Winnipeggers will soon have another option when it comes to getting meals delivered at home.
This week, Uber Eats is launching in 30 cities, including Winnipeg.
Initial local restaurants on the service will include Jeffrey’s Restaurant, Saucers Cafe and East India Company Pub & Eatery.
READ MORE: Uber Eats coming to Winnipeg, will compete with SkiptheDishes
Despite not having a ridesharing service, restaurants are excited to have the Uber name and service in Winnipeg, in some capacity.
“They are a big name, everyone has heard of Uber,” Saucers Cafe owner Stuart Deacon said. “I like the way the system works, they way they have timed out their drivers and the way that they charge restaurants, first and foremost, is very different.”
The service will be competing directly with SkipTheDishes, the made-in-Winnipeg rival that began serving the city back in 2012.
Deacon’s restaurant has been using SkipTheDishes for the past few years.
While he plans to use both services for his restaurant, he is hoping the increased competition will bring changes to SkipTheDishes he has wanted to see for a long time.
“I’m hoping they will bring a lot more to the table that we, as users of Skip, have argued about for year and never seen any movement. Skip can be quite difficult to work with.”
Deacon said one of the biggest issues is driver hold times.
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“If we don’t have an order ready at the exact same time we are charged quite a bit for not having it ready especially during busy times in the restaurant, which you cant always predict,” he said. “Uber has assured that is not an issue.”
Secondly, he said Uber Eats has given restaurants one fee they will be charged and said there are a number of ‘hidden fees’ with SkipTheDishes that make it difficult to calculate costs.
“If they have to send a delivery driver for a re-delivery there’s an indiscriminate amount they are going to charge you and they never tell you what that is,” Deacon said.
“There are driver hold charges and they don’t have a specific amount per minute. They just charge you whatever they need to charge you, which can raise your average to who knows what percentage. You have to calculate it every week, you have to call and complain every week and try to get them to claw back charges. “
However, SkipTheDishes adamantly disagreed with what Deacon claimed are issues he has dealt with weekly.
“If a restaurant is late preparing an order, the courier receives a $0.25 per minute hold fee,”a company spokesperson told Global News. “This fee is paid by the restaurant, after a five-minute grace period. At 15 minutes there is a $10 flat fee, with no additional courier hold charges.”
SkipTheDishes said it also does not charge for menu changes, despite what Deacon told Global News was the experience he has had on a number of occasions.
“SkipTheDishes does not charge fees for menu updates. Skip’s menu team makes in-app and online menu changes at no cost, within a 24-48 hour window,” the company said.
The company said it welcomes the competition Uber Eats will bring to the city.
Uber Eats is aiming to be available in 100 Canadian locations by the end of 2018. The company’s original test market for the service was in Toronto in 2015.
Since then it has grown to include more than 8,000 restaurants on the platform with more than 10,000 delivery partners.
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