GREEN BAY - Several Green Bay-area restaurants are warning customers about the unreliability of a California-based food delivery service that listed them as partners without their permission.

In the last month, several restaurants have warned customers about DoorDash after learning the company listed them as food-delivery partners without letting managers know or signing contracts to cover delivery service.

Vintage Cantina and Kavarna Coffeehouse both have taken to Facebook to let customers know they’re not affiliated with DoorDash and not to use it to place an order. Galley 57 Supper Club also said it had been listed without its permission.

Tucson’s Southwest Bar and Grill general manager Steve Paustenbach found out the east-side restaurant was on DoorDash’s list of affiliated restaurants after a frustrated customer called wondering about an order that she'd placed through DoorDash.

Tucson's staff had taken the order by phone and watched it sit on the carryout shelf for 45 minutes, but no one ever came to pick up the order.

DoorDash's critics say that underscores a fundamental flaw in the company's service. DoorDash bills the customer for the order, and the delivery driver is expected pay the restaurant for the food. When the order isn't picked up, both the customer and the business lose money.

Alex Galt, co-owner of Kavarna Coffeehouse, said he's heard that other restaurants have had similar problems with orders not being picked up.

In addition, the company uses restaurants' logos and menus without permission, suggesting an affiliation that doesn't exist.

"One of the things that bothered me most was I’ve been contacted by Grub Hub and Uber Eats. They truly partner with you. There’s a cost associated with it, and it’s more than I was comfortable with,” said Paustenbach, who doesn't use a delivery service. “A company like DoorDash, they took my menu, took my logo and put it on their site like I was affiliated with them.”

He said he contacted the company and asked them to remove his business and logo, which it did.

The complaints about DoorDash come as the food delivery industry is making significant inroads into the Green Bay market.

Uber Eats, GrubHub and EatStreet all rolled out their restaurant delivery services in Green Bay this year. Each signs contracts with local and national restaurants to deliver to your front door.

Since its late October entrance to Green Bay, EatStreet has connected with 60 restaurants (including multiple locations of a franchise) and CEO Matt Howard sees room to work with 80 to 100 unique restaurants in Green Bay.

Howard said the Madison-based company also is working on introducing residents to expanded delivery options.

"A lot of people haven’t experienced a delivery-focused culture before. We’re just trying to make them aware of it and, frankly, we want to make sure there isn’t confusion," Howard said.

RELATED:Uber Eats food delivery service arrives in Green Bay, Appleton areas

Howard said consumers can look for indicators of a business partnership, such as window signs and in-restaurant coupon cards, to be sure they'll get what they order.

"Part of our company's approach is to work closely with restaurants and make our presence known to customers," he said. "We want to make it known we're here to stay and making it easier for them to get the food they love delivered to them."

DoorDash experienced similar complaints when it started operating in major cities back in 2015. In a statement sent to USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin on Monday, the company said it removes restaurants not interested in participating.

"DoorDash launched 5 years ago with one goal — to help local businesses thrive by being their last-mile logistics partner. As a merchant-first company, we are constantly innovating and launching new products and features for our merchants," the statement read. "For the majority of our merchants, being on DoorDash offers not only an additional influx of customers and revenue but also presents an additional marketing opportunity. For those not interested in being on DoorDash for any reason, we immediately remove them from the platform upon their request."

Galt said the only contact he had with DoorDash officials was when he told them to remove the cafe from its list and that they were not interested in the service. He said Kavarna only works with GrubHub.

“Basically, if a customer places the order through the GrubHub app, they pay the same price as they would pay in the restaurant, which I like. Kavarna pays the fee to GrubHub, rather than us paying a delivery driver,” Galt said. “It’s a good mutually beneficial model, but this DoorDash thing scares me. It’s something I have zero control over, and I can see people getting upset with us. It takes the power out of our hands.”