Hundreds of restaurateurs are currently sending notices to Tan Biss to disconnect from the service, after it informed them of the increase in fees it charges them, which will take effect in early May.
Let Bite works in two ways with the restaurateurs: through sitting in the restaurant by the holder of the Give Bite card, or through deliveries.
The commission that restaurateurs pay for sitting in the place will increase from 6% to 7.5%, which means an increase of 25%. The commission that restaurateurs will pay for deliveries will increase from 10% to 12%, which means an increase of 20%. This price does not include the shipping fees paid by restaurateurs assisted by Let Bite couriers.
In a letter sent to restaurateurs, Tan Biss justified the increase in commissions on price increases and general price increases in the economy, but the restaurateurs do not accept the explanation, and moreover – they claim the cynical use that Tan Biss makes of its power in the market.
Hundreds of restaurateurs are banding together to protest against Tan Bite after receiving a notice of rising commissions. The problem is that most of them are captive clients, especially those located in office areas. pic.twitter.com/HOtmKVhFLP
– Michal Raz Chaimovitz | Michal Raz Haimovich (@gotomichal) March 24, 2022
“Hungry and tactless step”
Avi Haimov, who owns two Schnitzel Point branches in Tel Aviv, is one of the leaders in a protest calling on restaurateurs to disconnect from Ten Biss’ service. In a letter sent to the management of Let Bite, he slaps the company that “it is inconceivable that you chose to give us another bite in the profit line, which has already disappeared with all the coupon cutters around us.
He said, “It is not possible that while we are sweating and fighting to curb price increases, absorbing most of the inevitable price hikes, you are sitting in your office with air conditioning, coffee and cookies, pushing a button and getting richer by another 25%, just because you think you can afford it.
“We have become hostages. You call yourself our partners, but that’s not how partners behave. This is how Gobi Protection behaves. We strongly oppose (the increase in commissions) and expect a bite to come back from this so tactless and hungry step.”
The restaurateur Avi Haimov / Photo: Private photo
“Fragrances of a Cartel”
In a conversation with Globes, Haimov says: “High-tech has taken over low-tech. The restaurateurs are manual workers. After two difficult years, and after we suffer price increases because of the angular government decisions and because of the corona crisis and global troubles it brought, Tan Biss comes and decides to get rich on us in 25 %.
“If I, as an Acker restaurateur, open my menu tomorrow by 25%, I can also close the business, because customers will not come, and rightly so. We raise prices as little as possible in view of the increase in raw materials, Prices have no choice. ”
“The problem here is centralization. There is no free market here, and that’s how a company that is a monopoly or part of a duopoly operates,” says Haimov, who, like Shai Berman, chairman of the restaurateurs’ association, believes it is time to put Tan Biss in touch with restaurateurs.
He said, “Let Bite is a clearing company for all intents and purposes. It holds a wheel of hundreds of thousands of shekels for each restaurant, and it pays us regularly plus 60. It is a different kind of force, and I have no guarantees about the money. “Hundreds of restaurants will collapse in one day. There are aromas of a cartel here, and the involvement of the Supervisor of Banks is required.”
Will Walt and Cebus join?
Haimov fears that after giving a bite, both Walt and Cebus will join the wave of commission increases. “The sword has been raised, and we are afraid,” he says. “My hope is that upside down they will know how to leverage the situation and cultivate the relationship with the restaurateurs.”
Haimov himself joined Walt only recently. “I was one of the restaurateurs who struggled with a model that cut almost 30% of the price of a dish. But Walt has grown to the dimensions that today as a restaurateur I understand that if I am not there, I do not exist.”
As expected, the rise in the price of raw materials and now the rise in commission of Let Bite will eventually be passed on to the consumer. “The victims are the restaurateurs and the consumers,” says Haimov. “If my business is too expensive, it hurts the economic viability of its existence, and customers will come and blame me. We are pushed into a corner, and the result will be the construction of ghost kitchens (used only for deliveries), without supervision and control. The catering, and that is what enables the predatory conduct. “
If you are a captive in the hands of Let Bite – will restaurants at all be allowed to disengage From the service?
Haimov: “Hundreds of restaurateurs have already sent notices of the disconnection, and we are already beginning to feel the discomfort from the management of Tan Biss, who calls and explains her alleged reason for the increase in commissions. I say this increase needs to be removed before it grows further, “The concentration in the industry, this one and until then, I expect Bite Bite to return to it from the decision.”
Tan Biss responded: “We are in direct and ongoing contact with all the restaurateurs, and together we will continue to provide the best value for our customers. The update of commercial conditions is due to an increase in operating and development prices and the recruitment of manpower for company service expansion.”