Toronto restaurants upset with delivery service Favour
A new delivery service popped up in Toronto last week and it's causing a stir amongst some of the city's most popular restaurants.
The American-based Favour brought its bright blue tuxedo-t-shirt clad troop of "runners" to Toronto on August 27, and they're already scurrying around the downtown core.
One day before it launched here, Favour put out a press release announcing: "Torontonians can get anything delivered including their city favorites like Khao San Road, Burrito Boyz, and Pizzeria Libretto delivered in less than one hour."
Khao San Road owner Monte Wan, however, was surprised to find his restaurant's menu listed on Favour's mobile app and website. Wan notes that he doesn't partner with any delivery companies, including the widely used Toronto bike courier Hurrier.
"If they," Wan says referring to Hurrier, "want to call in an order, they're welcome to do so like any other patron is, but we don't associate directly with any of those services right now."
On the Favour app, prices for some Khao San Road dishes appeared higher than those listed in-store. Wan took to social media to lambast Favour, urging the company to take his menu down -- it's now no longer featured on Favour's website or app.
Pizzeria Libretto also de-listed its menu from Favour. "The only reason we found out about them is because they added our information to their website and their app and they just started delivering our food without ever talking to us," says Libretto Group managing partner Gary Quinto.
Dundas West sandwich shop Porchetta & Co also asked not to be included on the new delivery service's online and mobile platforms.
"We respect restaurant wishes so we honoured their request to be removed," says Favour spokesperson Tina Heileman via email. "In the meantime, we are meeting with them to answer any questions they have about our service. Our intention is to work with the merchant community in the best way possible."
Heileman says her company decided to feature some of Toronto's most popular restaurants in order to reach customers while launching in a new market. "Customers can request anything they want in the city and are not limited to our merchant partners. People use Favour for everything from poutine cheese to iPhone headphones," she writes.
As for the mix-up with Khao San Road's menu, Heileman says Favour posted the highest possible prices for certain items. It costs $2 extra to order a dish such as Khao Soi with shrimp, for instance. A customer would pay less than the listed price if they requested a cheaper protein.
Seeing as Favour operates online, it's fitting that much of the discussion surrounding it took place on social media. We rounded up some of the Twitter chatter surrounding its entrance into the Toronto delivery service below.
What do you think of Favour? Let us know in the comments.
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