# GrubHub CHANGED DELIVERY ETA TO BE SHORTER. Fighting app stacking by using scare tactics and lateness could lead to deactivation



## The Jax (Apr 17, 2018)

I have noticed this in the past 2 weeks that my delivery ETA has been much shorter on most deliveries. Almost similar now to the DoorDash model of hurry up or you are late.

I found this to be more of an advantage in some ways. If I am app stacking, I will know right away by the order placed time and "customer's original destination ETA" if I can make it by that time. If not, I will reject it after acceptance but before I pickup.

The GrubHub system will "technically" classify you as late, if the order goes smooth (such as ready when you arrive), up to 20 minutes late from the original ETA. However, that is ok. What YOU as the partner need to worry about is being VERY LATE. Very late, meaning after that window, gets your account flagged for lateness. If you get a lot of very late flags within a certain amount of time (depends on how many times in a day or week), you will be deactivated.

I feel GrubHub rolling back the times will hurt a lot of drivers that are not aware of this and will be deactivated. So I wanted to let everyone know.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

This has been the deal for awhile now. In fact, I've had to cancel a lot more orders while at the restaurant, due to long wait times. I use a 10 minute buffer/window just to be on the safe side, because you never know if some dumb person will fail to put in an apartment/unit number.


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## The Jax (Apr 17, 2018)

Uberdriver2710 said:


> This has been the deal for awhile now. In fact, I've had to cancel a lot more orders while at the restaurant, due to long wait times. I use a 10 minute buffer/window just to be on the safe side, because you never know if some dumb person will fail to put in an apartment/unit number.


Well I do not wait. If the order isn't ready, I expect to see it in two minutes and I let them know that. If they can't do it or promise then can and do not produce, I cancel.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

One time I spent over an hour just waiting in the Taco Bell drive through trying to pick up food and GrubHub called me to ask what was up, but I didn't get any sort of nastygram about a late delivery.

I hope GrubHub isn't copying the UberEats model of firing drivers due to incompetent restaurant staff.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

Trafficat said:


> I hope GrubHub isn't copying the UberEats model of firing drivers due to incompetent restaurant staff.


Just in case they do. Avoid problem restaurants.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Where is the ETA with Uber? I never see it. I prefer them to DD, but don’t have enough orders under my belt to make a final call. Idiotic/unreasonable time limits is one of the reasons I hated DD.


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

The Jax said:


> Well I do not wait. If the order isn't ready, I expect to see it in two minutes and I let them know that. If they can't do it or promise then can and do not produce, I cancel.


Doesn't that negatively affect your acceptance rate?


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

Grubhubflub said:


> Doesn't that negatively affect your acceptance rate?












Yes, but most of us don't care.


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> I prefer them to DD, but don’t have enough orders under my belt to make a final call.


What do you mean? How many orders do you need?


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## Alltel77 (Mar 3, 2019)

From my experience in my market 90% of the orders I accept either aren't ready at least a minimum 5-15 minutes until after Pick up time or the merchant says they never received the order. I end up declining after acceptance on nearly every other order. They need to stop sending orders out as soon as the customer places it and then want you at the restaurant within 10-15 for some huge order (customer receipt wise , not pay/tip). They have some new guarantee delivery time thing now and I don't see how they aren't losing hundreds of thousands of dollars on that because it's automatic credit of some sort if the delivery isn't on time and none of mine ever are.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Grubhubflub said:


> What do you mean? How many orders do you need?


I mean I only have 20 deliveries with UE. I have 200 with DD. With my new single-digit AR, that means I’ve seen a LOT more offers from DD.

All in all, I was happy with every one of those 20, even when the tip was iffy. I wasn’t neccessarily happy with many of the DD ones.

But pings on UE here are few and far between. I’m going to do only UE for a week and see what I end up with. Probably next week. I’m out of town on Mon/Tue. But the remainder will just stick to UE.

DD makes me feel like a squirrel in a wheel. Constantly rushing around for $5 max tips.

I’ve also noticed UE customers tend to be nicer.

I can’t shake the feeling that DD _encourages_ customers to tip low. The difference is really *really* that big. UE is pretty much double.


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> I mean I only have 20 deliveries with UE. I have 200 with DD. With my new single-digit AR, that means I’ve seen a LOT more offers from DD.
> 
> All in all, I was happy with every one of those 20, even when the tip was iffy. I wasn’t neccessarily happy with many of the DD ones.
> 
> ...


That's awful. Aren't there any other delivery companies in your market?


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## The Jax (Apr 17, 2018)

Grubhubflub said:


> Doesn't that negatively affect your acceptance rate?


It absolutely does but I never work on a block so I couldn't care less what my acceptance rate is, to a point. I take so many deliveries in a 10 to 14 hour period that a few rejected isn't going to draw too much attention. I am not like that one DoorDash driver on here who posted awhile ago about being deactivated for having an average of a 4% acceptance. 🤷‍♂️ Why are you even out delivering? LOL


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

The Jax said:


> I am not like that one DoorDash driver on here who posted awhile ago about being deactivated for having an average of a 4% acceptance. 🤷‍♂️ Why are you even out delivering? LOL


We deliver to make money, bro. Not to be taken advantage of by delivering 10 or 12 miles for $5. But now that you mention it, I think GrubHub will deactivate you for having an average acceptance rate below 10% as well. I think that might be why I got suspended.


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## The Jax (Apr 17, 2018)

Grubhubflub said:


> We deliver to make money, bro. Not to be taken advantage of by delivering 10 or 12 miles for $5. But now that you mention it, I think GrubHub will deactivate you for having an average acceptance rate below 10% as well. I think that might be why I got suspended.


I don't know what you want me to say here. Yes I get trash offers all the time but my acceptance rate never gets that low. If your acceptance rate is 10% or less on a given day then either the delivery partner is being too greedy with cherry picking and only takes really high offers or the partner needs to change and move to a different area to work. For example, if I work deep in New Jack City where the burnt down houses are and people standing in the street all the time trying to sell you something that is not newspaper or bottle water, I would typically get trash offers all the time.


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## PepeLePiu (Feb 3, 2017)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> Where is the ETA with Uber? I never see it. I prefer them to DD, but don’t have enough orders under my belt to make a final call. Idiotic/unreasonable time limits is one of the reasons I hated DD.


The ETA is included on the time to complete when you receive the order. The timer starts when you get the order.


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## jjminor82 (Oct 25, 2019)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> I mean I only have 20 deliveries with UE. I have 200 with DD. With my new single-digit AR, that means I’ve seen a LOT more offers from DD.
> 
> All in all, I was happy with every one of those 20, even when the tip was iffy. I wasn’t neccessarily happy with many of the DD ones.
> 
> ...


And to answer your original question I have never found a way to see what time the customer is supposed to receive the food. And I have about 4000 to 5000 deliveries on Uber. GrubHub and DoorDash show you however Uber does not.


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## reesicup0815 (Oct 20, 2021)

The Jax said:


> I have noticed this in the past 2 weeks that my delivery ETA has been much shorter on most deliveries. Almost similar now to the DoorDash model of hurry up or you are late.
> 
> I found this to be more of an advantage in some ways. If I am app stacking, I will know right away by the order placed time and "customer's original destination ETA" if I can make it by that time. If not, I will reject it after acceptance but before I pickup.
> 
> ...



That 20 min time window is not correct, at least in my experience. GrubHub deactivated me in Sept for supposedly "late deliveries" on a single Saturday; 9 out of 20 deliveries completed were supposedly "substantially late." But every single one of those deliveries (except 1) was completed within 33 minutes or less from the time I accepted the orders (and many of these were 8+ miles away). Most of the original ETAs were unrealistic/unattainable (ex. 16 min, for a 9.5 mile order) yet I still managed to complete each within 8-14 minutes of the original ETA given to customer. It started as a temp suspension and then they just terminated my contract. I had received a similar temp suspension twice before (so maybe it was like a 3 strike thing) but both of those times I responded by asking which orders were supposedly significantly late?! Because none of my deliveries were ever more than 10-15 min beyond the original ETA, unless it was the fault of the restaurant. I submitted many many requests about what was the criteria for late deliveries and if they could check if a mistake was made becauses according to my record keeping of my deliveries, i simply did not have any significantly late deliveries!!! I think the app was not working properly and was not updating the ETA or something? But even then, 5-15 minutes just doesn't add up to "significantly late". . . But it still happened regardless. Never got a response. Never got any answers.


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## reesicup0815 (Oct 20, 2021)

**Sorry, I didn't mean your time frame was WRONG, I just meant that it wasn't the case in MY situation.


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## Grubhubflub (Jun 16, 2018)

I figured that what's happening is if the order is missing any items Grubhub's just marking the order late so they can compensate the customer with that little $5 discount. So it's not that you were late, it's just that the customer wasn't satisfied.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

reesicup0815 said:


> Because none of my deliveries were ever more than 10-15 min beyond the original ETA, unless it was the fault of the restaurant.


When the restaurant is late with the order are you reporting it on the app? If you report it thru the app (simple and easy) it's not supposed to count against you. If you weren't reporting the "Order Not Ready" at the restaurant pick up time then most likely that caused you these problems.


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