Grubhub CEO responds to backlash over fees amid pandemic
Grubhub’s CEO is facing outrage over the company’s businesses practices during the coronavirus pandemic.
Restaurants have long complained about the hefty fees delivery services such as Grubhub charge, but because of the pandemic, many have been forced to the rely on delivery to maintain some flow of income.
San Francisco and Seattle recently put in place emergency fee caps on delivery services, limiting revenue loss for their restaurants, but Grubhub hasn’t reduced its fees anywhere else in the country, according to reports.
“Unfortunately it’s a crisis situation, and the tensions are heightened,” CEO Matt Maloney said during an earnings call on Thursday. “But we’re really going to focus our effort on educating and making people understand the valuable role we play.
“It is frustrating when you see a lot of the social media posts that are inaccurate,” he added. “I think what people forget and one thing we’re going to try to do better is to highlight that the costs are real.”
Maloney said during the call that the company is breaking even on deliveries during the pandemic. However, the Chicago-based company reported $363 million in first-quarter revenue, up 12 percent from a year ago.
Maloney noted that Grubhub would use almost all of its second-quarter profits “to generate as many additional orders for our restaurant partners as possible.”
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