by alex webblondon restaurateurs call them helmet heads the food delivery couriers who congregate in eatery doorways as they await an order their moped or bicycle perched on the adjacent curbin the us they work for uber technologies inc grubhub or postmates the uk has deliveroo as well as uber eats germany has foodora each firm increases tension in the restaurant industry because the rise of appbased meal ordering is exerting substantial pressure on venues bottom linethis creates a substantial challenge as it prepares an initial public offering uber may have to pare its take from restaurants while assuring wouldbe stock investors it has a path to profitability that doesnt augur well for its own longterm prospects advt the growth of uber eats is a story that the san franciscobased firm is eager to recount chief executive officer dara khosrowshahi sees his food business as proof that his firm will ultimately be so much more than just a ridehailing company but the last mile delivery service for any number of products so far the performance has been overwhelmingly positive uber eats revenue jumped almost threefold to 15 billion last year faster than the companywide 42 percent growth ratebut theres a lot for restaurants not to like about the arrangementsure thirdparty delivery services such as uber eats and deliveroo are useful for driving growth thats helpful if you have outside investors but they can be very bad for profitswiggyuber eats deal hits bumpcops summon swiggy zomato and uber eats officialsuber eats india likely to end up on swiggys plate for one people ordering food are less likely to buy drinks alcoholic or otherwise than if they eat in a restaurant because it takes less time to open and pour a bottle than it does to cook almost any dish beverages on the whole require lower labor costs and offer higher margins with each beverageless order restaurants sacrifice a lucrative piece of their businessthen there are the commissions on the delivery these can reach 35 percent of the order value according to merger consultant dealroomco advt proprietors are also concerned about the potential for damage to their reputation according to bob goldin cofounder of food industry strategy consultant pentallect inc the moment they hand an order over to a courier they lose all control over the condition in which the food arrives at its destination yet its the restaurant thats usually suffers any blowbacktheres also something amiss with ubers sales pitch the service is supposed to help kitchens work at full capacity in fallow periods but peak order times are also usually peak periods of demand to eat onsite the logical solution would be for a restaurant to reject orders when it doesnt have the capacity but if it does so it risks getting pushed down the rankings in search results deliveroo and rivals have similar policies making it less likely to get new businessif the food industry starts deciding that the growth prospects arent enough to offset the margin