It seems to me that an app developer is well within their rights to charge a commission based on what the market demands. No one is forcing these restaurant owners to use their app service. The owners could always take the time to learn app development themselves:
Kim Seong-ah, a 27-year-old fashion designer, loved the idea of ordering food through an app without having to leave her couch.
But she had an unsatisfactory experience with one service six months ago. Her meal from the franchise Nene Chicken, one of the choices on the app she was using, was late and the portion was smaller than what she gets when she orders from the company directly by phone.
When Kim spoke to her friends and her brother, she discovered that they had had similar experiences. She found clues on why from various news articles, which reported that some merchants deliberately provide a poorer service for app users in order to make up for the losses incurred by the fees the platforms levy.
The country’s top three food-delivery apps – Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo and Baedaltong – charge restaurant owners between 2.5 percent to 12.5 percent of commission per order.
The flare-up over the app-based delivery system is the latest testament to the fact that advanced technology meant to increase convenience can cause unexpected consequences for different parties.
In this case, the controversy stems from the fact that the apps have come up with their own charges without seeking a fair agreement with users and restaurants, critics say. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read the rest at the link, but restaurant owners now want the Korean government to get involved to force a fair fee for the app developers’ services. If the customers keep getting poor products from app ordering then they will go back to using the telephone thus decreasing the demand for the app. This is what would naturally force the app developers to drop their prices without government intervention.
