B.C’s Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery, and Innovation is not impressed with a new ‘B.C. fee’ brought in by Skip the Dishes last week.
The $0.99 fee was brought in on all orders in B.C. “to ensure that there is no impact to the service and support” to customers in the province.
It was done after the BC Government brought in a 15 per cent cap on fees that food delivery companies like Skip the Dishes can charge in a bid to support restaurants struggling with high fees during a time when revenue is down because of COVID-19.
Appearing on NL Newsday, Ravi Kahlon pulled no punches when asked about his feelings towards the fee and the company.
“I was surprised. I didn’t realize how arrogant of a company they were. They think the rules of British Columbia and Canada don’t seem to apply to them and they can find ways to skirt it. I mean, we’re not the only jurisdiction that put in a 15 per cent cap. Ontario, California, there’s states all across the U.S. but they didn’t do that everywhere else, they only introduced that here and so we’ll have to look at our next steps,” he said.
“I know the Solicitor General’s office is looking at that but they’re making record profits and a 15 per cent cap is not making them run out of business.”
“They’re still making a lot of money but what they want to do in the pandemic is make a lot more. We have both ends, right? We have businesses struggling and then we have this example of a business that is doing so well that they don’t care about the local restaurants as collateral (damage),” added Kahlon.
The BC Restaurant and Food Services Association is in favour of the temporary cap in fees as many restaurateurs are barely breaking even after accounting for the rest of their expenses. Kahlon was asked if the province would look into making it permanent in the future.
“Well, we’re going to have to look at something. I think there’s an agreement in the Legislature from all three political parties as well that we can’t just let these operators operate the way they do without some regulations,” Kahlon said.
“It puts local companies at a huge disadvantage as well. I don’t know what that solution looks like but certainly the restaurant industry has realized how vulnerable they can become with this new technology. I’ll all for innovation and technology but not every one of them is perfect for society as a whole.”
Kamloops MLA to ‘skip’ Skip the Dishes
The Kamloops-North Thompson MLA says Skip the Dishes should listen to its customer base, when it comes to its new B.C. fee.
Peter Milobar says he hasn’t been a customer of the food delivery service for 14 months after his account was hacked and Skip the Dishes refused to refund him.
“There was four charges in Montreal that were for a little around $400 at four different restaurants all around the same time, so yeah, it was most definitely not us,” Milobar said. “We were sitting at our home in Kamloops watching some TV when the orders came through.”
Milobar points out public backlash towards Skip the Dishes after it brought in the B.C. was swift and he hopes the company listens to their customers.
“It could be penny wise and pound foolish in terms of are they going to lose more customers than they ultimately keep,” he said. “Are their drivers going to see their tips drop to offset the dollar? In which case its a net loss to the overall drivers that they say this is supposed to benefit.”
“I’m not a customer of theirs anymore so they don’t have to listen to anything I say I guess, but I think they’re seeing it loud and clear on social media right now and you know although they have great ads on TV but they need to rethink this move.”
