McDonald’s Restaurants Will Soon Be Charged Penalties For Doing This

Have you ever wished that you, personally, could fine McDonald's for delivering your food late? If so, you'll be pleased to learn about DoorDash's new contract with Mickey D's: starting 2023, the delivery company will begin charging McDonald's extra fees for late orders.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, DoorDash recently renegotiated its contract with McDonald's, and will now be charging McDonald's a "late fee" for orders over four minutes late, with the "fees" coming out of McDonald's per-order earnings.

For more fast-food news, check out 8 Worst Fast-Food Burgers to Stay Away From Right Now.

Under the terms of its original contract with the burger chain, DoorDash collected a 15.5% commission on all delivery orders. With the new arrangement, the aggregator will be taking a smaller cut for on-time orders, but a larger cut for late orders.

The new "tiered rate system" will take effect next year, and institute a new base commission rate of 11.6%. That rate increases, incrementally, for "late" orders—any delivery more than four minutes late. Orders over seven minutes late, for example, will be charged a 17.6% commission.

The new contract also specifies a separate set of rates for orders from members of DoorDash's loyalty program, DashPass. DashPass orders now come with a base rate of 14.1%—and orders over seven minutes late will be subject to a hefty 20.1% commission.

Industry experts believe the new tiered rate system will be good for business at both McDonald's and DoorDash, increasing Mcdonald's overall take for delivery orders, and protecting DoorDash's margins from delay-related fees and refunds.

Third-party delivery apps have flourished during Covid, thanks to increased demand for off-premise dining. And even with the pandemic subsiding, delivery sales have continued to grow. In 2021, annual growth reached 17%—an impressive rate, considering growth had already reached record-breaking levels in 2020.