To view our updated restaurant credit policy for 2022, click here.

Grubhub for Restaurants is committed to working with our restaurant partners to create great experiences for our shared customers. To provide more transparency into how we resolve issues through our Care team, we’ve included the following policies and procedures.

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Please note: this list is subject to change, and is not exhaustive. Any questions or feedback regarding these policies and procedures can be discussed with Account Advisors and/or Restaurant Care. For the latest updates on Grubhub Restaurant Policies please log into your Grubhub for Restaurant account.

Confirming Orders

Restaurants that want to take orders should set themselves in Grubhub for Restaurants (GFR) to “start taking orders” through the Hours table. Once this is completed, restaurants will begin to receive orders. Restaurants should confirm incoming orders on GFR that they intend to prepare. When an order is confirmed, a notification is sent to the diner with the most up-to-date estimated time of arrival or ETA (Note: ETA is not automatically communicated to the Driver for Grubhub Delivery orders). If a restaurant is unable to take orders, they should set themselves to “stop taking orders” by navigating to the Hours tab in GFR.

Restaurants can learn about GFR order confirmation notifications here. For confirmations through fax and phone, please see details here. Grubhub strongly recommends managing orders via GFR as opposed to fax and phone, as restaurants can directly adjust or cancel orders, hide sold-out items, and stop taking orders if the restaurant gets busy without having to call Grubhub directly. Learn more on how to do this here.

Restaurants that are not set up for confirmation call: If an order is not confirmed by the restaurant within 25 minutes of the time that the order was placed, we will take the following actions:

• If the restaurant has had Grubhub orders in the past 24 hours but has not had any cancellations during that time, we will confirm the order on behalf of the restaurant. If the restaurant has had cancellations in the past 24 hours, we will cancel the order on the restaurant’s behalf.
• If the restaurant has not had any Grubhub orders in the past 24 hours, we will check the last order from the restaurant before that 24-hour window. If it was not canceled, we will confirm on the restaurant’s behalf. If it was canceled, we will cancel on the restaurant’s behalf.

Restaurants that are set up for confirmation call: If an order is not confirmed by the restaurant after 3 minutes, Grubhub will call the restaurant. If the order remains unconfirmed after the first call, Grubhub will attempt to call the restaurant again in 2 minutes. This process is repeated until the order reaches 15 minutes in an unconfirmed state.

• If the restaurant has had Grubhub orders in the past 24 hours but has not had any cancellations during that time, we will confirm the order on behalf of the restaurant. If the restaurant has had cancellations in the past 24 hours, we will cancel the order on the restaurant’s behalf.

If the restaurant has not had any orders in the past 24 hours, we will check the last order from the restaurant before that 24-hour window. If it was not canceled, we will confirm on the restaurant’s behalf. If it was canceled, we will cancel on the restaurant’s behalf.

Availability/Menus/Order Fulfillment

Restaurants are responsible for keeping their hours up-to-date:

• Restaurants should make sure to update their hours in GFR based on their availability to take orders from Grubhub. This includes creating modified hours for holidays or temporary closures. Grubhub’s system will close a restaurant 15 minutes before the scheduled closure to avoid any late driver pick-ups for delivery orders.
• If a restaurant is closed outside of the hours listed on Grubhub site, the restaurant is responsible for updating the hours to reflect any changes. Restaurants can update their own hours by logging into GFR (restaurants.grubhub.com/hours).

Restaurants are responsible for keeping their menu up-to-date:

• Restaurants should regularly audit their menus on Grubhub to ensure all information is accurate and up-to-date. Restaurants can update their menu through GFR to modify, add, or remove items as well as add modifiers per Grubhub’s menu guidelines. For assistance with large changes (over 5 items to be changed) restaurants can also reach out to the Menus Team at menus@grubhub.com. Restaurants are responsible for item availability, item descriptions, and item price.

Order adjustments, cancellations, upcharges, and remakes:

• If a restaurant is unable to fulfill an order or a part of an order due to an issue at the restaurant (menu issue, delivery staff unavailable, etc.), the restaurant should notify Care through GFR by selecting the appropriate cancellation or adjustment issue on the tablet. This should be completed within the first 10 minutes of receiving the order to make sure the diner is aware of any changes as soon as possible. Here is a link to the Learning Center regarding how to cancel an order: https://learn.grubhub.com/archives/basics/orders.
• Any upcharges needed for an order based on special instruction requests should be processed through GFR within 24 hours of the order being prepared so that the diner can be notified of the new order total.
• Delivery Partners are auto-assigned to orders by Grubhub. If an order has been prepared but requires remaking due to a late pickup, restaurants are empowered to remake an order and contact Grubhub for a credit.*

*Grubhub Delivery Only

Processing Orders for Grubhub Diners

Restaurants are responsible for preparing orders on time so that delivery partners may transport the order quickly and at the correct temperature. Once orders are ready, they should be marked “Ready for Pickup” for Grubhub Delivery Restaurants or “Out for Delivery” for Self-Delivery restaurants.

Restaurants are responsible for order accuracy. Please ensure that:

• All items are included in the order.
• Items are prepared correctly based on the restaurant’s menu items and modifiers. If special instructions are approved by the restaurant, items should be prepared accordingly.
• Order container(s) are sealed and packed per best practices before pickup
• Orders are given to the correct driver assigned to deliver the order.
• Orders remain in a temperature-appropriate location until the driver arrives to pick up the order.*

*Grubhub Delivery Only

Diner Refunds and Order Adjustments

Mistakes can happen — and when they do, Grubhub is here to support you and your diners. We understand that merchants work hard to prepare every order correctly, and our goal is to handle order issues fairly, efficiently, and transparently.

Sometimes customers experience problems with their orders. In those cases, Grubhub may issue a refund to the customer and apply an adjustment to your account — but only when the issue is within your control. When the issue isn’t your fault, Grubhub covers the cost of the refund.

When Merchant Funded Order Adjustments Apply 

Adjustments are issued on your behalf only for problems that your store can influence, such as:

• Missing items – An item listed on the receipt wasn’t included in the order.
  
• Incorrect preparation – The wrong size, ingredients, or quantity were provided.
  
• Food quality or safety concerns – Items were overcooked, undercooked, unsafe to eat, caused illness, or contained a foreign object.
  
• Incorrect or damaged orders – Orders were incorrect or damaged when handed off to a Grubhub Delivery Partner.
  
• Late or missing self-deliveries – If your store manages delivery and an order arrives more than 30 minutes late or not at all.

Grubhub covers the cost of diner refunds when the issue isn’t your fault, such as:

• A Grubhub Delivery Partner delivers late, to the wrong address, or damages the order.
  
• A Grubhub Delivery Partner doesn’t follow delivery instructions or fails to arrive.
  
• The customer made an ordering mistake, such as placing a duplicate order, choosing the wrong fulfillment option (pickup vs. delivery), or entering incorrect contact or address information.

How Grubhub Reviews Customer Refund Requests

When a customer reports an issue, our support teams evaluate a variety of factors including:

• The type of issue reported.
  
• Evidence from customers, delivery partners, and internal systems.
  
• Potential fraud indicators or patterns of misuse.
  

You can review adjustments anytime in your Grubhub for Merchants portal. To view adjustments:

1. Log in to your account at restaurant.grubhub.com.
2. Navigate to Financials  → Transactions.
3. Use the filters at the top of the page to select your desired date range and choose “Prepaid Order Adjustment.”
4. Click the hyperlink on the Order ID number to open the order details and review the adjustment information, including refund type and reason.

How to Dispute an Adjustment in Grubhub for Merchants

We’re here to help if a mistake occurs. If you feel your store wasn’t responsible for a refund, you can dispute the adjustment within 30 days. Filing early helps our team investigate quickly and get your funds back to you sooner. You may dispute as many adjustments as you believe were incorrectly attributed to your store. You can dispute adjustments directly through your Grubhub for Merchants account:

1. Log in to your account at restaurant.grubhub.com.
2. Navigate to Financials  → Transactions.
3. Filter by date range and select “Prepaid Order Adjustment.”
4. Locate the relevant order and click the Transaction ID to open order details.
5. Click “Dispute Adjustment.”
6. Provide details about why you believe the adjustment was made in error
7. Click Submit

Dispute by Phone or Email

You can also submit disputes by contacting the Merchant Care Team by email at restaurants@grubhub.com or by phone at (877) 799-0790. You can also reach out directly to your Account Advisor for assistance or questions. 

When disputing by phone or email, please include:

• Order number
• Order date
• Date of adjustment
• Reason for dispute

Our team will review your dispute as quickly as possible, and you’ll typically receive a resolution within about 24 hours.  You’ll be notified by email once a decision has been made, and if your dispute is approved, a credit will be automatically applied to your account.

When Grubhub Cannot Approve a Dispute

Disputes are generally denied when:

• The merchant did not confirm or fulfill the order
  
• The dispute involves non-Grubhub orders or add-ons
  
• A merchant-initiated cancellation occurred
  
• A prior refund or credit was already issued
  
• A self-delivery order was never delivered
  

Fraud Prevention and Protection

Grubhub protects your store with multi-layered fraud defense:

• Chargeback protection: Grubhub covers most chargeback costs; some service fees may be reflected in merchant costs.
  
• Fraud monitoring: Continuous review of customer payment and order patterns.
  
• Refund control: Frequent refund requesters may receive Grubhub credit instead of merchant adjustments or no compensation at all.
  
• PIN verification: Customers with repeated missed deliveries must provide a PIN for handoff.
  
• Photo proof: Drop-off photos are required for all contactless deliveries.

If you suspect customer refund abuse, add “Suspected diner fraud” to your credit request notes or inform your Account Advisor.

Security Best Practices

To help safeguard your business:

• Limit admin access to trusted managers only. Create basic access accounts for other employees.
  
• Verify any caller claiming to be a Grubhub employee before sharing information. You can verify by calling us back on a phone number listed on our website.
  • Merchant Care: 877-799-0790
  • Account Advisor: Listed in your Grubhub for Merchants profile
    
• Report missing payouts promptly to your Account Advisor or Merchant Care.

Updated Restaurant Credit Policy

In order to better serve our restaurants, we’ve updated our credit policy. As of July 18, 2022, we’ve rolled out four big changes to our Restaurant Care Policy regarding order disputes:

• The refund dispute window has been extended from 7 days to 30 days.
• There is no longer a limit on the amount of refunded or discounted orders you can dispute in a single call or email. 
• There is no longer a cap on the total amount of credits that can be issued to your restaurant within a 30 day time period. 
• Listed below are the reasons a credit request would be denied:
  • Non-Grubhub drivers did not collect funds on a cash delivery order 
  • Restaurant did not confirm an order or an order failed
  • Request to credit for specific items that were not included in the original order, or non-Grubhub orders
  • Restaurant requested a cancellation on the order
  • Restaurant already approved a refund
  • Credit for a disputed order was already provided
  • A Self Delivery order was never delivered

For help with any disputes, please reach out to the Restaurant Care Team. To dispute over email, please include each order number, date of order, date of adjustment on order, and reason for dispute in an email to restaurantcare@grubhub.com.

Policy Change for Late Order Refund Disputes (Self-delivery orders only)

Starting Sept 24, 2024, Grubhub will be making an update to our refund dispute policy. Currently, if a customer requests to cancel a self-delivery order because it is 30-45 minutes late and is issued a refund, a merchant is able to dispute the refund. Moving forward, Grubhub will no longer assume responsibility for late order cancellations that are over 30 minutes past the delivery ETA, meaning the merchant will assume responsibility for the refund. Grubhub will continue to follow our Merchant Credit Policy for Grubhub Delivery orders. If you are interested in using Grubhub delivery or have any other questions please reach out to your Account Advisor to learn more.

These policies are subject to change at any time. For the most up-to-date policies please log into your Grubhub for Restaurant account.