UPDATE: An Uber Eats representative acknowledged to Peace Arch News Wednesday morning (June 28) that Everbean had indeed signed up for its ‘lite’ plan in January, but was overcharged at the 30 per cent level “due to human error by one of our agents.”
“We are reaching out to the cafe to apologize and ensure they are paid back for the overcharges,” spokesperson Keerthana Rang said by email.
Everbean owner Jessie Chou confirmed that contact was made Wednesday afternoon, an apology was issued and a promise was given to pay back the 10 per cent that has been charged in error. She hasn’t personally done the math yet, but said Uber Eats puts the figure owed at around $560 – an amount Chou said is “enough to buy all the milk that we use for a week.”
She’s been told it will take at least a week for the funds to show up in her account.
She said she is not expecting to change her mind about the partnership with Uber Eats, and will likely continue with her plan to “streamline” her operations to just one platform.
Chou also noted that she had connected with the owner of a Vancouver bakery whose own story about being overcharged prompted her to speak out. She said she was told that as of Wednesday afternoon, that owner had not heard anything back from Uber Eats.
(Original story below)
A South Surrey coffee shop owner is cutting ties with food-delivery service Uber Eats, citing a “never-ending loop of terribleness” in attempts to address fee increases she is confident she did not sign up for.
Jessie Chou, owner of Everbean Cafe (15331 16 Ave.), said this week that Uber Eats advised merchants of premium-service options early this year, asking them to opt in to higher fees to benefit from greater visibility on the app and easier ordering.
The basic fee, according to merchants.ubereats.com, is 20 per cent of the order’s value; while ‘plus’ and ‘premium’ plan charges are 25 and 30 per cent, respectively.
The fees that could be charged by Uber Eats and other delivery services, such as DoorDash and SkipTheDishes, were capped at 20 per cent in December 2020; an order made by Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth in an effort to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic on restaurants.
At the time, it “made sense” to partner with the app, Chou said, as most people were staying home, and it provided an avenue for contactless service.
The basic cap was made permanent through the Food Delivery Service Fee Act last November, with the option for restaurants “to accept offers for enhanced services.”
Chou said Monday (June 26) – after reaching out to Peace Arch News through Instagram to comment on a similar story shared by another business – that she decided to keep Everbean at the basic level, given the challenge in controlling the quality of the delivered coffee. As drivers may pick up multiple orders along the way to boost efficiency, “by the time it’s actually delivered, it’s lukewarm or cold,” she explained.
“That’s why we didn’t want to be on the higher end of service and charged more. I don’t want that to be a main part of my business income.”
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She said she advised Uber Eats of her choice in a late 2022 questionnaire as well as by email in January, but realized at the beginning of June that rather than the basic fee, she’s been paying “very close to 30 per cent” from the get-go.
In an email chain shared with PAN, Chou tells Uber Eats on Jan. 25 that “we have NO interest in spending more to be a part of the premium plan.” The message was in response to an email advising that a DocuSign for “the new plan you picked” would be sent the following day.
“Sadly, the contract they sent shortly afterwards was misleading, being I remembered selecting the lite service plan; yet by the time the contract came back to us, the check mark was no longer visible and the marketplace fee had reverted back to 30%,” Chou told PAN.
“When I inquired about why that was, no one gave me any answers.”
Chou’s efforts to have the matter resolved through customer service have only served to frustrate, leaving her with multiple case numbers, responses that don’t answer her question, and ultimately, word from a ‘customer service specialist’ that “it is what it is.”
In a June 13 email from an Uber Eats Restaurant Support representative, Chou is advised that the company recently “uniformized marketplace charges in all markets.”
“For a variety of reasons, our company made this decision, but ultimately, we think this is the pace at which the partnership will be fruitful for both parties,” the response continues.
“We are unable to reduce your marketplace fee as a result.”
Chou said she hasn’t yet calculated the total amount she was overcharged, but said after June 30, Everbean Cafe menu items will no longer be available through that particular app.
She remains “skeptical” as to whether her cancellation will be honoured.
PAN has reached out to Uber Eats for comment.
tracy.holmes@peacearchnews.com
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