Wood-N-Tap

It has never been easier to get your favorite meals delivered straight to your door. For one TINA.org staffer on a recent afternoon, that meal was a grilled chicken sandwich from a local restaurant called Wood-N-Tap, which has 10 locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t until the staffer had completed his order on the restaurant’s website that he realized the total had increased almost $8 due to a hidden delivery fee.

After going back in the checkout process, the staffer discovered that Wood-N-Tap requires mobile users (such as himself) to click on a gray tab to expand an “order review” to see the $7.75 delivery fee. This is also where Wood-N-Tap discloses that delivery is provided by DoorDash, not by one of its delivery drivers.

Up until this point, the only indication of a hidden delivery charge came after the staffer clicked on “review and checkout” earlier in the process and the total went from $14.99 to $23.84. But there was no explanation for the increase and the new total did not appear on the final payment page unless you clicked on the order review tab.

Of note, this is not an issue for desktop users who have the order review already expanded for them.

Interestingly, it seems Wood-N-Tap doesn’t charge a delivery fee for first-time delivery orders. So if you’re a returning customer, as our staffer was, you may not be expecting anything to be different your next go-round.

Wood-N-Tap did not respond to a TINA.org request for comment.

A DoorDash spokesperson said the company has no control over how fees are disclosed on the Wood-N-Tap website.

The bottom line

Online food delivery has become a multibillion-dollar industry with the market only expected to grow in the next few years. But hidden delivery fees are nothing new. Consumers, including TINA.org staff, need to remember to closely review their online orders before completing their purchase.

Find more of our coverage on hidden delivery fees.