If you’ve doom-scrolled through enough DoorDash TikTok, you’ve probably come across a video or two from users on the platform who’ve showed stacks of forlorn orders left in food pickup purgatory. The reason the orders never got picked up? Folks who were purportedly stingy with their tips.
However, TikTok user and DoorDash driver hustlingandhurry responded to one of these clips with an upload of their own. In the video, hustlingandhurry states that the reason why they never picked up some orders, in this instance, McDonald’s, has less to do with the lack of a tip, and more of the protocol that the hamburger chain implements when preparing DoorDash orders for pick up.
@hustlingandhurry #doordash #doordashdriver #doordashtiktok #doordashorder #fyp #fypシ #viral #viralvideo #doordashpartner #oder #sidejob #sidehustle #grubhub #instacart #uber #ubereats ♬ original sound – hustlingandhurry
In the beginning of hustlingandhurry’s video, he stitches a clip from another TikTok video which shows a slew of pre-bagged McDonald’s orders. A woman narrating the video says that the orders are a graveyard of DoorDash requests that haven’t been picked up from delivery drivers because the customers who placed these orders didn’t pre-tip. She says in clip: “There’s a whole section dedicated to people who do not tip and their order just sits there and…”
At this point in hustlingandhurry’s own TikTok, the previous one cuts out, and they hop on to comment on the situation from the perspective of a DoorDash driver: “Hey I’m a former DoorDasher and I just wanted to add something to this. Picking up McDonald’s orders for DoorDash was never not a f*cking nightmare.”
Why was it such a terrible experience for the delivery driver? It all boils down to stickers, believe it or not. The driver says that because McDonald’s employees seal up the bag, they, as the delivery driver, aren’t able to ensure that all of the customer’s requests are honored, i.e. additional sauces, utensils, napkins, etc. And because they didn’t want to crack open the sticker and have the customer think that they were grabbing some road fries or generally fudging with the contents of their order, there was no way for them to check.
Additionally, hustlingandhurry says that the McDonald’s he would pick up from would always put beverages inside of the bag, which would often end up soaking the contents of the paper bag mid-delivery—culminating it a crumby food delivery experience for both the driver and the customer.
Since McDonald’s hasn’t implemented the lid-sealing machine that’s become the touchstone of bubble tea spots, pairing a drink with a traditional lid covering will almost always make for a frustrating delivery experience when the beverage is put inside of the paper bag with the rest of their order.
“They wanted the employees to sticker the bags shut so you actually weren’t able to check the order to make sure that it was all correct and that napkins and utensils were in there without breaking the seal and making the customer think that that you f*cked with their order,” hustlingandhurry explains.
“On top of that they would put the drinks inside of the paper bag with the food,” he continues. “So if the lid wasn’t on properly or if it wasn’t secure in the bag, it was going to spill and get the food wet inside of the bag. And you weren’t going to know until it started leaking out into your car. So no, I always declined McDonald’s orders anytime I was doing DoorDash deliveries.”
His post sparked a litany of different responses from users on the platform. One person said that they preferred McDonald’s bag-sealing protocol: “I love that they seal it. U don’t need to check my bag.”
And another person from down under seemed to prefer McDonald’s sealing methodology as well. “We seal the bags here in Aus, if the food isn’t right it’s not the dashers problem to sort that, the person ordering will get a refund for the items,” the user wrote.
Another user agreed, “I understand thar whatever I get in this sealed bag is NOT on the doordasher, but the complaint is with McDonald’s.”
“I order food all the time. I like when my food is sealed cause I’ve had a few bad experiences with drivers,” someone else echoed.
It seemed like there were several folks who also shared their love of ordering McDonald’s via DoorDash. “I’ve NEVER had a drink issue and actually McDonald’s is the best because of that. Subway will always miss chips. imagine that you can’t mess with it,” another individual wrote.
Of course, there were folks who had some strong viewpoints on gratuities as well, like this one person who thought that pre-tipping on a service was nuts. “Since when do you get a tip before you perform a service? Isn’t a tip for good service?” the user asked.
But there was another person who thought that tipping was the way to go, saying they’ve seemed to have had a better time ordering from delivery applications as a result. “When I ordered from door dash, I’ve been giving tips this whole time and I’ve been using it for 2 years at least lol,” the user claimed.
There are several bloggers and Reddit users who’ve shared the eateries they hate picking DoorDash orders up from the most. DoorDash Driver says that Applebee’s, Benihana, Sonic, and Buffalo Wild Wings almost always give them grief. A Reddit user cited excessive wait times as the reason they don’t enjoy McDonald’s orders. “For me taco Bell and McDonald’s the wait times r always crazy,” the commenter wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to DoorDash and McDonald’s via email and hustlingandhurry via TikTok comment for further information.
