Panorama / Just Eat

[bainbrig]

Watched Panorama’s expose of fast-food in the UK, particularly JustEat.

Amazing disregard (by JustEat) for food hygiene regulations and allergen warnings.

Plus they take at least 14% off the restaurant per order.

Not a good company. Will others like me be avoiding them?

BB

[Rockrose]

No It’s not a ‘southern’ thing

[bainbrig]

Just Eat will push your restaurant to the top of their list, billing you as “Local Hero” - if you pay them several hundred pounds. And it doesn’t matter if you are scored ZERO on hygiene regulations - “not their problem”.

There are ethical middle-men, and there are borderline criminal middle-men.

[Rockrose]

What are they doing that is borderline criminal?

[bainbrig]

By, for example, promoting cockroach-infested kitchens as “Local Hero” because their owners paid hundreds of pounds.

Clear now?

[sherrardk]

Surely it’s up to the customer to check out the hygiene scores of the places they order from, it’s not Just Eat’s responsibility.

[wolf63]

I have used them and have no problem with using them again. I usually only order from places that I have been to in person and know what I like on the menu.

I don't like using the phone so ordering on the internet is fine.

I don't see the problem - it's a service that we have the option to use or not. The restaurants that are sub-standard will still be there.

It couldn't have been much of a surprise to anyone, surely, that dodgy take-aways exist.

[snags]

Only used them for resturants we order from ourselves when we can't get through direct due to crap mobile signal. Always quick, never had a problem.

[bainbrig]

Precisely Just Eat’s defence. Have they NO responsibility? And how can they push “Local Hero” status?

Their adverts don’t say “We’ll connect you to a local restaurant. If it’s maggoty, or you get ill with allergens, tough.”

No, they PURPORT to be doing you a service. They are not.

[Rockrose]

It is the restaurant that is responsible for cleanliness not just eat

[Rockrose]

Also it’s not criminal to do so, if the purchaser is that bothered about hygiene then can check out the ratings themselves

[retrocop]

You could dine out in a restaurant and have no idea the state of the kitchens.I saw the state of a couple of Indian restaurant kitchens at different times in Paddington, when waiting for the keyholders to attend, and I previously ate in those pig stys. You takes your chance.

[Jordyboy9]

I was told many years ago by people who are all dead now, so no way of proving this, they told me the whole side of princess street in edinburgh opposite princess street gardens, was rat infested,the hotel kitchens and restuarants,i am talking about late 40s early50s

[spathiphyllum]

Just eat have a responsibility to inform you if you're selecting a 1 rated hygiene over a 5, especially if they're promoting the worst hygiene simply because they pull the most ££. It's ethically wrong

[bainbrig]

Thank heavens for that reply, spathi - I was beginning to think I’d gone barmy.

Ethics! They still exist.

[ChillDoubt]

I honestly thought a work colleague was joking when she recently told me about this:

https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/latest/mcdelivery.html

No wonder we’re facing an obesity/sedentary time bomb!

[ummmm]

Burger King deliver as well.

I use Justeat for every takeaway I get (which is rare) and they display the hygiene rating. If a takeaway doesn't display a rating I wouldn't order from it.

[sue11]

I would not avoid Just Eat because they do not show hygiene ratings on their website, I agree that foremost it is not the responsibility of Just Eat. I think a good way forward is a voluntary agreement by business to show their ratings. Customers can investigate further themselves if they wish to.
Hygiene ratings are not as black and white as people assume they are, when they seem them listed on the council. A lower score does not always mean that the premises is rat or cockroach infested or even being run badly. The business is marked on a range of things, not just the food itself and if an inspector happens to walk in (it is always unannounced) when a new member of staff is working that is not fully up to speed on where the training records are, the premises can be marked down by the inspector. That happened to our business, we went down by 2 points because the staff member could not point out the store handbook or training records (staff received their training online). We immediately rectified the issue with all employees, but our score had already been marked down on the council website and it took another 3 months for it to be marked back up again to 5 stars. Therefore if a business has a low rating, the customer needs to do a bit more research first before taking a decision.
Also something to bear in mind. Some councils have started to charge for revisits if a premises wants to correct a low hygiene score. Whilst a council will always reject the idea that ratings may be lowered to ensure that money comes in from a re visit, it is an easy way to get the cash in. I spoke to an Environmental officer a couple of weeks ago, who emphatically denied that charging for re visits was a tax raising exercise, but then told me in the next sentence that they were cash strapped and really short of money.
As far as allergies are concerned, I do not think that anyone with a severe allergy should purchase from any business that does not display a list of allergens. We also give strict instructions to our staff never to try to advise on allergens, but to point the customer towards the allergen list displayed in the premises. You cannot expect all staff to be up to speed on allergens and a customer should not rely on information provided by a staff member. If a customer has not been given accurate information by being unable to check an allergen list, then why take a risk and purchase the food?

[bainbrig]

Sue says “ You cannot expect all staff to be up to speed on allergens and a customer should not rely on information provided by a staff member.”

What? Has no-one answering this question actually WATCHED the programme?

“Has this food got nuts in it?” “No.” “Are you sure?” “Yes.”

“Is there wheat in this dish?” “No.” “Are you sure?” “Yes.”

There was, of course, nuts and wheat in the food. Fatal to some.

Not sure where SueWorld is, but it ain’t round here.

[ummmm]

I watched it and the staff didn't have a clue. The serving staff shouldn't have that responsibility....they should be able to ask the kitchen staff and get an accurate answer.