Vancouver-based mobile ordering app offers alternative to ‘exorbitant fees’

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The same week Vancouver’s mayor threatened to cap delivery service fees at 15 per cent, a local mobile app provider is reminding restaurant owners their standard fee is already a “reasonable” rate of five per cent.

Jonathan Hoyles, Perk Hero CEO, says they’ve actually been around almost four years under a different name and rebranded earlier this year.

“We’ve designed everything to support our local restaurants, local businesses and yeah, we want them to know we’re here as an alternative to these other platforms that are charging exorbitant fees.”

He says bigger companies like Uber Eats, Door Dash, and Skip the Dishes are hurting local restaurants by charging commissions as high as 30 per cent.

“We knew that this has been a problem for a long time. That these big delivery apps have been charging such high fees. They all have this business model getting in between the restaurants and the customer and they’re charging the restaurants an exorbitant fee.”

RELATED: Local restaurants feel squeezed by delivery apps’ commission fees

Hoyles says Perk Hero currently has a staff of about 20 people and apart from a few in Victoria and Alberta, most of their clients are in the Lower Mainland.

“There’s definitely a demand for alternatives to the big delivery apps. There’s also a lot of interest for the contact-free payment, as well, so the customers can make payments from up to six feet away.”

.@jonathanhoyles says bigger companies are hurting local restaurants by charging commissions as high as 30% and @perk_hero, which currently employs about 20 people, is community-focused with only a few clients outside the #LowerMainland.

— Marcella Bernardo (@Bernardo1130) May 30, 2020

He adds other clients using the contact-free mobile payment app include dental clinics, fitness instructors, and barbershops.

Thursday, during his latest update on the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Kennedy Stewart suggested delivery services that don’t voluntarily agree to temporarily reduce costs could be legislated to and he’s prepared to seek support from other levels of government.

The president of the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association, Ian Tostenson, says other cities in North America which have already capped fees at 15 per cent include New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.