Postmates Integration: Has anyone used it yet?

[TakeNBakePizza]

Has anyone used the Postmates delivery Integration yet?  I'm a little nervous about it and want to see if people have had success

[Helen]

Hey @TakeNBakePizza! The Postmates Delivery integration is pretty new so we haven't heard from anyone yet. Is there anything specific you're not sure about or concerned about so I can keep an eye out for you?

[TakeNBakePizza]

Just worried that customer orders won't be picked up for delivery on time and I'll be stuck trying to figure it out.  May try a test order before advertising the service is there

[Helen]

I see! Yep I think testing it or making it clear to your customers that you're testing it is a great idea. Postmates Delivery has a support center here and if needed you can also contact their support team here. 

[ndb_bakery]

No, I'm concerned that my area is not serviced, we are on the urban growth boundary just at the edge of our County.... so I'm surprised this would be offered. I emailed Postmates but have yet to hear back. I may submit an inquiry to Squre... or just test it out like another person recommended and doing a test run and letting my customers know. 

Let me know how it works for you!

I just saw the thing pop up when I logged in I had to do a search under the FAQ for the price rates for the mileage radius. I wish Square would have sent out a more in depth notification with all the details and how to use it.

[kellyj]

@ndb_bakery

We totally hear you. Pricing rates/mileage radius etc, are all serviced by Postmates. Square processes the card payments but the rest of the integration takes place on the Postmates side.

I'm happy to pass this feedback to the team though, but I do believe reaching out to Postmates directly is your best bet. They'll be able to give you specifics on the above information. Ultimately, we want this experience to be smooth. 

[TakeNBakePizza]

@kellyj 

I used it about 5 times now.  All but one delivery went smooth - the other the driver never picked it up (emailed postmates about this)

What I am concerned about however is that postmates steeply raised their prices about a week after we started with no warning (from $5 to $8 for short range and up to $17 for longer range so I now I am subsidizing the cost because I advertised rates that they didnt stick to.  Their price increase makes no sense since they are not processing the payments - I am doing that thru square.

At this point it doesn't look sustainable.  I'm losing money.

[ashc]

@TakeNBakePizza 

Thanks for surfacing your issues you're having with it. We will make the team aware of all of this. 

[ndb_bakery]

So, I attempted to sign up for Postmates through Square and received the tablet and the marketing materials they send you.

However, I cannot seem to get my questions answered in regards to delivery area. Postmates is of no help. Their directions did not match. I asked to cancel and return the equipment and heard from a rep weeks later... he asked my concerns I told him. Still no word.

I can not recommend Postmates to anyone.

[Joe]

Thanks for sharing your experience here, @ndb_bakery - goodness, so sorry to hear about this. Frustrating, indeed.

This may be worth flagging over to our Support Team. Most issues regarding third party integrations can be belayed from our side if the party in question in unresponsive. At the very least, we will try and do what we can to assist! 

[SteamieWeenie]

My Postmates pricing is higher (for the customer) than that of someone walking into the restaurant.  If I integrate Postmates with Square, is it possible to have two pricing tiers still? 

[nika]

Hi @SteamieWeenie! Like kellyj mentions on this thread, Postmates pricing is serviced by Postmates. You'll want to check in with them!

[SteamieWeenie]

I'm not asking about what Postmates charges me, I'm asking about what I charge the guest.  As is common practice, most businesses charge more for their products on Postmates to compensate for their (Postmates) commission.  Most businesses have two-tiered pricing.  For example, if someone walks into my business they can buy an item for $5.00.  If they get that same item from me on Postmates, I charge them $6.00 (to help offset Postmates cost).  So my question is regarding what I am charging.  If it (Square POS) just imports and syncs with Postmates, then it's going to charge what my prices are in my Square POS which is lower than what I charge on the Postmates platform.  So is pricing able to be controlled from the Postmates side so that two pricing tiers can exist?  Thanks

[TakeNBakePizza]

The integration doesn't put your business on Postmates App or website.  You use a web browser and log in to a website and all that shows up is your recent transactions.  You choose a transaction and then enter the customers name and address, and it quotes you a delivery price.   You confirm and a postmate shows up and picks up the order and then delivers it.  The customer still has to order from your site.

I know they added more integration in the new online store but I haven't messed with that but charging more for items doesn't make sense with this integration because Postmates charges you a flat rate (i.e. $8) to deliver the order whether it is 1 or 50 items.

You would cause yourself more headache than its worth to have two pricing tiers under this when you can just do it as a single item variable value service charge instead.

[Valentina]

Thanks for dropping by to add your insight around the Postmates integration, @TakeNBakePizza!

If you've still got questions about this, @SteamieWeenie, we recommend reaching out to Postmates directly. They'll be able to better clarify your pricing questions as they relate to the Postmates integration.

[Guerotaquero]

The integration of Postmates can be a bit daunting, in that every time you make a change or addition to your menu, you need to completely reload the menu, as well as adjust your pricing (I do hope you increase you pricing). I would not advocate anyone using Postmates as a delivery-only integration through your website, as there is zero assurance that your orders will be delivered properly, and no protection for you. If the driver decides to drop the bag on the curb in front of your customers’ house, they count that as a successful delivery. (Happened to us six times). If the driver doesn’t want to wait for a high rise customer to come and get their order, he can leave with the order, and keep it for himself! In both of these instances, we have had several claims rejected by Postmates. We turned off the delivery service option on our website. It sounded good, but it costed us over a thousand dollars last year.