Deliveroo will change its delivery fee model to be more dynamic, according to an article on Restaurant Dive. Beginning in February, the UK-based food delivery service will introduce a pricing model where delivery fees are based on a customer’s distance to the restaurant. A Deliveroo spokesperson said this sliding-scale model will make delivery fees lower for the majority of Deliveroo customers.
There is, however, a catch. Along with this new pricing model, Deliveroo also said it would charge a 49p (~0.64 USD) service fee for every customer, including those signed up to Deliveroo Plus, the company’s subscription service.
Not surprisingly, Deliveroo Plus subscribers are none too pleased with the change.
These users already pay a little over $15 (USD) per month to access the subscription service, which offers free unlimited delivery to its members. But most people willing to pay for a subscription are probably ordering restaurant delivery multiple times per month, and in some cases per week. In other words, that new mandatory fee, though less than $1, can add up pretty quickly, especially when it’s piled on top of the subscription fee itself.
In fact, the announced changes to the pricing structure have many of those who signed up for the subscription service up in arms and ready to boycott Deliveroo, as a recent article in The Daily Mail highlighted. “Signed up to plus on earlier this month. Cancelled it just now because of their new jazz fees,” one person tweeted. Another wrote via Twitter, “Your decision to put a minimum order on Deliveroo plus is appalling. As a single man, recently widowed, I liked the fact I didn’t have to over order. Will probably go elsewhere now and cancel my subscription.”
Subscription models aside, however, the move towards a more dynamic pay structure could benefit other Deliveroo users as well as drivers, to whom the company says it is offering “a different fee for every order and a fairer system, paying more for orders that take [drivers] further.”
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