Most restaurants today depend heavily on third-party delivery apps, so handling customer complaints on these platforms is now a core part of daily operations. Whether it’s a missing item, cold food, late delivery, or a mix-up between the restaurant and the driver, how restaurants respond can directly affect ratings, visibility, and repeat business.

This guide explains how restaurants handle customer complaints on third-party delivery apps, what happens behind the scenes, and how both customers and operators can navigate the process effectively.

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How complaints on third-party delivery apps typically work

When a customer has a problem with an order placed through a third-party delivery app (like Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, Deliveroo, etc.), the complaint usually follows this path:

1. Customer submits a complaint in the app

   • Marks the order as an issue (wrong, missing, late, cold, etc.).
   • Selects a reason from preset options and may add photos or comments.

2. Platform reviews and categorizes the complaint

   • Determines if it’s likely:
     • A restaurant issue (wrong item, undercooked food, missing items).
     • A delivery issue (late courier, spilled items, incomplete delivery).
     • A technical issue (order not received, glitch).

3. Platform takes initial action

   • Automatically issues refunds, credits, or partial adjustments in straightforward cases.
   • Flags more complex or frequent issues for manual review.

4. Restaurant receives notifications or chargebacks

   • The app may:
     • Notify the restaurant in its merchant dashboard.
     • Adjust payouts (deducting refunds/worked credits).
     • Add the incident to quality metrics or reliability scores.

5. Restaurant decides how to respond

   • Investigates the issue internally.
   • Updates order procedures if needed.
   • May respond via in-app tools, email, or phone support (depending on the platform).

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Common types of complaints and who handles what

Understanding the typical complaints on third-party delivery apps helps clarify how restaurants respond.

1. Missing or incorrect items

What customers experience:

• Missing sides or drinks.
• Wrong entree or toppings.
• Substitutions you didn’t approve.

How the platform handles it:

• Offers a quick-resolution flow: select “item missing/wrong item.”
• May grant:
  • Partial refund for specific items.
  • App credit for the missing item value.

How restaurants handle it:

• Review order tickets and prep logs to see if the item was actually made.
• Check packaging and labeling procedures:
  • Are bags sealed?
  • Are items checked against the receipt before handoff?
• Train staff on double-check protocols, often:
  • One person prepares.
  • Another person verifies items and marks them off.
• Dispute recurring or suspicious complaints:
  • Some restaurants appeal questionable claims to avoid unfair chargebacks.
• Update menu or app notes:
  • Clarify portion sizes, substitution policies, or standard toppings to reduce “wrong item” confusion.

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2. Cold food or poor quality on arrival

What customers experience:

• Food arrives lukewarm or soggy.
• Items feel stale or not freshly prepared.

How the platform handles it:

• Treats this as a quality issue, often shared between:
  • Restaurant (preparation, packaging).
  • Driver (delivery time, storage).
• May issue partial or full refunds depending on severity.

How restaurants handle it:

• Optimize packaging for delivery:
  • Use vented containers for fried foods to avoid sogginess.
  • Separate hot and cold items when possible.
• Adjust menu for delivery:
  • Remove items that don’t travel well.
  • Offer delivery-specific items designed to hold heat and texture.
• Improve holding and pickup processes:
  • Ensure orders aren’t sitting too long on counters before driver pickup.
  • Coordinate prep time with average driver arrival patterns.
• Monitor patterns:
  • If many complaints come from certain dayparts/locations, adjust staffing and cooking times.

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3. Late deliveries or long wait times

What customers experience:

• Order arrives far past the ETA.
• Delivery gets stuck in “in progress” or “out for delivery.”

How the platform handles it:

• Typically categorizes this as a logistics issue, not purely restaurant fault.
• May:
  • Compensate with credits or partial refund.
  • Flag drivers or route issues.
  • Adjust future ETA estimates for that restaurant.

How restaurants handle it:

• Control what they can control:
  • Accurate prep times (don’t mark orders “ready” too early).
  • Avoid accepting more orders than the kitchen can handle.
• Use order throttling (if available):
  • Limit the number of concurrent app orders during peak times.
• Communicate with the platform:
  • Report consistent driver shortages or delays.
  • Ask for adjustment to “prep time” settings in the admin dashboard.
• Update in-store processes:
  • Dedicated staff for delivery orders.
  • Clear pickup area for drivers to reduce waiting time.

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4. Orders not received or delivered to wrong address

What customers experience:

• App shows “delivered,” but nothing arrives.
• Order is delivered to another address or left in the wrong spot.

How the platform handles it:

• Treats this mainly as a courier issue.
• Often:
  • Refunds the order or issues app credit.
  • Reviews driver activity, GPS logs, and support messages.

How restaurants handle it:

• Verify handoff procedures:
  • Ensure orders are only given to verified drivers (proper app ID).
• Document handoffs when possible:
  • Some restaurants encourage drivers to show the order ID before pickup.
• Dispute losses if fault isn’t theirs:
  • Use merchant support to contest refunds when the order was prepared and properly handed off.

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5. Food safety complaints (illness or contamination)

What customers experience:

• Claiming food-related illness.
• Reporting foreign objects in food.
• Concern about undercooked or cross-contaminated items.

How the platform handles it:

• Treats these as high-priority safety issues.
• May:
  • Temporarily block specific menu items.
  • Request documentation or investigation.
  • Issue full refunds and safety-related follow-up.

How restaurants handle it:

• Immediately review food safety procedures:
  • Check prep logs, storage temperatures, and cooking temps.
• Investigate specific batches:
  • Identify whether the issue is tied to a particular ingredient, date, or shift.
• Document everything:
  • Keep detailed records to show compliance with food safety regulations.
• Communicate with the platform:
  • Provide evidence of proper handling.
  • Take corrective action (e.g., staff retraining, ingredient disposal) if needed.

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Behind the scenes: operational steps restaurants take

To handle customer complaints on third-party delivery apps effectively, restaurants develop structured workflows.

1. Monitoring reviews and complaint dashboards

Most apps provide merchant portals where restaurants can:

• See customer ratings and written feedback.
• Track cancellation and refund statistics.
• Identify top complaint categories (missing items, late orders, quality issues).

Restaurants often assign a manager or supervisor to:

• Check dashboards daily or weekly.
• Flag trends (e.g., “we’re seeing repeated missing sauce complaints”).
• Share insights with kitchen and front-of-house teams.

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2. Investigating individual complaints

Depending on severity, restaurants may:

• Review order details and timing.
• Ask staff involved what happened.
• Check camera footage (if available) for pickup issues.
• Compare customer claims with internal order and prep records.

This helps them decide whether to:

• Accept responsibility and adjust their process.
• Challenge or dispute certain complaints with the app.

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3. Communicating with third-party support

When restaurants feel a complaint was mishandled or unfairly charged back, they may:

• Contact merchant support via:
  • In-app chat or email.
  • Dedicated restaurant phone lines (varies by platform).
• Provide evidence:
  • Order tickets, timestamps, staff notes, photos.
• Request:
  • Reversal of chargebacks.
  • Clarification on policies.
  • Adjustment of preparation times or menu settings.

This doesn’t always guarantee a reversal, but consistent follow-up can reduce losses and refine how issues are attributed.

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4. Training staff on delivery-app expectations

Because delivery orders differ from dine-in, restaurants train staff to:

• Treat app orders with the same (or higher) accuracy as in-house orders.
• Use checklists:
  • Verify all components of combo meals, sauces, and drinks.
• Pack orders for travel:
  • Secure lids, seal bags, label special diets (gluten-free, nut-free).
• Understand complaint impact:
  • Explain how poor ratings can hurt visibility and revenue on third-party delivery apps.

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5. Updating menus and policies to prevent complaints

To reduce future issues, restaurants often:

• Refine menu descriptions:
  • Clear ingredients, spice levels, and portion sizes.
• Limit “high-risk” items:
  • Remove or modify dishes that frequently arrive poorly (e.g., crispy fries that always go soggy).
• Set realistic prep and delivery times:
  • Balance speed with quality and kitchen capacity.
• Use photos:
  • Adding accurate dish photos reduces misunderstandings and “this didn’t look like the picture” complaints.

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How complaints affect restaurant ratings and visibility

On most third-party delivery apps, complaints help shape:

• Star ratings and review scores
  • Visible ratings influence customer trust and order volume.
• Search ranking and featured placement
  • High-rated, reliable restaurants often appear higher in search results and category lists.
• Quality and reliability metrics
  • Apps track metrics like:
    • Order accuracy.
    • On-time preparation.
    • Order cancellation rates.

Consistent complaints can lead to:

• Lower ranking in search results.
• Reduced eligibility for promotions or “featured” spots.
• In extreme cases, temporary or permanent removal from the platform.

This is why many restaurants treat effective complaint handling as part of their overall customer acquisition and retention strategy.

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What customers can do to get better outcomes

If you’re a customer wondering how restaurants handle complaints—and how you can help resolve issues fairly—these steps help:

1. Report issues quickly in the app
   • Use the official complaint system; avoid only leaving a negative review without details.
2. Be specific and honest
   • Describe exactly what went wrong:
     • Which item was missing?
     • How late was the order?
     • Was it a driver or restaurant issue (if you can tell)?
3. Include photos when helpful
   • Especially for damaged items, incorrect items, or quality issues.
4. Differentiate restaurant vs. driver problems
   • Cold food after a long driver detour is often not the restaurant’s fault.
   • Wrong or missing items usually originate in the kitchen/packing process.
5. Use reviews responsibly
   • If the app already refunded or fixed the issue, mention that in your review to provide context.

This detailed feedback helps both the platform and the restaurant fix the root cause and handle customer complaints on third-party delivery apps more effectively.

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How restaurants build long-term strategies for complaint reduction

Beyond handling individual cases, many restaurants adopt long-term strategies:

• Data-driven improvements
  • Analyze complaint data by time of day, menu item, and platform.
• Platform-specific playbooks
  • Each app behaves differently; restaurants create internal guidelines tailored to:
    • Uber Eats vs. DoorDash vs. other platforms.
• Dedicated off-premise operations
  • Ghost kitchens or delivery-only lines with:
    • Separate prep stations.
    • Packaging optimized for travel.
• Proactive communication
  • Clear notes on expected prep times.
  • Menu updates for busy days or limited stock.
• Incentives for quality
  • Reward staff for hitting accuracy and complaint-reduction targets.

This kind of structured approach helps reduce the volume and severity of complaints, improving ratings and profitability across third-party apps.

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Key takeaways

• Most complaints start and are partly resolved within the delivery app itself, but restaurants feel the impact through ratings, refunds, and chargebacks.
• Restaurants handle customer complaints on third-party delivery apps by:
  • Monitoring feedback and metrics.
  • Investigating individual issues.
  • Adjusting operations (packing, menus, prep times).
  • Working with platform support when necessary.
• Complaints are not only about refunds—they directly affect:
  • Visibility in app search results.
  • Customer trust and repeat orders.
• Customers can improve outcomes by reporting issues accurately and distinguishing between restaurant and delivery errors.

As delivery continues to grow, restaurants that take complaint handling seriously—treating third-party apps as an extension of their dining room—are better positioned to protect their reputation and build loyal customers, even when things occasionally go wrong.