After months of controversy over a phone-ordering system that restaurant owners say stuck them with bogus charges, Grubhub says it has a “common sense” solution.
Grubhub customers will hear a new prompt when they call a restaurant through the app, as detailed in a letter the company sent City Council Thursday afternoon.
Press one if you want to place an order. Press two for any other inquiry.
The food marketing and delivery firm—which also owns Seamless—is hoping the prompt will cool months of tension with members of City Council, who say its apps are taking advantage of local restaurant owners. The caller’s selection will add a new factor to the algorithm that the company uses to determine whether phone calls placed on lines it set up for local restaurants result in orders.
Restaurateurs say they have been hit with commission charges between $4 and $9 for telephone calls driven from the Grubhub app or website, even if those calls did not result in sales.
The City Council put the company on notice with a letter in November, which said members would pursue legislation if Grubhub did not adjust its policies with 60 days.
“Our goal is to get orders right–regardless of whether they are placed online, on our app or via phone–while keeping the process fast and easy for both diners and restaurants,” the letter read.
Councilman Mark Gjonaj, who has been most outspoken on the issue, did not have an immediate response to Grubhub’s latest plan.
The new prompt will combine with the algorithm Grubhub has previously used to determine whether a call resulted in an order, which triggers a fee.
The company will continue to store the audio of phone calls that result in fees for restaurants to review, the letter said. If restaurateurs find they were charged a fee unfairly, they have 120 days to notify the company for a refund.
Grubhub has also committed to double its staff of account advisors, who field concerns from restaurants and advise owners on strategies to boost sales.
The letter comes a day after The Wall Street Journalreported Grubhub officials are considering a sale of the company, as competition is driving down its shares. A company spokesman declined to comment on the report.
The phone-ordering system isn’t the company’s only regulatory headache in New York. A proposal under review by the state Liquor Authority could force all food-ordering apps to cut their fees, or risk being forced to register as part of a restaurant’s liquor license.