As restaurants take a serious sales hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, big cities across the U.S. are adopting ordinances capping the delivery fees services such as Grubhub (NYSE: GRUB), DoorDash, Postmates, and Uber Eats (NYSE: UBER) can charge. The caps are generally emergency measures intended to last only while coronavirus shutdowns are enforced.
Dine-in closures have already caused friction between restaurants, customers, and delivery services. Owners and chains protested Grubhub's "Supper for Support" program in March, when the delivery company offered discounts to people ordering deliveries, but also asked restaurants to absorb the discount on top of 15% to 30% commissions. Several delivery services are now targeted by an antitrust lawsuit for allegedly taking actions "restricting price competition."
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