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Skip The Dishes adds controversial 'B.C. Fee' to food delivery orders

And now customers are responding with #boycottskipthedishes
skip-the-dishes
Skip The Dishes has started charging users a $0.99 "B.C. Fee" after the province put a 20 per cent cap on what they can charge the businesses they deliver from. File photo

Some Vancouverites are thinking of skipping Skip The Dishes after the food delivery company implemented a new $0.99 “B.C. Fee.”  

In an effort to bolster struggling bars and restaurants during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, in late December the B.C. government implemented temporary caps on fees charged to restaurants by food delivery companies. The order includes an initial 15 per cent cap as well as an additional cap of 5 per cent for other related fees associated with use of the service, such as online ordering and processing fees. 

One such company affected by these charge caps was Skip The Dishes, which seems to have found a work-around by charging the customer instead of the business.

This week, Skip The Dishes users in B.C. have been sharing screenshots of the extra $0.99 charge at the end of their bill. The charge was also accompanied by a short message from the company explaining the charge: “The province of British Columbia has temporarily capped the fees that Skip can charge local restaurants. To continue to provide you with the food you love from your favourite restaurants while providing learning opportunities for independently-contracted couriers, you will now see a charge added to all orders in B.C. until the order is lifted.”

Customers are not happy, with some calling for a boycott on the food delivery service: