A Dopo vs. Delivery Services

A Dopo does not offer delivery at this time. Companies like Hyper Flyer have found a way to override this by disguising orders and contracting outside delivery drivers. We have tried our best to “opt out” of these services, but have been unsuccessful. We cannot guarantee the quality of our pizza if it leaves the restaurant through any kind of delivery platform whether it’s Hyper Flyer, Door Dash or another. You may wonder why this is an issue for us. If that’s you, please read below. If you’ve placed an order through one of these sites, caveat emptor.

Many restaurants (including us) have a complicated history with delivery platforms.

The year of COVID (and stay-at-home mandates) accelerated the growth of companies like Uber Eats, Door Dash, Post Mates etc. In the beginning, these companies were charging restaurants a fee of almost 30% to deliver its food - at a time when diners weren’t allowed in restaurants. On one hand, it was a lifeline, but on the other hand it was a gross exploitation of a real and present need for our industry to stay alive. These fees erased any chance at earning a profit and left many operators scratching their heads. Over time, operators got smart and raised their prices for delivery menus, much to the dislike of the delivery companies. After some push back and market stabilization, these companies began shifting the extra fee onto you, the customer.

As time went on, we have learned a lot about delivery and the issues we have with it. Allow us to list them here:

  1. Delivery drivers have little protections in their job and often work for less than minimum wage

  2. If a driver is late in their delivery (or pickup), the restaurant is often left carrying the blame - indirectly or directly via review sites like Google, Yelp, Facebook, Trip Advisor etc

  3. Prices end up being much higher than originally intended by the restaurant, creating in inauthentic value proposition

  4. Busy restaurants will often “turn off” delivery services to prioritize their in-house customers. This should be easy to understand by applying basic supply & demand principles

  5. Many delivery platforms still charge a high fee for their services, forcing restaurants to increase their prices to accommodate the levy. At the end of the day, this negatively impacts the restaurant with unreasonable expectations from the customer. It’s a lose/lose scenario

  6. A Dopo is (thankfully) a very busy restaurant and we have grown a lot over the years. Because of this, we have the luxury of saying no to delivery services

  7. The latest evolution of delivery (as mentioned above) includes companies like Hyper Flyer that disguise their orders on our Online Ordering platform. We have no idea that a delivery order was made until the driver shows up, often late. This catches us off guard, because it has always been our policy to not use delivery services. After confusion by our staff, frustration by the customer, and even more frustration by us, we have relented and allowed these orders to leave the restaurant

  8. At A Dopo, we place a high value on hospitality and our ability to engage with the customer. Delivery platforms take away this opportunity, fracturing the transaction by a third-party company (many of which are able to operate at a loss due to millions of dollars in seed capital)

    We realize by this point, you may think we’re overcomplicating the matter. That’s ok. We know our business and are devoted to making it the best version it can be. We are eternally grateful for the people who choose to spend their money at our restaurant. Delivery is… as you can now see, complicated.

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