How to turn delivery challenges into profit

The food delivery boom has been a double-edged sword for restaurants. On the one hand, it offers tremendous opportunities to expand your reach beyond the confines of physical location and cater to a wider audience. On the other hand, many restaurants find themselves grappling with unforeseen challenges such as refund fraud, high commission fees from delivery platforms, and the logistical headaches that come with ensuring food quality remains intact during transit.

While it’s easy to feel defeated by these challenges, savvy restaurant owners can turn them into opportunities. This blog will explore the key delivery challenges restaurants face and provide actionable steps to turn these pain points into profit centers.

1. The Revenue Potential of Food Delivery

Before delving into how to handle delivery challenges, it's worth reminding ourselves why delivery is such a valuable business model.

The global online food delivery services market is worth more than $150 billion and is expected to continue growing. Consumers now expect the convenience of having their favorite meals delivered to their doorsteps, and restaurants that capitalize on this trend are setting themselves up for long-term growth.

However, it’s not as simple as adding a few extra steps to your kitchen process. To profit from food delivery, you need to be prepared for a specific set of operational challenges. Restaurants that figure out how to overcome these hurdles—while maintaining quality and profitability—will thrive.

2. Challenge: Refund Fraud

Turning the Threat into Profit: Protect Your Orders with Proof

One of the biggest challenges faced by restaurants is refund fraud. Platforms like Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Just Eat allow customers to claim refunds for missing items without any substantial proof. While the intention behind these policies is to protect customers from bad experiences, they often leave restaurants vulnerable to exploitation.

The result? Restaurants lose money to dishonest claims, damaging their bottom line. But here's where you can turn this challenge into an opportunity.

3. Challenge: Maintaining Food Quality During Delivery

Turning the Threat into Profit: Ensure Quality for Repeat Business

Another common challenge with delivery is maintaining food quality. It's easy for dishes to get cold, soggy, or even damaged during transit, leading to unhappy customers and poor reviews.

But here’s the opportunity: by perfecting your packaging and preparation processes, you can not only avoid complaints but also stand out in a crowded market as a restaurant that consistently delivers high-quality food. The goal is to ensure that customers enjoy the same meal quality at home as they would in your restaurant.

Action Step: Invest in Delivery-Friendly Packaging

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for packaging, but investing in delivery-friendly materials can make a huge difference. Certain types of food require special packaging to retain heat, while others need ventilation to prevent sogginess. Additionally, separating sauces and garnishes can keep ingredients fresh.

Beyond just keeping food in good shape, high-quality packaging sends a message that your brand cares about the customer’s experience, even after the food leaves your restaurant. This small investment in better packaging materials can result in repeat business and customer loyalty.

Action Step: Simplify Your Menu for Delivery

Not all dishes are delivery-friendly. Some foods that work great in the dining room may not travel well. Think about which dishes maintain their integrity during delivery and emphasize those on your delivery menu. You can also develop new items specifically designed for delivery, such as meals that hold up well during transport and can be reheated easily if needed.

Streamlining your delivery menu means fewer complaints and higher satisfaction rates, both of which translate into better reviews, increased customer loyalty, and higher profits.

4. Challenge: Complex Logistics and Order Management

Turning the Threat into Profit: Streamline Operations for Efficiency

Managing deliveries requires coordination between the kitchen, the packing station, and the delivery service. If there’s a misstep in any part of the process, you risk wrong orders, delayed deliveries, and ultimately unhappy customers. But here’s where efficiency becomes your best asset.

Action Step: Use Technology to Manage Orders More Effectively

With the rise of delivery, there’s also been a surge in technology solutions to streamline operations. Implementing an integrated system for order management—one that combines in-house, delivery platform, and direct orders—can significantly reduce the chance of error.

With Biteback, for example, restaurants can integrate video evidence with their order management system. This provides transparency and accountability across every stage of the delivery process, ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks. More efficient processes lead to fewer errors, faster turnaround times, and ultimately more profit.

Action Step: Optimize Your Kitchen for Delivery Orders

As delivery orders grow, it makes sense to restructure your kitchen for speed and accuracy. Consider dedicating a separate area for delivery prep to avoid disruption to dine-in orders. Training your staff to handle delivery-specific demands, such as quicker order fulfillment and proper packing techniques, will reduce the chances of mistakes and make delivery a smoother part of your operation.

5. Challenge: Customer Retention and Loyalty

Turning the Threat into Profit: Turn First-Time Delivery Customers into Regulars

It’s easy to think of delivery as a one-off interaction, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right strategy, your delivery customers can become some of your most loyal patrons.

Action Step: Personalize the Delivery Experience

Small touches can make a big impact. Including a thank-you note or a coupon for their next order shows customers that you appreciate their business. Personalization helps bridge the gap between the restaurant and the home, creating a more memorable experience that keeps customers coming back.

Conclusion

The challenges of food delivery are real, but they don’t have to be profit killers. By addressing issues like refund fraud, food quality, high commission fees, and operational efficiency, you can turn these pain points into competitive advantages.

Tools like Biteback enable restaurants to document the entire order packing process with video evidence. This small adjustment gives you irrefutable proof of what was included in each delivery. Not only can this help you win disputes with the delivery platforms, but it also discourages customers from making fraudulent claims in the first place.

Additionally, reducing refund claims will improve your relationship with delivery platforms. The fewer disputes you have, the better your performance metrics on these platforms, leading to more favorable positioning and higher visibility.

Delivery may be tough, but it’s also an opportunity—if you’re prepared to turn the challenges into profits.