Report: DoorDash Will Increase Fees for McDonald's Locations That Are Slow and Mess Up Orders

The benefit of using a food delivery service when you're starving is that you don't physically have to go anywhere to pick up the food yourself, saving you time in exchange for a little extra money.

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Though apps and delivery services offer an estimated delivery time when customers place orders, slowdowns at restaurants and other circumstances can lead to longer wait times, resulting in stressed-out drivers and disgruntled customers.

Food delivery service DoorDash is hitting back against slowdowns — and they're aiming straight at fast-food titan McDonald's.

According to a new report, DoorDash will start charging McDonald's locations that are slow to prepare orders and take a higher commission from those locations if drivers are often waiting on orders.

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McDonald's outposts that frequently make mistakes with customers' orders will not be reimbursed for the cost of the refunds.

DoorDash takes an estimated 15.5-11.6% commission from reliable restaurants, while rates for slower restaurants will range from 17.6-20.1%, per the Wall Street Journal.

"Commission rates are just one component we consider when establishing these strategic agreements, which often take into account unique and reciprocal business objectives and allow our partners to capitalize on the unmatched advantages that a global partnership with the largest restaurant company in the world provides," a McDonald's spokesperson told Insider.

The fast-food chain announced a new partnership with DoorDash and Uber Eats last November in order to "provide better terms to the company's franchisees," though the specific terms were not publicly disclosed. It's estimated that around 93% of McDonald's locations are owned by franchisees.

McDonald's originally signed an exclusive deal with Uber Eats back in 2017.

DoorDash completed 816 million orders in 2020 and brought in $2.89 billion in revenue, with another 329 million orders being completed in Q1 of 2021, per reports.

DoorDash was down 53.25% year over year as of Tuesday afternoon, most likely due to a decreased need for in-home dining and delivery as pandemic restrictions continue to loosen.