INDIANAPOLIS — If you order food from certain delivery apps, your options could be changing. A bill headed to the Governor’s desk would allow restaurants to decide which delivery apps they work with.
Currently, there aren't any regulations to force third-party delivery services to honor contracts that are in place. Due to this, third-party apps are adding whatever restaurants they choose to their delivery options.
"We have a Doordash exclusive agreement with seven Indiana restaurants,” Blake Fogelsong, owner of Clancy's Hospitality, said. “We've had issues since the pandemic with other companies, like Postmates and Grubhub, putting our menus, trademarks and copyrights online. "
House Bill 1279 aims to change this.
"HB 1279 ensures customers are getting the best possible experience through third-party delivery companies. It also ensures restaurants who may not want to use third-party delivery companies have the ability to control that, " Patrick Tamm, CEO of the Indiana Restaurant & Lodging Association, said.
During the pandemic, third-party delivery apps exploded with very little regulation or ability for restaurants to track which apps are delivering their food. It led to delivery apps performing an act called "scrapping menus."
"Menu scrapping is putting a menu up on a website or third-party app without the restaurant's consent or a contract,” Tamm said. “In some cases, there are menu items listed that they don't even have, from an out-of-date menu. “
Under this legislation, if a third-party delivery service puts a menu online without a restaurant's consent, the restaurant can pursue legal action if the app doesn't remove the menu within 72 hours.
"If they do put our menus online, we have the right to sue them for up to $50,000. That's a big thing for us," Fogelsong said.
On top of that, restaurants say this will improve the customer experience and ease their concerns about food safety.
"We have had issues with drivers tampering with food. Third-party delivery apps also take longer. We have tablets at each of our restaurants right now, so when we get an order, a server rings it in," Fogelsong said.
While HB 1279 is something restaurant's support, delivery drivers feel this legislation could make it harder for them to make a living.
"We live off of our tips,” Lisa Flanagan said. “We only get paid two dollars from DoorDash, Grubhub and UberEats, so we depend on tips. Right now the economy is really bad, so the tips are really not as good as they should be. "
HB 1279 is currently waiting for a signature from the Governor. If signed, it would go into effect on July 1.
-
Apartment fire displaces 11 on northeast side
The Indianapolis Fire Department said on Saturday that while no one was hurt, six adults and five children were displaced due to a fire on the northeast side of Indianapolis.
More storm chances ahead for central Indiana
It was a beautiful, sunny and warm start to the weekend. However, changes are on the way, with the potential for more strong-to-severe thunderstorms.
Max Engling secures Republican nomination for Secretary of State in Indiana
Max Engling won the Republican nomination for Secretary of State in Indiana with 867 out of 1,630 ballots, defeating incumbent Diego Morales and others.
Rescue dog Osito steals hearts at the World Cup, one bike ride at a time
Osito, a rescue poodle mix, has become an unlikely sensation after arriving at Mexico’s opening match perched on the back of a cargo bicycle, dressed in a Mexico jersey, sunglasses and a cap.
