There’s another hyper-local delivery platform coming in Nashville. Yes, another one!
TripDelivers launched in January as an alternative to the big-name, third-party platforms. In fact, the landing page for the company and app calls out a number of the practices well known in the industry like percentage fees for restaurants, menu markups (which are generally at behest of restaurants) and lack of transparency in the process.
Founder Robert McNulty said they wanted to do a few things differently. First, there is only a flat fee for restaurants after a $150 activation fee. Then, it’s $2 per order for members (a $100 subscription annually) or $3 for non-member restaurants. Customers similarly pay a flat fee of $2 or $3 for each delivery and are able to choose their driver.
The second key differentiator: Both fees go to the driver. Drivers also get their own “merchant account.” The idea is that drivers will earn a reputation for good or fast deliveries and customers will choose them for the next delivery. Under the model, drivers pay a monthly subscription of $35 for the “side hustle” package of up to 75 orders or $99 for the “pro driver” package with unlimited orders.
In marketing to drivers, the company boasts that this model means drivers are truly in control of their economic destiny. It also calls out per-order income of $5.50 per delivery on up to $7.50 for longer deliveries, plus tips.
It’s certainly a novel approach to entice drivers away from third-party platforms. So far, McNulty said they have about 100 drivers in the Nashville area. The long-term effects of recent winter weather have complicated things, he told local news station WKRN, but the company plans a broader marketing push in March.
When he spoke to WKRN, he said the company counted about 150 restaurant members in the broader Nashville area. The program also does grocery delivery under the same model.
It will be interesting to watch the idea of giving drivers more control over the process and their economics, but the question will be are they willing to pay for the ability.
