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CUTTING COSTS: More delivery services are switching from minivans to motorcycles to save on fuel costs. Omar Shariff restaurant's waiter Bisheshwar Samekham (above), 24, doubles as a delivery boy for Curry Xpress. -- ST PHOTO: ASHLEIGH SIM
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BE PREPARED to pay more for hot meals served to your door.
A number of food-delivery services - having to cope with higher food and transport costs - have upped their delivery fees or menu prices, or both.
At a time when consumers are warming up to the food-delivery service, operators say they are trying to strike a delicate balance between coping with costs and keeping their dial-in customers.
A Straits Times check with 25 food-delivery services found that more than half have increased their menu prices by at least a dollar in the last few months. Five have also upped their delivery fees, while three have increased their minimum order amount.
Among the 'big three', only McDonald's has increased its delivery fee from $2 to $3. Pizza Hut does not charge for delivery while KFC is keeping its fee at $2. Both have raised their menu prices.
Two months ago, Sarpino's Pizzeria raised prices by $2 to $3. Manager Ang Leong Kee, 44, blames rising food and transport costs for its move. He said: 'We don't charge delivery fees. If we charge now, customers will be unhappy.'
Indeed, many of those offering free delivery prefer to adjust the food prices. But some are looking at charging a delivery fee.
Mr Allan Kang, 44, director of Pizza de France, is considering delivery charges of $1 to $2 for areas in Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) zones. He said: 'In the past, we only need to pay once to enter the Orchard area. Now, we have to pay three to four times per trip.'
Fig & Olive, which serves Mediterranean food, will keep prices constant but has raised the minimum order from $100 to $200 to deal with rising fuel costs, said area manager Sofhian Mohd, 32.
Dabao.sg, which delivers local fare, also doubled minimum orders from $30 to $60 for deliveries to Pasir Ris and Tuas. But owner Max Lim, 30, said orders from these places have become almost non-existent as residential orders rarely reach such a big amount.
Still others look for other ways to cut costs.
Mr Kesab Limbu, 36, manager of Curry Xpress, said it will purchase more motorbikes for deliveries as they are more fuel-frugal.
Japanese chain Sakae Sushi is looking at switching to cheaper biofuel to run its fleet of five vans and 34 motorcycles.
As for Western food restaurant Eatzi Gourmet, manager Jason Ong, 31, said it 'encourages customers to collect their items at our outlets so that both parties can save some costs'. It raised delivery fees from $5 to $8 this month.
For now, many customers seem willing to pay more for convenience. Some providers say calls for their home-delivery service have increased by up to 50 per cent.
At Ponggol Seafood Restaurant, manager Ting Cheng Ping, 45, said it received 30 per cent more calls for home deliveries this year, compared to last year, despite menu prices going up by 5 to 8 per cent this year. 'When there's no transport at night and people feel hungry, they can just call.'
Mr Kesab Limbu, who also manages Indian restaurant Omar Shariff, agreed, adding that customers take into account costs like ERP and parking fees when going out to buy food. The restaurant's home- delivery orders have risen by 50 per cent over the last three years.
Insurance agent Luke Ng, 31, who orders food from Daobao.sg and McDonald's said driving to his favourite eating places would cost at least $4 to $5 - comparable to what he pays for deliveries.
But not everyone is happy with the price hikes. Student Helen Loh, 20, used to call for deliveries once a week but now limits it to once every fortnight. 'I have to pay about $20 to $30 for two people for each delivery. It's cheaper to eat out,' she said.
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