Question 1

Is this even legal?

Accepted Answer

Yes. It's your restaurant: you can sell direct on your own website and set different prices. Three things to get right. 1) Your delivery-app agreement. DoorDash says your delivery menu doesn't have to match in-store prices, but its Pickup terms say Pickup prices can't be higher than your in-store pickup prices. Read your own agreement for pricing or exclusivity terms before you change anything. 2) Consent. Collecting names, emails and phone numbers on your own orders is normal. Marketing texts need the customer's written permission first (FCC rules under the TCPA), and every marketing email needs a working unsubscribe (CAN-SPAM). 3) Reviews. Asking every guest for an honest review is fine. Paying or rewarding people for reviews, asking only happy guests, or posting fake reviews is not, under the FTC's rule on fake reviews (in effect since October 2024) and Google's review policy. This is general information, not legal advice.

Question 2

Cute website. Will this actually make me money?

Accepted Answer

It should earn its keep, or it isn't worth it. First, the honest part: we don't turn bad restaurants into ones with good reviews. We help good restaurants get the rating and recognition they already deserve. If your food is good, the money comes from three places: commission you keep on orders that come to you direct instead of through an app, more reviews and better visibility on Google, and calls that get answered instead of going to voicemail. Run your own delivery numbers in our calculator. For a real result, Kale's Hale in Kalihi got 171 new Google reviews in its first 30 days on our review tool, and went from 4.8★ to 4.9★. No guarantees: your food, your location and how hard you push direct ordering all matter.

Question 3

Why not just stay on DoorDash?

Accepted Answer

Stay on it if it brings you new customers. The problem is your regulars. Published delivery plans take 15–30% at DoorDash and 20–30% at Uber Eats, and the app keeps the customer relationship. Direct ordering gives the people who already love you a commission-free way to order: $0 per order to you, and no app upcharge for them. Use the apps to get found and direct ordering to keep the customers you've won.

Question 4

Do I have to cancel DoorDash or Uber Eats?

Accepted Answer

No. Plenty of restaurants run both. You decide how much to lean on the apps once you can see how many orders come direct.

Question 5

Will my customers actually order direct? Will I lose my app customers?

Accepted Answer

You won't lose anyone. App customers can keep using the app. Your regulars are the ones who switch, when ordering direct is easy and doesn't carry app markups or fees. They switch faster when you tell them: a card in every delivery bag, a QR code at the counter, a link on your Google profile. Not everyone will switch, and they don't need to for the math to work.

Question 6

What does it cost?

Accepted Answer

It depends on which services you pick, so we don't post a one-size price. You'll get a quote after a free 30-minute call, and you'll know the price before anything starts. Commission-free ordering means $0 per order in commission. The call itself costs nothing.

Question 7

What's the catch?

Accepted Answer

Three of them. First, it isn't free: you pay for the services you choose, quoted up front. Second, our direct ordering runs on SWIPEBY, an ordering platform we're an authorized partner of, and we may receive referral compensation from it. It's in our disclaimer. Third, we're selective. We don't turn bad restaurants into ones with good reviews. We help good restaurants get the rating and recognition they already deserve, so if the food or service isn't there yet, we'll say so. And it works best when you actually promote direct ordering to your regulars.

Question 8

I've been burned by marketing agencies before.

Accepted Answer

Fair. That's why you see the price and the written terms before we start. Judge us by numbers you can check yourself: your Google reviews, your direct orders, calls answered. Our case files show real client results and real client quotes, nothing invented.

Question 9

I don't have time for this.

Accepted Answer

Good, that's the point. We do the setup: website, ordering, review QR materials, social and phone answering, built around your hours and your menu. Most rescues are live within days of your call, not months. From you we need a 30-minute call, your menu and access to the accounts we're working on, and quick answers when we check something.

Question 10

What if it doesn't work?

Accepted Answer

Then you can stop, under the terms of your written service agreement. We aim to earn every month with numbers you can check.

Question 11

Is there a contract?

Accepted Answer

Each service you choose comes with a written service agreement that sets out what's included, the price and the terms. You see it before anything starts.

Question 12

Who owns my customer data?

Accepted Answer

On the delivery apps, the app keeps the customer relationship. A direct order gives you the customer's name, email and phone. How that data is handled is set out in your service agreement. You can use it for win-back emails, and for texts when customers have opted in.

Question 13

Why would this cost less than an agency?

Accepted Answer

We won't claim to be cheaper than every agency. What we can say: we're a small Honolulu team, a lot of the work runs on systems (the review QR, 24/7 phone answering, automated win-back emails) rather than billable hours, and there's no long-term retainer to lock you in. Compare our quote side by side.

Question 14

What makes you different from a mainland agency?

Accepted Answer

We're here. Our team lives and works in Hawaiʻi, and we eat at the places we rescue. A mainland agency runs your account from a dashboard. We've stood in your kind of kitchen during a Friday rush.

Question 15

We already use Google Business. What else is there?

Accepted Answer

Having a Google Business Profile is like owning a cape: it doesn't make you fly. Google ranks you on review velocity, photos, response rates and local signals. We turn a listing that just sits there into one that actively pulls customers in.

Question 16

Do you work with food trucks?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely: food trucks, cafés, bars, plate lunch spots and tour operators. If you feed or serve people in Hawaiʻi, this team was built for you. Food trucks arguably need visibility more than anyone, since your location changes.

Question 17

What if I already have a marketing person?

Accepted Answer

Even heroes team up. We work alongside in-house folks all the time. They keep the voice and the day-to-day, and we bring the tools they don't have: the review system, the 24/7 phone and commission-free ordering.

STRAIGHT ANSWERS FORSKEPTICAL OWNERS.