A Chick-fil-A customer was astounded by the total checkout cost of a meal she attempted to purchase via DoorDash. She shared her frustration in a viral TikTok post that’s accrued over 807,000 views as of Friday morning.
While some would debate whether a picture is really worth a thousand words, there’s a strong argument to be made that Farrah (@user.chickenminis), who uploaded the TikTok, is proving the old adage to be true. That’s because her post contains a singular screenshot of a DoorDash Chick-fil-A meal order.
She wanted a Maple Pepper Bacon Sandwich Meal and substituted the drink for a peach milkshake, and the standard-size waffle fries to a large. The grand total, with DoorDash delivery, was $21.47.
The lone image was accompanied by audio of a woman imploring “President Trump” over and over again for help, in what seems like a criticism of the current U.S. government administration.
Surging food prices
In 2021, inflation prices began to skyrocket, culminating in the highest ever rate of inflation growth the United States has ever experienced in 40 years (it all went down in June of 2022.) Throngs of Americans have expressed their fear and anxiety when it comes to shopping at what was traditionally considered “budget” or relatively low-cost supermarkets.
While food inflation has been well documented by the USDA, which states that both grocery store and food-away-from-home prices have shot upward in recent years, the American Institute of Economic Research and others have recorded a peculiar trend when it comes to fast food pricing: It’s significantly outpacing the average rate of inflation.
Some consumers, like this dad who spent $53 on a meal for his family of four at Taco Bell, stated that he didn’t think there was any way these types of price hikes were normal and chalked it up to corporate greed.
And while inflation can certainly account for the spike in the cost of fast food meals, there are other factors worth considering as well. One, as the irate Taco Bell dad mentioned above could be “corporate greed,” but also the fact that ordering through DoorDash also appends a premium charge to food.
DoorDash is no longer budget-friendly
The application states that it doesn’t stipulate businesses match the prices of its online menu items to the same as what they charge in-store. Some customers have ordered through the app and noticed that restaurants will often set DoorDash prices a bit higher when compared to the business’ native website to place an order.
The Daily Dot covered an instance where a KFC customer slammed both the chain and DoorDash after spending around $70 for a delivered order through the fried chicken chain. Numerous users who replied mentioned that they could’ve ordered online through KFC’s own website and paid much less.
Viewers weigh in
Numerous users who responded to Farrah’s video said the “grand total” she was pointing to in her TikTok wasn’t even all the charges she was going to pay.
“No one is talking about how that bill will go from 21.47$ to 35$ at the end ???” one said.
This fact seemed to anger another user who wrote, “Nah cause the way DoorDash and Uber eats already make their prices higher yet they still had taxes and a delivery fee.”
Others have found compromises when it comes to purchasing ready-made food. One wrote, “I settled for subway today… on the app it was only 14 compared to 24.”
But another TikToker seemed to find a simple solution to folks’ DoorDash ordering woes— stop using the application altogether: “Seriously I went to order door dash and I just deleted the app and drove to the place instead bc why is it that $$$.”
Some couldn’t seem to cut that cord, however, like this one person who spent a good amount of money on a pair of sweet treats: “2 cookies from Crumbl was $17 today.”
Whereas another wrote, “I bought my bf a small milkshake from chick fil a and it came out to $12.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Chick-fil-A and DoorDash via email and Farrah via TikTok comment.
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