Circuit breaker: Food delivery services say they're helping F&B businesses after restaurant owners lead call to boycott them

Being named an essential service with the permission to continue operations is no guarantee that your business can survive, according to restaurant owners Colin Chen of The Refinery and Anthony Yeoh of French bistro Summer Hill.

Both owners took to social media earlier in the week to share the grievances towards the high commission fees of food delivery services.    

Yeoh revealed that he has turned off his restaurant's Grab terminal, citing how the commissions of 30 to 35 per cent were too high, and that the delivery deals and discounts found on the platform were borne by "the restaurant currently bleeding into the ground".

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Chen shared similar sentiments, breaking down the costs charged to consumers, the amount that went to the restaurants and how much was pocketed by the delivery companies. His calculations were even broken down into an infographic by another Facebook user. 

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Chen went on to explain the impact of Enterprise Singapore's Food Delivery Booster Package, estimating that F&B businesses would receive only an additional $1.35 for a $41.50 order.

Both restaurateurs ended their posts exhorting the public to do takeaway orders directly with restaurants to truly support the sector during the circuit breaker.

Yeoh also encouraged other F&B businesses to use couriers or hire their own deliverymen, while highlighting his displeasure towards the response provided thus far by major delivery services.

The #savefnbsg movement, which comprises over 500 restaurants, shared an infographic of their own, breaking down the costs of a dish into the delivery partner fees and the various costs that restaurants have to undertake.

Their main message: order direct from restaurants.

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When asked about the posts on social media, Deliveroo told AsiaOne that they have "committed additional resources internally to support new restaurant sign-ups and onboarding".

They have also launched a new rapid payment service for restaurants that starts later in the month. This service will allow restaurants to access money made from deliveries in a week, giving restaurant "faster access to their delivery revenue, helping them cover their costs, whether it's paying staff wages or electricity bills".

When asked whether they would lower their commission rates, Foodpanda and GrabFood told CNA that they have various measures in place to help F&B businesses.

For Foodpanda, they have shortened their onboarding process and waived registration fees for new vendors. It is also waiving commission fees for the first month for businesses with a maximum of two outlets that sign up between April 9 and May 4.

GrabFood is waiving commission fees for self-pickup orders during the circuit breaker. It has also added a "Local Heroes" icon on its homepage to increase the visibility of restaurants and cafes with just a single outlet.

One delivery alternative that restaurants have turned to is Oddle.

Oddle charges a 10 per cent transaction fee for all orders, while the delivery is handled by partners Lalamove and Kin Shun. Due to this set-up, under the government's Food Delivery Booster Package, 20 per cent of the delivery cost per trip will be subsidised on orders from now till May 4.

Like the other food delivery platforms, they too are working on speeding up the onboarding of new restaurants.

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

seowkailun@asiaone.com