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posted by chromas on Thursday July 04 2019, @01:20PM   Printer-friendly
from the fake-chews dept.

Grubhub says its contract allowed it to create fake restaurant websites

Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney has responded to reports that his company creates fake websites for its restaurant partners, claiming that, according to its contract agreements, these businesses have signed away permission for Grubhub to engage in the marketing tactic on their behalf. According to a partial Grubhub contract obtained by the Los Angeles Times, a provision states that Grubhub "may create, maintain and operate a microsite ("MS") and obtain the URL for such MS on restaurant's behalf."

Grubhub provided The Verge with a similar snippet. Grubhub charges varying tiers of commission fees[pdf], the highest being "marketing commission" at 20-plus percent. The contract does not explicitly specify whether these microsites are considered "marketing" or what exactly these microsites would look like. Crucially, the contract does not specify whether Grubhub microsites would use proprietary restaurant photos, logos, or domain names that sound similar to / compete with the business's actual site. (Disclosure: my parents own a restaurant business that is listed on Grubhub / Seamless.)

In New Food Economy's report last Friday, restaurant owners say they "never gave [Grubhub] permission" to create these microsites and say the company is intercepting customer's direct orders in an effort to charge high commission fees. It is, however, possible that this fine print was overlooked upon contract agreement.


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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Thursday July 04 2019, @02:57PM (8 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday July 04 2019, @02:57PM (#863128) Journal

    Thought grubhub was like github, and I could download stuff. No matter how many times I clicked the links, still couldn't download any of the grub. Might work better if there's a 3-D printer attached?

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  • (Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Thursday July 04 2019, @03:30PM (4 children)

    by Rupert Pupnick (7277) on Thursday July 04 2019, @03:30PM (#863135) Journal

    Wait for it... Quantum Teleportation!

    • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Thursday July 04 2019, @03:52PM (3 children)

      by RS3 (6367) on Thursday July 04 2019, @03:52PM (#863145)

      Or a replicator. You just download the quark map to the replicator. Just be sure to run it through malware scans, for obvious reasons.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 04 2019, @06:57PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 04 2019, @06:57PM (#863199)

        Just be sure to run it through malware scans, for obvious reasons.

        That brings new meaning to older dishes, such as 'shit on a shingle'.

        • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Thursday July 04 2019, @07:26PM

          by RS3 (6367) on Thursday July 04 2019, @07:26PM (#863210)

          IIRC Denobulans like the literal version.

          But otherwise, yes, colloquialisms and slang could get you into trouble.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @03:26AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @03:26AM (#863344)

        Food is one thing, but don't you dare download a car!

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 04 2019, @08:15PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 04 2019, @08:15PM (#863223)

    No matter how many times I clicked the links, still couldn't download any of the grub.

    Knowing that you're none too bright, and that you have no sense of humor, I know that you're not joking.

    But don't worry, either one of your clicks will strike gold or one of your white supremest friends will bring you something to eat.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 04 2019, @08:35PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 04 2019, @08:35PM (#863229)

      You are outnumbered 4:1 without counting GP. You missed the side discussion following the comment.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 04 2019, @11:38PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 04 2019, @11:38PM (#863286)

        You are outnumbered 4:1 without counting GP.

        Oh yeah? Well, I'm a lotta things.