[Spivak]

I mean it's not fraud to blame your suppliers for problems that are the supplier's fault. It doesn't magically mean you're representing them. My local grocery store was out of tempeh because the factory they buy it from shut down due to a COVID scare. It doesn't mean that I suddenly think my grocery store is speaking as the supplier.

[codysan]

It certainly feels like fraud if that so-called supplier never agreed to be a vendor in the first place. If the line to check out at the grocery store was 2 hours long, you wouldn't blame the company who packaged the tempeh. If a mobile food order takes 2 hours because it requires someone to act as a proxy for the customer, then the blame should fall on the middleman service.

[Spivak]

So I don’t really get the issue then. If my business is making custom computers and I buy parts from Microcenter then they’re my supplier whether there’s a business agreement or not. And telling my client that a part they asked for is sold out and so there will be a delay isn’t fraud.

It’s not at all my issue if my client is frustrated at Microcenter because of the delay and it’s not my job to protect their reputation so long as I’m truthful.

If my order is delayed because the driver is stuck at the restaurant waiting for my order because the restaurant hadn’t stated yet then that’s on them. Had I driven there myself I would be just as annoyed.

If my order is delayed because they can’t find a driver or there’s a problem with the ordering then that’s on the delivery company.

[codysan]

Apologies for the 2 day late reply, I forget to check my comments on HN far too often.

The issue isn't when a restaurant drags their feet with an order, it's when they don't know the order even exists until the courier shows up. So not only do you have to play a game of telephone with your delivery driver placing your order, but that order is only paid for & made once that driver get there.

None of this is clear from the apps I've used. There's no indication whether you're ordering from a restaurant that has a backend receiving orders in realtime or if it's a "place and pay" order. Customers will reasonably think the restaurant is to blame, when it could've very well been the fault of the driver.