Imagine you had a long workday and don’t want to cook. You order your favorite meal from Grubhub, but you find out they canceled the order.
What gives, Grubhub? Before you freak out too much, consider why the app would cancel an order and what you can do about it.
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Why Would Grubhub Cancel an Order?
Most Grubhub cancellations have to do with a restaurant. The merchant may be too busy to handle your order, or they might be closed even though they were listed as open. Grubhub might also cancel the order if the restaurant’s equipment is down and they can’t accept it.
Luckily, Grubhub will give you a refund if they have to cancel your order. It’s still annoying, but you don’t have to risk not getting what you paid for.
Why Grubhub Cancels Orders
Grubhub can cancel orders for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, the app will be the party canceling the order, but it might be you or the merchant.
Either way, here are some common reasons for order cancellations.
The Restaurant Is Closed
Sometimes, a restaurant will show up in the Grubhub app. You can place an order as normal, and a driver will accept the order. But the driver might get to the restaurant and see that the place is closed.
Restaurants might not always update their hours with Grubhub. They could easily forget to, so the driver could be the way that Grubhub learns of the change.
Maybe you tried to order food too early or late, and the restaurant now has shorter hours. As long as the driver doesn’t lie about the restaurant being closed, the app will cancel the order.
The Restaurant Is Too Busy
A restaurant might be open for business, but they could have a lot of customers to serve. They might have people eating in, or they could have a slew of orders from Grubhub and other delivery apps.
When your order comes in, the restaurant might accept it. But if they get a massive rush a few minutes later, the employees could decide to cancel the order.
Then, they might stop accepting Grubhub orders until the rush calms down. Of course, it’s hard to prepare for a rush, but it can still be annoying for you as a customer.
The Restaurant Is Out of Stock
Grubhub might also cancel your order if the restaurant can’t make your food. Maybe you ordered chicken strips, but the restaurant is out of that item. They can’t easily replace the item or make something else.
The easiest option for everyone is to cancel the order. Of course, it’s frustrating to learn that you can’t get the food you want.
But merchants might not have much of a choice. If they won’t get more stock until the next day, it can affect a lot of orders.
The Equipment Has Issues
After signing up to use Grubhub, restaurants receive special equipment to accept your payment. If that technology goes down, they might not be able to process your transaction.
They might still take orders in person or over the phone. So you could call and ask if the problem has to do with Grubhub, and you can order the food and pick it up yourself.
There’s No One to Deliver It
If you want to order food at night, consider that not many people drive for Grubhub very late. Without any drivers, there’s no way for you to get your food.
Grubhub might have to cancel the order if it can’t find a driver willing to accept your order. Keep that in mind before you order food, especially after 9 or 10 at night. You can also think about that before ordering food before 7 in the morning.
You Initiated the Cancellation
Of course, you may have the option to cancel your order. You’ll do this in the Grubhub app, and you will need to give a reason for your cancellation.
Then, it will prompt you to message with Grubhub customer service. Give more details regarding the order, and be as nice as you can.
Grubhub can process your request and change or cancel the order. That way, you can get the food you want, or you can get a refund.
Can You Get a Refund on Canceled Orders?
You should be able to get a refund on orders that you or Grubhub cancels. When the restaurant cancels, you should get a full refund.
If you need to cancel, you might have to pay a cancellation fee. The fee is between $5 and $10 depending on when you cancel and when the delivery time is.
How to Avoid Order Cancellations
Grubhub doesn’t like canceling orders because they could lose customers and merchants. So the app probably wants to do anything possible to avoid this.
As a customer, you can also do a few things to avoid cancellations or at least mitigate the risk of that happening. For one, you can avoid ordering during the lunch and dinner rushes. Sure, you’ll need to eat earlier or later, but you won’t have to worry about restaurants getting behind.
If you really need to eat during a busy time, consider scheduling your order ahead of time. Then, the restaurant can know to expect it, so they can make room for it in the schedule.
You might also want to avoid ordering super late at night or early in the morning. More Grubhub drivers are working during the day, so there’s a better chance someone will accept your order.
Finally, make sure to double-check your order before you place it. Then, you can make sure you ordered the correct items and that you included everything you want to eat. If you order with friends, have a second person look over the order to see if you missed something.
Why Do Grubhub Orders Get Canceled?
Grubhub can cancel orders for many reasons, such as the merchant being too busy. The restaurant might cancel orders if it can’t keep up with the requests coming in. But you might choose to cancel your order if you realize you don’t need the food. Be sure to review your order, and consider scheduling it to reduce the chances of a cancellation.