DoorDash to penalize McDonald’s outlets that delay delivery orders

McDonald’s restaurants that make DoorDash delivery workers wait for orders that aren’t on time will have to pay commissions between 17.6 to 20 percent of an order, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The higher rates will apply next year when drivers have to wait over four minutes after arriving to pick up an order.

McDonald’s and its franchisees still have enough time to iron out the kinks in its delivery operation that kept customers waiting for orders and has cost DoorDash to refund items when a restaurant forgets to pack items such as fries or drinks.

McDonald’s restaurants that reach a certain number of customer refunds will also have to reimburse for those refunds. The report didn’t detail the threshold.

Meanwhile, restaurants that comply with delivery time rules will only be charged, DoorDash will charge 11.6 percent and 14.1 percent for DashPass loyalty program members.

The previous rate for both was 15.5 percent.

The fast-food giant has been working with DoorDash since 2019 and inked a new agreement in November 2021 to expand the partnership, in part by aiming to increase the speed of the delivery.

McDonald’s reportedly got a sweetheart deal on DoorDash commission rates, which can charge restaurants up to 30 percent per order, because of its high volume.

Restaurant operators are reportedly struggling to hire enough workers to avoid being penalized for not operating fast enough.