MILWAUKEE — Uber Eats has removed Ian's Pizza Milwaukee's menu from its service after the restaurant publicly complained that the menu was placed on the service without Ian's permission.
The issue is the latest example of delivery companies uploading menus of restaurants to their services when they don't have a stated relationship. Uber Eats removed the menu after a social media post from Ian's went viral. Ian's also criticized Postmates for doing the same, and that menu appears to remain online.
The pizza restaurant wrote on social media Thursday that the action is taking income out of their delivery drivers' pockets. They add the services sometimes deliver on bikes so the pizzas, when they arrive at customers' doorsteps, are cold and prices jacked up.
The restaurant continues that they communicated with the companies for several hours via phone, and the companies told them it would take up to two weeks to remove Ian's menu from their services, according to Ian's.
Uber spokesperson Harry Hartfield said in a statement to TMJ4 News that Ian's menu has been taken down from Ubers' service. "There was an error in processing this request, and the menu has been taken down. We've reached out to the restaurant, and we sincerely apologize for the frustration this caused," according to the statement.
As of just before 6 p.m. Thursday, Ian's menu appears to no longer exist on Uber Eats. Ian's menu does remain on Postmates' service and appears on Grub Hub's service, but says it's closed.
The restaurant also said in an update that Uber has removed their menu from their service.
Regardless, Ian's encouraged customers to contact them directly for service.
The practice of delivery startups placing restaurants' on their services without consent is not a new controversy.
Yahoo News reportedlate last December that the practice of putting up listings from restaurants that have no relation with the delivery companies has been reported with Uber Eats, Grub Hub and Doordash, among other companies.
Uber Eats specifically had a limited access program for businesses that showed businesses the value of partnering with its platform, Yahoo News reports. It's unclear Thursday evening if Ian's Pizza received that promotion.
California is now cracking down on the practice. A newly enacted bill now requires third-party delivery platforms to have stated agreements in place with restaurants to deliver food, effective Jan. 1, 2021, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
No such law exists in Wisconsin as of yet.
