We’ve all been there: you order through your favorite delivery app, pay all the fees and tips, and wait for your delivery person to arrive. But when you go to retrieve your order, you realize your Coke or large fry was lost somewhere along the way.
It looks like DoorDash is taking new measures to prevent this exact situation. In a viral video with over 100,000 views, TikToker Mo (@mosidehustles2) explains some new DoorDash confirmation policies that might help prevent forgotten or lost food items—and keep blame off of the Dasher.
Are things changing at DoorDash?
“So this new thing that DoorDash is having us do—well, two new things that DoorDash is having us do,” DoorDash delivery driver Mo begins. She holds up an index finger, signifying the first of the two items.
“Take pictures of the receipts of—only some!—of the orders,” she says. “Aaaand… having the restaurant employees take everything out of the sealed bags and show us that everything’s in there.”
She pauses and then clarifies: “On only some of the orders!”
“I don’t know if this [policy] has always been there, but I did see this today,” Mo starts. The video cuts to a screenshot of the DoorDash app, showing a page with the heading: “Confirm items with staff before picking up this order.”
There’s a blurb on the page, stating that “Customers often report missing items” at the store Mo was at when she took the screenshot. The app then tells Dashers to “ask the staff to replace” any missing items they find. At the bottom of the page, there’s a button to press to “Confirm items with staff.”
The video cuts to another screenshot, showing a series of staff instructions: open bags, show each item to Dasher, replace any missing items, and reseal the bags. At the bottom of the page, there’s a button that reads, “There’s an issue,” which Mo points out.
Uh oh: there’s an issue
“Then, if you see down on the bottom there, it says ‘There’s an issue,’” Mo says, pointing at the button in the screenshot. “If you click on that, it brings up this screen.”
The screen in question reads: “There’s an issue—if the staff can’t open bags and confirm items, let us know why.” The two options for “why” include “Staff declined to open bags,” and “Can’t get staff attention.” Mo reads the page out loud and continues her commentary, gesturing at the two options.
“So, um, I would say click one of these—whichever one is happening to you—and then you won’t have to have the staff open the bag,” she advises. “I mean, if they’re refusing to do it, or you can’t get their attention, that’s one of the things that I would click.”
She adds that after submitting the complaint, the app notes that they’ve “recorded [it],” thanks users, and allows them to continue on with their delivery.
Why go through all this trouble to report it?
“That makes me feel better, because then, if I’m not just saying ‘Oh yeah, it’s in the bag!’ and then the customer says that it’s not in the bag, that’s on you,” she explains. “But if the staff does not want to open the bag, or you can’t get their attention, then it’s still on the restaurant. Which, it should be anyway, because they’re the ones who didn’t put it in the bag to begin with!”
Mo ends the video with a bright “bye!” and tells viewers to have a good day.
Consumers’ critiques in the comments
“Awesome,” one commenter responded. “I have had so much missing from my orders that DoorDash thinks I’m trying to scam them.” They pause their statement to insert a laughing-crying emoji. “If I paid 7-13 for an item I expect it to be in the bag!”
Other users shared similar stories.
“I actually stopped ordering using DoorDash just because I would ALWAYS be missing stuff,” another user stated. “And DoorDash started giving me hell like I was lying!”
Dashers speculate on the policy
On the other side, some Dashers speculated that the new policy was to prevent potential scammers.
“Could it be that DoorDash is making us check bags and taking pictures of receipts for only certain customers that have reported missing items repeatedly, and gotten free food from it?” a Dasher theorized.
Mo agreed with this take on the situation, but another user’s reply negated the theory.
“I’ve hardly ever reported missing items and I use door dash A LOT,” they said. “And my guy sent me a pic of a receipt the other day.”
Fast-food workers dash, too!
Lastly, fast-food workers weighed in. They mostly agreed that Dashers’ new policies are not a priority in quick service restaurants.
“We will not do that,” said a self-proclaimed Wendy’s employee. “We don’t get paid enough to do that.”
“Yeah as a fast food working this is crazy and we do NOT have time for all that,” another anonymous employee responded. Mo agreed that the policy unreasonable for fast workers.
“You don’t!!!” she replied.
@mosidehustles2 What do you do when the restaurant employees refused to open the sealed bags or you can’t get their attention? #doordash #mosidehustles #gigworker #doordasher ♬ original sound – Mo | Side Hustles
What’s up with the new DoorDash policy?
The DoorDash support website has a page on “Merchant to Dasher Pickup Verification,” where they lay out their methods for pickup verification. While it doesn’t mention taking photos of the receipt, it does require Dashers to scan a verification QR code. If the QR code fails, Dashers can also enter the verification number manually.
The Daily Dot couldn’t find any mention on the website of the new policy requiring employee item confirmation. However, a May 2024 article in the DoorDash for Merchants Learning Center recommends a similar practice.
“Ensuring that orders are double checked by your host or a staff member is good practice,” the article suggests. “They can also ask to view the Dashers phone to confirm the order ID, customers name, and ordered items to ensure the order is correct before leaving the store.”
Similar experiences across the net
While it was difficult to find official company recognition of the new policies Mo mentioned in the video, forums like Reddit were filled with complaints similar to the ones Mo presented in her video.
In October of 2023, several users posted to r/doordash_drivers asking why Dashers were suddenly being required to take photos of their receipts for orders.
“Has not happened to me yet, but several of other drivers in my area are telling me that it is now happening to them,” said one poster. “Some of them say they have good stats and have never had an issue, but they now have to take pictures of the receipt on the bag every time they pickup an order.”
Another Redditor recently posted on the subreddit r/doordash complaining about having staff confirm the items in their pickup. This is in part because they’ve been facing some pushback. The user said the first time they tried to follow through on this policy, employees refused until the manager got involved.
“I’ve been telling every single place that I have to this at to have the manager complain to DoorDash cause not a single one of us dashers wanna do this,” the user said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Mo via TikTok direct message and comment, and DoorDash via email.
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