I think I was overcharged by them today. I ordered 85RMB worth of food from a restaurant within my area, and at the door the guy asked for 99.

If you add the 10% delivery fee, the total should come out to 93. What was the other 5.5?

I called and the woman who took my order said that there was another extra charge because my house was so far. 1) I'm on the map, and 2) this charge was never mentioned on the phone. Nor was I quoted a price.

I paid 99 because I wasn't sure about the policy, but the idea still bothers me. Is the "2nd delivery fee" always a strange number like 5.5? That doesn't make any sense. Am I being swindled by the delivery guy and the woman on the phone?

I've noticed this too! In the past, some drivers have mysteriously upped the price, while others ask for what I expect to be the total. If there is another hidden fee, it would be consistent. The other day, when I called the driver on it, he made a show of calling back to check, and then grudgingly said I was correct. I have also been short-changed in the past, so now I count change carefully.

I don't want to slag off Lazybones generally - I'm usually very happy with the service. In the past, if an order has been incorrect they are very gracious and do everything they can to rectify the problem, and the phone operators are very nice and patient. However, some of my friends have also complained about this problem with the drivers, so it seems to be relatively common.

Perhaps to combat this, the phone operators should quote you a price when you place your order, to avoid confusion later?

Sorry about the charges, I will look into this there shouldn't be phantom fees. If you are in a different section than the restaurant there should be a charge but it should always be the same 10 kuai. If you send us an e-mail at lazybones.asia@gmail.com and give me your phone number I will credit your number with the difference. Also if anybody else has this problem please e-mail us so that we can fix this situation. Again sorry.

Sincerely,

Lazy Bones

Just another example of employees trying to skim.

What about tipping?

Now, there's a sensitive issue. ;-)

This has happened to me a couple of times recently. I always ask for the price on the phone. The first time it happened, the guy asked for 5 kuai more than what I was told on the phone. I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt and decided the the girl made a mistake on the phone. But it did strike me as odd because I have ordered the exact thing a few times so I have a good idea of what the price should be. The next time it happened to me I was sure that it was probably common practice for them to try to get something extra. At the door, the guy asked for 60 kuai in Chinese. It was 5 kuai higher than what I was told on the phone. I repeated the price and gave him a puzzled look. I grabbed my phone to call the girl I had spoken to earlier but the guy stopped me and started pushing buttons on his phone. Then he said, "Oh it is actually 55. Sorry, I don't speak English very well." And I said "You told me the price in Chinese." Then, I stared at him as if to say "You mother fucker..." I paid him 55 all the while shaking my head and clucking disapprovingly. I considered calling Lazybones to report this but I was very hungry and as I ate I became less and less bothered by it. And by the time I was finished with the meal I couldn't be bothered to do anything. But, now, whenever I think about it, it annoys me.

given that most workers get about cny 3 kuai for an hour to make 1000 a month. if i were the guy/girl, i would get 5 if i could. :-p now, whether it is a proper thing to do? ahhahah
proper? whose? hahahahahah

I have to mention my experience a few days ago. Basically i paid what i thought was right, and the driver left. Five minutes later there was a knock at the door and the driver had returned. He basically thought he'd over-charged me and so was trying to give me back 5 Yuan. It turned out he hadn't, he'd just mis-calculated, but i was struck by his honesty. Also, i always tip them, and usually, they are very uncomfortable accepting it. Don't just assume they're all dishonest because they don't get paid much. If you work out exactly what it should be before it arrives and then think you've been over-charged, deal with it at that time. If you 'couldn't be bothered to do anything', then that's your own fault, and is contradictory to you feeling hard done by and annoyed by it 'whenever you think about it' isn't it?

For onomatopoeiaaah - - always good to get feminine viewpoint. Cheers - - JJ

What's feminine about it?