Thuisbezorgd has incurred the ire of its customers by increasing its commission by 1 percentage point. The margin for the catering industry is thus shrinking. The only problem for entrepreneurs is that a lot is ordered through the major player in the meal delivery market.
There is a struggle between the catering industry and the service provider: while the entrepreneurs are struggling with rising costs, Thuisbezorgd asks more commission. Ali Badr of The Ribman in Hengelo is done with it: “People are sick of it. Nobody is happy with Thuisbezorgd.”
“Wholesale is more expensive, the butcher is more expensive, the petrol and the deliverers,” he says. “It is difficult to get staff. After all the effort we put in, they now ask for 15 percent. They do not sell meals, but work with computers. They really just sell air,” says Badr.
But then air that the entrepreneur can no longer leave. “If I stop using Thuisbezorgd, I may lose 50 percent of my customers. That’s not a choice. They really have a monopoly, nobody can compete with that.”
Prefer not to deliver
Badr is not alone in his argument. “I have stopped home delivery,” reports Erwin Braak of The Lunchbox in Enschede. “That was before the announcement of this price increase. The commission was already too high for me at the time. 14 percent for home delivery, 30 percent for purchases. Almost half of it is already gone. You have to deliver so much if it is to be profitable. Then I prefer not to deliver.”
It’s really getting too expensive for them now, but home delivery is in control
“I also hear from many other entrepreneurs about it,” he continues. “It is really getting too expensive for them now, but home delivery is in full control. Many companies are now dependent on the concept. Nine out of ten orders go through Thuisbezorgd. They think: everyone orders from us anyway.”
Bart Schreuter is not dependent on Thuisbezorgd with his Barracuda Sushi from Almelo: “80 percent comes through my own webshop”, he indicates his comfortable position. For that reason, he also dares to open up a book about how it works behind the scenes at the catering and delivery giant.
Cancel order
“Many entrepreneurs keep prices lower on their own site. They try to pass on the extra costs for home delivery to the customer, but the delivery service has a price equality policy. They have entire teams tracking this behind computers. The prices on their own website are then automatically adjusted,” Schreuter describes.
If you forget to notify us of your cancellation within two days, the commission will simply be charged
He knows from his environment that many restaurants call customers and ask to cancel and redo the order via their own website. “Then they give the customer a bonus. With an order of 100 euros, the commission is already 14 euros. There are also administration and transaction costs on top of that. You can easily save 16, 17, 18 euros with a phone call.”
“Some have leaflets that they deliver with the order. In a busy restaurant, where, for example, 25 orders are made per day, it even pays to hire someone specially for this,” Schreuter explains.
There is a risk involved. Thuisbezorgd always wants to know the reason for cancellation. And it must be passed on on time. “The service is decreasing,” notes Schreuter. “You have to pass everything on by e-mail, calling is no longer possible. That is a lot of administration. If you forget to notify the cancellation within two days, the commission will simply be charged.”
What does Home Delivery think?
Spokesperson Ellen (‘say spokesperson, because we are a whole team’) of Thuisbezorgd.nl ‘understands that it is very annoying’ for catering entrepreneurs. “But we also have to deal with rising operating costs,” she says. “It also costs us more to keep couriers on the road.”
Not every entrepreneur uses Thuisbezorgd couriers. When asked what other operating costs the company passes on to these entrepreneurs, the answer is: “I will not go into that. Of course, restaurants are always free to discontinue Thuisbezorgd if they really want to leave.”
She points out that on average a restaurant makes 120,000 euros extra turnover via Thuisbezorgd. “And we supply sustainable packaging, e-bikes and clothing. We also provide support with purchasing.”
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