Such orders result in unclaimed food and beverages, burdening the restaurant with the cost of unused products. This aspect of restaurant management can be particularly challenging, leading to not only financial loss due to wasted ingredients but also the unnecessary expenditure of staff time and effort.
Preventing hoax orders entirely is a complex issue. YUMBI is unable to outright block customers from placing orders online based on previous uncollected orders or false information. Similarly, preventing phone orders from suspected hoax customers is difficult, as they can simply use a different number or create a new online account.
Our data indicates that only a small fraction of collect orders are prepaid online. This trend reflects broader patterns in South Africa, where card payment utilization remains low compared to more developed countries, due to a combination of trust issues and limited access to banking services. While some international companies initially required online pre-payment, the inclusion of cash payments has been necessary to accommodate customer preferences and accessibility.
YUMBI incurs various costs in processing orders sent to restaurants. Similar to bank procedures where initial fees are not refunded for cancelled transactions, YUMBI maintains the transaction fee to cover these operational expenses, ensuring that restaurants receive their orders regardless of collection.