 8 months |
|
$15,000 per week |
$2,625 savings over 8 months |
|
$20,000 per week |
$3,500 savings over 8 months |
|
$30,000 per week |
$5,250 savings over 8 months |
|
$40,000 per week |
$7,000 savings over 8 months |
|
$50,000 per week |
$8,750 savings over 8 months |
If I understand this correctly – and clearly I don’t, because "What the @#*!”?
If a restaurant puts through $2,000 per week of Uber Eats sales over 8 months (approx. $64,000) they will get a $350 dollar saving.
If a restaurant puts through $5,000 per week of Uber Eats sales over 8 months (approx. $160,000) they will get an $875 dollar saving.
If a restaurant puts through $10,000 per week of Uber Eats sales over 8 months (approx. $320,000) they will get a $1,750 dollar saving.
… Clearly, I’m not the only one doing the math here. I came up with the same conclusion as Sean Moran (see below)
What’s so confusing is that the Australian Good Food Guide had a conversation with Wes Lambert about WOWAPPS when restaurants were first told to shut their doors.
For the sake of all restaurants, we asked Wes to tell all of his members about their 30 days free trial, with no lock-in contract thereafter.
There was no obligation to sign up to R&CA to receive any benefits.
You can draw your own conclusion!
WOWAPPS is an all-Australian tech company, which provides commission-free online ordering for restaurants.
In less than twenty minutes you can be taking orders seamlessly through your website, and your socials media pages. WOWAPPS even give you YOUR OWN mobile app to make it easy for your customers to buy from you again and again and again.
For one low price of just $3.25 per day, you can enjoy a highly flexible system that makes it easy to delight customers and future-proof your business. No commission! No data theft! No lock-in contracts!
Get started with a 30 day free trial – Find Out More.
