Fix: High Delivery Fees For Out-of-Area Restaurants

Nov 5, 2025 by SLV Team 52 views

Hey guys! Let's dive into a common issue many users face with online food delivery apps: restaurants with crazy high delivery charges showing up even when they're way outside the delivery area. It's super frustrating, right? You're hungry, you open the app, and bam! You see all these places, but then you realize the delivery fee is more than your meal. We're going to break down this problem, why it happens, and what the expected behavior should be.

The Problem: Out-of-Area Restaurants Showing Up

So, what's the deal? Restaurants with high delivery charges are popping up in search results even when they're located far away from the user's address. This is a big no-no because it leads to a poor user experience. Imagine you're craving some delicious food and start browsing through your favorite delivery app. You see a restaurant that looks amazing, but then you notice the delivery fee is, like, double the price of the food itself. That's a major buzzkill!

This issue often arises because the app's algorithm isn't accurately filtering out restaurants based on delivery distance or fees. It might be displaying all restaurants within a certain radius, without considering the actual cost to get the food to your doorstep. This can happen due to a variety of factors, including:

Inaccurate distance calculations: The app might be miscalculating the distance between the restaurant and your location.
Lack of real-time delivery fee updates: Delivery fees can fluctuate based on factors like traffic, driver availability, and distance. If the app isn't updating these fees in real-time, you might see inaccurate charges.
Simple algorithm oversights: Sometimes, the algorithm just isn't programmed to properly exclude restaurants with excessively high delivery fees.

Example Scenario

Let's say you're using the Enatega app (as mentioned in the original issue). You set your delivery address, ready to order some grub. But then you see restaurants like "Farm Fresh - Wadi Halfa" listed, even though they're super far away. This results in high delivery charges that are totally unreasonable. It's not a good look for the app, and it definitely doesn't make you want to order from there.

Why This Matters: User Experience and Expectations

Why is this such a big deal? Well, it all boils down to user experience. When people use online food delivery apps, they expect a smooth and efficient process. They want to find restaurants that are actually viable options, not places that are technically available but practically inaccessible due to sky-high delivery fees.

Displaying out-of-area restaurants with high fees can lead to several negative consequences:

Frustration and annoyance: Users get annoyed when they see options that are clearly not suitable for them.
Wasted time: Browsing through irrelevant restaurants wastes users' time and makes the ordering process longer.
Negative perception of the app: If users consistently encounter this issue, they might start to view the app as unreliable or poorly designed.
Lost orders: Ultimately, if users are frustrated enough, they might abandon their order altogether and switch to a different app.

The Expected Behavior

So, what's the ideal solution? Restaurants that fall outside the delivery service area or have prohibitively high delivery fees due to distance should not be displayed in the list of available restaurants. This seems like a no-brainer, but it's crucial for a positive user experience. Here's what we should expect:

Accurate filtering: The app should accurately filter out restaurants based on delivery distance and fees.
Clear communication: If a restaurant is outside the delivery area, the app should clearly communicate this to the user, instead of just showing a high delivery fee.
Real-time fee calculations: The app should calculate delivery fees in real-time, taking into account factors like distance, traffic, and driver availability.

Reproducing the Issue: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you're experiencing this problem and want to report it or just see it in action, here's how you can reproduce the issue (based on the original bug report):

Open the Enatega app (or any food delivery app).
Set a delivery address that is relatively far from certain restaurants. This is key to triggering the issue.
Browse through the list of available restaurants.
Observe whether restaurants with high delivery charges or those located far away are still displayed in the search results.

The Delish Bites Co. Example

In the original example, setting a delivery address far from restaurants like "Delish Bites Co." caused them to still appear in the list, despite the likely high delivery costs. This is the kind of behavior we want to avoid.

The Tech Side: What's Happening Under the Hood?

Okay, so we know the what and the why. But what about the how? What's actually going on behind the scenes that causes this issue? While we can only speculate without access to the app's codebase, here are some potential technical reasons:

Geocoding inaccuracies: The app might be using an inaccurate geocoding service to determine the distance between the restaurant and the user's address. Geocoding is the process of converting addresses into geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude).
Distance calculation errors: Even if the geocoding is accurate, the app might be using an inefficient or incorrect algorithm to calculate the distance between two points. The haversine formula or the Vincenty formula are commonly used for this, but errors can still occur if they're not implemented correctly.
Database limitations: The app's database might not be properly indexed for location-based queries. This can lead to slow search performance and inaccurate results.
API integration issues: Food delivery apps often integrate with third-party APIs for services like mapping, delivery fee calculation, and order management. If there are issues with these integrations, it can lead to errors in displaying restaurants and calculating fees.

The Importance of Serviceable Areas

One key concept here is the idea of a serviceable area. Restaurants typically have a defined area within which they can reliably deliver food. This area is determined by factors like distance, traffic, and driver availability. The app should have a way to define and enforce these serviceable areas.

If a user's address falls outside a restaurant's serviceable area, that restaurant should not be displayed as an option. This is a fundamental requirement for a good user experience.

The Fix: How to Solve the Problem

So, how do we fix this pesky issue? Here are some potential solutions that developers can implement:

Implement accurate geocoding and distance calculations: Use a reliable geocoding service and a robust distance calculation algorithm (like the haversine or Vincenty formula). Make sure these are properly implemented and tested.
Define and enforce serviceable areas: Each restaurant should have a defined serviceable area, and the app should only display restaurants that fall within the user's delivery address.
Use real-time delivery fee calculations: Integrate with APIs that provide real-time delivery fee calculations, taking into account factors like distance, traffic, and driver availability.
Implement proper filtering: The app should have a robust filtering system that excludes restaurants based on distance and delivery fees.
Provide clear communication: If a restaurant is outside the delivery area or has high delivery charges, the app should clearly communicate this to the user.
Regularly test and monitor: Developers should regularly test the app's search functionality and monitor for issues like this. User feedback is also crucial for identifying and fixing problems.

User Reporting and Feedback

As users, we also play a role in fixing this issue. If you encounter this problem, be sure to report it to the app developers. Provide as much detail as possible, including:

Your delivery address.
The name of the restaurant that was displayed incorrectly.
The estimated delivery fee.
Any screenshots or other relevant information.

Conclusion: A Better Food Delivery Experience

The issue of restaurants with high delivery charges showing up outside the delivery area is a common but frustrating problem in online food delivery apps. By understanding the root causes and implementing the solutions discussed, we can create a much better user experience. Accurate filtering, real-time fee calculations, and clear communication are key to ensuring that users see only relevant and viable restaurant options. So, next time you're browsing for food, and you see a place with a crazy delivery fee, remember that this shouldn't be happening, and hopefully, the app developers are working on a fix!