Apps like DoorDash and UberEats grew in popularity during the early days of the pandemic, but more and more complaints have rolled in from both customers and drivers in the last few years as well.
Some of this boils down to customers not having a solid grasp on how things work from the Dasher’s side. Hoping to provide a better perspective, TikToker @poisonring, who works as a delivery driver herself, recently shared a series of dos and don’ts for customers to keep in mind when ordering through the service.
In the customer no-no’s section, she lists things like ordering food from a mall, or to a mall, pointing out how long it takes to park and walk through the whole building trying to find the correct location. Other behaviors that aren’t generally appreciated include asking to be texted after the food is dropped off (the app will notify customers), ordering ice cream (it will melt), and not tipping either in line with the travel distance required or at all.
“If you order drinks—I know this is a tough one to hear, because who doesn’t want to order a drink? Sometimes drinks come with meals. That’s fine. But I probably don’t like you as much,” she adds. “You want me to have to move my coffee, then put your drink, and it’s going to spill when I’m cutting corners? Nah.”
@poisonring #doordash #deliverydriver #dosanddonts #dasher ♬ original sound – bean
One thing @poisonring praises customers for doing is being specific about where their food should be delivered.
“Putting the exact coordinates as to where I should drop off your food, A1. Thank you,” she says in the clip. “Because half the time, I’m going into apartment complexes, and the location is just the apartment. But there’s 400 apartments, so which f*cking one are you?”
Some viewers expressed annoyance that the TikToker, like many DoorDashers, had the audacity to air complaints about her job. Gig economy workers in particular seem to have plenty of valid complaints these days, considering they are generally paid a minimal fee per job and frequently rely on tips—meaning that losing time on complicated orders where the tip doesn’t compensate them for that can be a huge hassle.
And other viewers understood that, agreeing with some of @poisonring’s points.
“I refuse to order food any farther than 4-5 miles away, specially when gas prices are up,” wrote one commenter.
“I work at an icecream shop and the AMOUNT of doordashes we get are insane and they complain it’s melted,” another confirmed. “JUST COME TO THE STORE WHY ARE YOU DOORDASHIN.”
“I feel u with the drinks tho ive had a dasher come in and ive had to give them like 8 drinks for an order and i felt AWFUL,” a third added.
On the flip side, one commenter wrote, “I always leave very specific instructions for where to leave the food, tip well, and say thank you, but half the time my instructions are ignored.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @poisonring via TikTok comment.
