1/8 Here's another example of how delivery companies like @Seamless @Grubhub exploit restaurants. It should be a focus of government regulation and an FYI for consumers who want to support independent restaurants (order direct). I explain the problem in the thread below.

2/8 A customer @Google's the name of a restaurant they want to order food from. This search result appears (see image). @Seamless purchases an advertisement within the restaurant's "own" listing.

3/8 Or a customer @Google's the restaurant they want to order food from and uses the word “delivery”
FOUR 3rd party delivery sites appear before the restaurant's website. @Grubhub even says "Support Local Restaurants" which is the opposite of what happens if you click this link.

4/8 So, instead of the customer clicking on the restaurant's own website and ordering directly where the small business pays no fee (or a lower fee), the customer sees the "Order Now" advertisement button from @Seamless or multiple third-party sites first and they click on them.

5/8 And just like that, @Seamless et al, steal customers who intended to order directly from a restaurant. They now collect a fee from that restaurant for transacting the order and they own the customer's data for their own marketing purposes and withhold it from the restaurant.

6/8 Two laws must be enacted: 1. Prohibit these type of advertisements in search engines intended to siphon off direct delivery orders. 2. Require delivery companies to provide restaurants with their customer's data for orders transacted via their third-party platforms.

7/8 Customers who want to support independent restaurants can help too. Next time you order food from a local restaurant, make sure you order directly through the restaurant's own website. You'll save them money and they'll know who you are so they can provide you better service.

8/8 If you call a restaurant to place an order, call direct. @Grubhub has a long history of charging bogus fees for phone orders for that never occurred. Crazy but true. I explain here in @forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewrigie/2019/08/21/this-is-how-grubhub-is-hurting-your-favorite-restaurants-and-why-you-should-care/?sh=744f3bf12d52