DoorDash has just changed its fees based on the time it takes to complete a delivery and how far the driver must travel.
Now customers might think twice about ordering from their favorite Thai place that is farther than the cheap pizza joint down the block.
The company recently announced that it would change how it calculates its service fee to “better reflect what it takes to complete your delivery.”
Service fees will now vary based on factors such as distance and order size. But it doesn’t necessarily mean a price hike.
“Based on our analysis, in over 70% of recent orders, consumers would have paid the same or less in fees under the new model — with a median saving of $0.78 per order,” DoorDash said in a Thursday press release announcing the changes.
The company’s delivery fee will remain a flat rate set by each business the customer orders from. There will also continue to be a “long distance” fee for a small number of deliveries that are typically more than 10 miles away.
DoorDash said the changes “will help ensure we can reliably offer consumers their favorite stores and continue to provide Dashers pay that reflects the effort required for every trip.”
The changes won’t affect how DoorDash drivers are paid since they already typically earn more on deliveries that take longer to complete and cover more distance.
The new service fees will be rolled out across most of the U.S. in the coming months, starting Thursday.
Several markets will not be affected by these changes, including California, Chicago, Colorado, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York City, Puerto Rico and Seattle.
These major food delivery hubs currently have different fee structures, but DoorDash plans to eventually include them in the updated model, a company spokesperson told Restaurant Business.
DoorDash has also made it easy for customers to understand the fees they are paying before they check out, including in-app notifications about how the charges work and a “Farther Away” label on the home page that identifies locations that may have high service fees due to distance.
The company is also rolling out a tally that shows the breakdown of the subtotal, fees and discounts that customers can view as they build their order.
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