DoorDash to Raise Fees Against McDonald’s That Serve Too Slow

DoorDash Inc. is raising its fees for McDonald’s restaurants that prepare their orders too slowly, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday (Feb. 14), a move designed to improve the delivery platform’s efficiency and cut its losses.

The company had agreed to a lower base commission rate for McDonald’s in the U.S., according to the report. DoorDash charges restaurants a commission on every order and charges consumers a service fee.

Per the WSJ, the increased fee for McDonald’s will start in 2023 on orders where drivers have to wait.

McDonald’s will also have to cover DoorDash’s refund costs when the restaurant makes mistakes on its orders, including when the kitchen packs the wrong item or forgets the “fries with that,” after a certain number of customer complaints.

Some McDonald’s franchisees are concerned that they’ll be penalized for their performance, especially as they’re also dealing with staffing shortages.

McDonald’s announced deals with DoorDash and Uber Eats in November. DoorDash uses a tiered rate system for McDonald’s, similar to the one it uses for its DashPass subscription service.

McDonald’s will pay 11.6% commissions on non-subscriber orders and 14.1% commissions on DashPass orders, both down from 15.5%.

The rates climb when the driver has to wait more than four minutes, up to 17.6% for non-DashPass subscribers when the wait exceeds seven minutes, according to the report. If a driver has to wait more than seven minutes for a DashPass order, the restaurant will be charged a 20.1% commission rate.

Related: McDonald’s New Special Sauce? McMetaverse, With 10 Trademarks Already Filed

Meanwhile, McDonald’s, which has more than 39,000 eateries in more than 100 countries and territories, is making plans to join the metaverse.

The Golden Arches filed at least 10 trademarks for its name, logo, McCafe and the rights to various goodies, according to a tweet from Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney and founder of Gerben Intellectual Property.

The virtual restaurant will offer real and virtual food, downloadable multimedia files, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), merchandise, concerts and more.