The online ordering platform backs down from the restaurant-customer-facing ‘order processing fee’
Toast has rolled back its decision to add a 99-cent fee to all orders of more than $10, just a month after it announced the decision, which was immediately greeted with complaints from restaurant operators.
In a message to customers on its web site, the online ordering platform’s CEO Chris Comparato said, “After extensive discussions with many of you, we have made the decision to remove the $0.99 order processing fee from the new version of our digital ordering suite by the end of this week.
“While we had the best of intentions — to keep costs low for our customers — that is not how the change was perceived by some of you. We made the wrong decision and following a careful review, including the additional feedback we received, the fee will be removed from our Toast digital ordering channels.
“Each and every day at Toast we wake up focused on a single mission — to empower the restaurant community to delight your guests, do what you love, and thrive. Similar to how you run your restaurant, sometimes this involves making difficult decisions on whether to pass rising costs onto our community.”
He went on to say that Toast had not made any “broad-based price increases” in the past 12 years “despite significant investment in our platform.”
He also pointed out that the company had created a $35 million Restaurant Recovery Fund during the pandemic “that included millions of dollars in software relief for our customers.”
“Many of you selected Toast because of our commitment to transparency and focus on helping you take control of the guest relationship,” he continued. “You hold Toast to a high bar and we remain committed to meeting that expectation.”
He said going forward, as the company adds new capabilities to its services “we will adjust pricing thoughtfully to help fund product investments and unlock innovation that delivers value to help you thrive.”
Toasts’ move had been criticized for tacking on fees to restaurants’ customers without those restaurants’ consent.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
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