Some take-out delivery services are starting to add a fuel surcharge, while others are just absorbing the additional costs.
Domino’s Pizza has encouraged its franchisees not to add a fuel surcharge. “Consumers have so many options,” says Tim McIntyre, a spokesman for the Ann Arbor-based company. “If people feel they are getting nickeled and dimed, they can go elsewhere.”
The delivery person isn’t absorbing the added cost of gasoline – the franchisee is. At Domino’s, every driver is reimbursed by the franchisee with a per-delivery rate, to pay for the cost of gasoline and wear and tear on the car.
“What we saw in 2008 when gasoline prices hit $4 a gallon, the owners implemented a sliding scale that went up to reimburse the drivers and then when gasoline prices came back down, the reimbursement came back down,” says Mr. McIntyre.
“The business strategy here is that as orders come in you try to encourage people to add on to the order, such as an order of chicken or a liter of beverage,” says McIntyre.
