Much like Uber and other sharing economy companies, Postmates, while growing quickly, is creating its fair share of enemies along the way.
The latest restaurant to announce it will not take orders from Postmates or other third party delivery companies is The Rind. Here's what they posted on Facebook late last week:
Dear Cheese Fans, due to concerns regarding THIRD PARTY DELIVERY SYSTEMS, including POSTMATES, we will be denying orders via these platforms.
We have recently discovered that Postmates has been delivering our product without our consent, thus delivering at less than the high standards that we believe you deserve. Additionally, we have been BULLIED recently by their representatives in our small restaurant in front of guests and lied to on the phone. This does not represent The Rind.
Yes, we all love a good delivery system, however we made a choice to not deliver in an effort to provide you a consistently delicious and beautiful product. Additionally, because Postmates has us on their platform in part because you love us, it is because we love you that we will have to deny Postmates as a delivery system in order to meet our mission. They may or may not take us off their platform permanently, so I apologize if you see us on it and think we are working with them. We are not.
PLEASE BE ADVISED, WE ARE NOT WORKING WITH POSTMATES OR ANY THIRD PARTY AND WILL DENY ALL ORDERS THROUGH THEM!
I have spoken to a representative and was informed that if an order is initiated and then denied, you will not be charged! We apologize for the confusion, and we hope you will continue to support us as we strive to consistently do what we have been doing for the past 2.33 years!
Thank you all for your support and understanding!
Sincerely your cheesiest friends in town,
Sara & Steve
In the comments to that Facebook post, The Rind clarifies that they do allow take out for their food, just not through Postmates and their ilk.
We are happy to do take out to guests and have been since day 1. Giving to a third party loses any assurances of food safety and quality control, thus the primary reasons to focus on giving the food directly to you instead of them. Thank you for understanding.
While I have great respect for the restaurant owners and they can run their business however they want, I'm not sure I understand why they would allow a customer to do take out while not allowing a third party to deliver the food for me.
I understand that there are foods that do well when delivered (burritos, sandwiches, cooked Asian food, etc.) and foods that don't do well (anything raw, charcuterie, cheese plates, etc.). The customer has to understand that when they order from Postmates. If their order is ruined, Postmates is to blame and not the restaurant's fault.
I also hear the argument that food is meant to be eaten the second it's served, but let's be honest - there are many reasons that doesn't happen. A friend will bring pizza over to your house, and it's 20 minutes old when you dig into it. You may grab lunch to eat at your desk, but get an important phone call delays your meal for 30 mins. A co-worker brings in doughnuts and bagles to share with the office and it sits for 2 hours before you see it. It happens all the time, and I don't see a flood of complaints blaming restaurants for the diminished food quality due to the passage of time.
I asked Postmates to comment, and a spokeswoman said that they are acting as an agent of the customer who is requesting a service. In addition, they are driving volume and revenue to restaurants who would otherwise not be able to serve that customer.
Thus far, the list of restaurants that I've seen who won't have said they prefer not to work with Postmates are:
- The Rind
- Kru
- Fish Face Poke Bar (Technically, owner/chef Billy Ngo questioned "the safety of a third party transporting raw fish to customers" but hasn't explicitly said that they won't. I'll check during open hours.)
- South
- Mother
- Pushkin's
Many of the restaurants on that list are very successful and probably don't need the extra revenue. I'll continue to eat in at those restaurants. But for us consumers, we can bring our delivery dollars elsewhere to restaurants who want our business and who will take our money.
Previously: Postmates Not Loved by Many Sacramento Restaurants
* Updated at 10:08 p.m. reflecting uncertainty over Fish Face's status.
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