SkipTheDishes

SkipTheDishes Restaurant Services Inc. is a Canadian online restaurant ordering and food delivery company headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is a subsidiary of Just Eat.

SkipTheDishes
Subsidiary
IndustryOnline food ordering
Founded2012
FoundersJosh Simair
Jeff Adamson
Dan Simair
Chris Simair
Andrew Chau
HeadquartersWinnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Area served
Canada
Key people
Kevin Edwards (CEO)
Geoff Ryan (CPO)
Revenue C$312 million (2018)[1]
Number of employees
2,000
ParentJust Eat (2016–present)
Websiteskipthedishes.com

History

SkipTheDishes was founded in 2012 by brothers Josh and Chris Simair. At the time, Chris was living in Saskatchewan, Canada and working at Cameco Corporation as an IT Solutions Architect and Josh was living in London, UK and working with RBC as an Investment Banker. Each day, Josh and his colleagues worked long hours and often ordered food to their office from local restaurants. Josh began to recognize that there was an opportunity to help other working professionals gain time in their days by building out a more efficient online food ordering delivery network. Eventually, both resigned from their jobs and began working on the concept for SkipTheDishes. They launched the network in their home city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and eventually moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba to set up the tech company’s head office.

Founders

Between 2012 and 2014, three additional co-founders joined to help grow the startup. Another brother, Daniel Simair, joined, along with two friends from university - Jeff Adamson and Andrew Chau.

Investment

During the first few years of operations, the co-founders bootstrapped the company and raised a small round of seed capital from angel investors. Shortly after, the co-founders raised additional capital from private investors, as well as four prominent venture capital firms - Golden Venture Partners (Toronto, Ontario), Founder Collective (New York, New York), Felicis Ventures (Menlo Park, California), and FJ Labs (Cambridge, Massachusetts).

Geography

As the company scaled between 2013–2016, the co-founders launched SkipTheDishes in many Canadian cities, initially focusing on mid-market cities, including Burnaby, East Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Prince Albert, Grande Prairie, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Kitchener/Waterloo, and Ottawa, as well as US cities, including Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Omaha, and St. Louis.

Acquisition

In December 2016, SkipTheDishes was acquired by Just Eat for $200M. SkipTheDishes remained a subsidiary and separate brand from Just Eat, with its Canadian headquarters to stay in Winnipeg.[2] As of September 2018, Just Eat Canada redirects to SkipTheDishes.[3]

Growth and Expansion

Over the course of 2017, SkipTheDishes was recognized for its growth on a number of occasions. The company's founder was chosen as one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40.[4] Just Eat's CEO, Peter Plumb, reported significant increases in the company's Q3 - 2017 revenue, due to "strong growth in order numbers and the inclusion of SkipTheDishes business".[5]

In 2017, the company expanded its business model into new offerings other than food, starting with alcohol delivery in select markets.[6]

In March 2019, SkipTheDishes pulled out of the United States market. Their business and drivers were transferred to Grubhub.

Technology

SkipTheDishes' technology allows customers to order food online. Customers order through the SkipTheDishes website or mobile iOS and Android apps. They can pay for their orders online with a credit card or debit card, or in person with cash when their orders arrive. Restaurants receive orders on their integrated mobile apps, and couriers are allocated to orders through their integrated mobile apps. Customers can view the status of their orders through live updates on the app, and are given transparency into the location of their assigned courier through GPS tracking.

Restaurants and couriers can be reviewed by customers after they have received their orders. This helps to provide both feedback and transparency to the rest of the network about the efficiency and effectiveness of its stakeholders.

SkipTheDishes operates across Canada and in select markets in the United States. Since its founding in 2012, SkipTheDishes continues to advance the technological innovation required for building the future of food delivery, while being instrumental in helping to create a tech hub in the Canadian Prairies.[7]

Criticism

Like many companies involved in the sharing economy, SkipTheDishes has received criticism for its business practices. In March 2017, the company received negative publicity for its responses to a job candidate's question about compensation and benefits. As a follow up to the incident, Emily Norgang of the Canadian Labour Congress stated that "the most innovative aspect isn't the technology itself, but actually the expansion of this exploitative business model".[8] As of May 2020, SkipTheDishes has the lowest rating of F from the Better Business Bureau due to volume of unresolved complaints.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Just-Eat". Just Eat. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  2. Silcoff, Sean (December 15, 2016). "Winnipeg startup SkipTheDishes gobbled up by Britain's Just Eat". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  3. @JUSTEATca (September 4, 2018). "Hello Steve, We're joining with Skip the Dishes to provide you with even a better food ordering experience. You can order with them if you have not already. :)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. Cash, Martin (June 28, 2017). "Skip the Dishes co-founder named one of Canada's top young business innovators". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  5. Wood, Zoe (November 23, 2017). "Just Eat poised to enter FTSE 100 after value soars past Sainsbury's". The Guardian. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  6. Greenslade, Brittany (August 22, 2017). "Skip the Dishes testing out alcohol delivery in Winnipeg". Global News. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  7. Fischberg, Ben (April 4, 2017). "How Winnipeg focused on local strengths to create a tech hub in central Canada". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  8. Sparks, Riley (March 14, 2017). "Skip the Dishes apologizes for ducking questions on pay and benefits". National Observer. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  9. "SkipTheDishes Restaurant Services Inc. | Better Business Bureau® Profile". www.bbb.org. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
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