Restaurant pushes back on delivery app’s high costs, urges others to do same
Posted September 9, 2021 7:18 pm.
Last Updated September 9, 2021 7:28 pm.
WINNIPEG (CityNews) — The owner of a Winnipeg restaurant is encouraging other small businesses to push back against the high costs of third-party delivery company Skip The Dishes.
Her call to others comes after she was able to re-negotiate the costs of Skip The Dishes, after making it known publicly her well-known eatery would be dropping the service.
“You guys are going to have to do better than this because it’s killing me,” said Christine Pattison, owner and operator of Miss Christine’s Kitchen. “I had to cry out. It was just too much. I can’t give up that much money.”
When you step into Miss Christine’s Jamaican Kitchen, you can see the pride she has in her Jamaican roots painted on the walls. An ex-pat of central Kingston, she’s been in Canada for decades, but for the last two years, she’s been bringing traditional Jamaican street food to hungry customers in Winnipeg and it’s in high demand.
“The same food I cook at my home for me, it’s the same food I cook for my customers,” she explained.
When she posted that she would be dropping the delivery service, she stated it cost her almost $3,500 over a 30-day period and told other businesses to reach out to the delivery company, as it appears they’re willing to work with smaller businesses to ensure they can stay on the delivery network without taking a massive hit.
“Most people don’t realize they can actually call Skip and demand: Listen, if you don’t help us here, we’re going to quit and that’s just the truth because they want the business just as bad as we want the business,” said Pattison.
She says she’s going to keep using the service now that Skip has come back to her with a better offer. But she hopes other small businesses do the same, saying Skip can’t treat local businesses the same as the other giant corporations it serves.
“A lot of people will not say anything, they just take it, but I’m not going to take it when I’m sitting down, working my butt off on two bad knees and arthritis in my hands to give my money to Skip.”
An official with Skip the Dishes says they’ve been working closely with Miss Christine’s over the last few days to address her concerns.
In a statement, it explained it assisted more than 29,000 individual restaurants in Canada through the COVID-19 pandemic by reducing commissions, resulting in more than $82-million in “commission rebates and order-driving initiatives to local, independent restaurant partners across Canada throughout the pandemic, including those in Manitoba, while dining rooms were closed.”
One regular customer of Miss Christine’s is Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive back Nick Taylor. From a Jamaican background himself, he finds the meals at the small eatery are tried and true when it comes to the island’s traditional cuisine and atmosphere.
“She has an energy about her that’s just amazing,” said Taylor.
He says it’s important businesses have the support of the community, as they put so much effort, and time, into the craft and their food.
“It’s those places that are putting in the time to get the flavour you desire,” he said. “She’s at the job and she’s there putting in the hours and the grind and the commitment to it, anybody who has a small business it’s like their baby and of course they’re going to be all in.”
Officials with the Manitoba Restaurant and Food Services Association say small businesses must examine all of their options when it comes to delivery services, as there’s a wide range to choose from, each with its own differences.
They note while businesses like Skip support the community, and helped keep many eateries afloat during the pandemic, small business owners have options, including the associations’ own online portal “LetsOrder.delivery” which is free for members, noting a variety of delivery portals should be tools in the toolkit of a modern restaurateur.
