Food Delivery

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eyephone

Well-known member
NPR Article: 1 In 4 Food Delivery Drivers Admit To Eating Your Food

The smell of a mouthwatering meal is hard to ignore ? especially when it belongs to someone else. At least that's the suggestion of a recent study that found nearly 30% of drivers are snacking from the food they're responsible for delivering.

The survey conducted by US Foods, which supplies food to restaurants, gathered information from about 500 food delivery drivers and more than 1,500 customers in America who order through apps such as DoorDash, Postmates, Grubhub and UberEats.

Respondents ranged from 18 to 77 years old, with a median age of 31. Drivers who reported working for at least one food delivery app had a median age of 30. In an effort to better understand the process of ordering and delivering meals, the company asked both groups about their "habits and pain points."

Of the drivers surveyed, 54% admitted to being tempted by the smell of a customer's food, and about half of those people actually took a bite.
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/30/746600105/1-in-4-food-delivery-drivers-admit-to-eating-your-food

Here is the survey conducted by US Foods.https://www.usfoods.com/our-services/business-trends/2019-food-delivery-statistics.html



 
Lots of videos of this behavior on YouTube if you search for "Delivery Driver eats food".  Probably fine for the most part as long as they don't spit in it, but still grosses me out to the point that I don't mind driving out for pick the food myself. 

These DoorDash and UberEats drivers aren't exactly the "top of the food chain" employees (no pun intended)...
 
They aren?t even employees. They?re independent contractors with no job security and no vested interest in the community. I feel for them given the cost of living in our area.
 
This is exactly why I refuse to use food delivery services.

We live like 5-10 minutes away from a ton of food options. So I would rather spend 10-20 minutes getting food and not losing chain of custody :)   

I?m kind of weird like that. On a similar note, I was getting takeout for my wife at urban plates and as I was waiting for the food, a food delivery guy brings back food that apparently was incorrect, places the bag on the counter, then like two minutes later some guy walks in to get his takeout order, it happens to be the same one the food delivery guy brought back. The cashier takes the bag the delivery guy just brought back and hands it to the guy. I figured they would have made him some new food since some random person left with his food and brought it back but they didn?t.

 
qwerty said:
This is exactly why I refuse to use food delivery services.

We live like 5-10 minutes away from a ton of food options. So I would rather spend 10-20 minutes getting food and not losing chain of custody :)   

I?m kind of weird like that. On a similar note, I was getting takeout for my wife at urban plates and as I was waiting for the food, a food delivery guy brings back food that apparently was incorrect, places the bag on the counter, then like two minutes later some guy walks in to get his takeout order, it happens to be the same one the food delivery guy brought back. The cashier takes the bag the delivery guy just brought back and hands it to the guy. I figured they would have made him some new food since some random person left with his food and brought it back but they didn?t.
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Same same.  I very rarely use delivery services - usually only for pizza or if I'm hosting a party.
And it's ok qwerty - real men eat at urban plates too... no need for that "getting takeout for my wife" qualifier ;)
 
We order about 4-5 days a week for our small business. We feed clients and employees regularly. There are some services that seem more reputable (e.g. if we order delivery directly from Mendocino Farms, a third party company comes and is way more professional than a gig-economy contractor) but are both less flexible and more costly. They also usually have delivery minimums, and typically we are only feeding 2-3 people. We might also be feeding two people at noon, 3 people at 3pm, etc.

I suppose one alternative would be to literally send employees to restaurants to pick up orders. But then we have to take on the time cost of employees, the liability, and either pick a low-skilled (what else is that person going to do for the other hours of the day?) or high-skilled (this person has better things to do) option. And we're a small business, it's not like we have random people to spare.

I think there's good reason as a consumer to order from DoorDash, UberEats, et al. The cost is lower than other options when you need food delivered, the options are amazingly broad, and it's relatively convenient (except when they mess up your order). I think it would be interesting to see a competitor that literally employs its own people and promises better service and less mixed up orders. It's true that most of the orders are delivered efficiently, but we have also experienced our share of delivery failures from DoorDash.
 
HMart said:
They aren?t even employees. They?re independent contractors with no job security and no vested interest in the community. I feel for them given the cost of living in our area.
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Why feel for them?  Do you feel bad for all low paid individuals?  I chose to bust my *** and work my way up the ladder, getting my MBA while simultaneously working 50+ hour weeks, reading books to learn about management and tech in my spare time.  Educated myself on investing, budgeting, and saving.  Lived under my means until I could afford a home for my family in a HCOL area.

These guys are probably 30 years old living with their parents, playing Fortnite and staying up until 3am.  So sure, why not let them have a bite of your food while you celebrate their complacency.
 
HMart said:
We order about 4-5 days a week for our small business. We feed clients and employees regularly. There are some services that seem more reputable (e.g. if we order delivery directly from Mendocino Farms, a third party company comes and is way more professional than a gig-economy contractor) but are both less flexible and more costly. They also usually have delivery minimums, and typically we are only feeding 2-3 people. We might also be feeding two people at noon, 3 people at 3pm, etc.

I suppose one alternative would be to literally send employees to restaurants to pick up orders. But then we have to take on the time cost of employees, the liability, and either pick a low-skilled (what else is that person going to do for the other hours of the day?) or high-skilled (this person has better things to do) option. And we're a small business, it's not like we have random people to spare.

I think there's good reason as a consumer to order from DoorDash, UberEats, et al. The cost is lower than other options when you need food delivered, the options are amazingly broad, and it's relatively convenient (except when they mess up your order). I think it would be interesting to see a competitor that literally employs its own people and promises better service and less mixed up orders. It's true that most of the orders are delivered efficiently, but we have also experienced our share of delivery failures from DoorDash.
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Why would a business do that?  As it stands today whether Wag, Lime, Doordash, Uber or any other reliant on a flotilla of 'contractors' or self-rentals, the purpose is to side step employment laws, limit liability and bypass regulation and oversight.

 
aquabliss said:
HMart said:
They aren?t even employees. They?re independent contractors with no job security and no vested interest in the community. I feel for them given the cost of living in our area.
Click to expand...

Why feel for them?  Do you feel bad for all low paid individuals?  I chose to bust my *** and work my way up the ladder, getting my MBA while simultaneously working 50+ hour weeks, reading books to learn about management and tech in my spare time.  Educated myself on investing, budgeting, and saving.  Lived under my means until I could afford a home for my family in a HCOL area.

These guys are probably 30 years old living with their parents, playing Fortnite and staying up until 3am.  So sure, why not let them have a bite of your food while you celebrate their complacency.
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I know some stay at home moms who do the lunchtime delivery time slots.  I guess instead of Fortnite, they stay up binging cheesy rom coms on Netflix?
 
nosuchreality said:
HMart said:
We order about 4-5 days a week for our small business. We feed clients and employees regularly. There are some services that seem more reputable (e.g. if we order delivery directly from Mendocino Farms, a third party company comes and is way more professional than a gig-economy contractor) but are both less flexible and more costly. They also usually have delivery minimums, and typically we are only feeding 2-3 people. We might also be feeding two people at noon, 3 people at 3pm, etc.

I suppose one alternative would be to literally send employees to restaurants to pick up orders. But then we have to take on the time cost of employees, the liability, and either pick a low-skilled (what else is that person going to do for the other hours of the day?) or high-skilled (this person has better things to do) option. And we're a small business, it's not like we have random people to spare.

I think there's good reason as a consumer to order from DoorDash, UberEats, et al. The cost is lower than other options when you need food delivered, the options are amazingly broad, and it's relatively convenient (except when they mess up your order). I think it would be interesting to see a competitor that literally employs its own people and promises better service and less mixed up orders. It's true that most of the orders are delivered efficiently, but we have also experienced our share of delivery failures from DoorDash.
Click to expand...

Why would a business do that?  As it stands today whether Wag, Lime, Doordash, Uber or any other reliant on a flotilla of 'contractors' or self-rentals, the purpose is to side step employment laws, limit liability and bypass regulation and oversight.
Click to expand...
There are lots of restaurants who employ their own delivery people so if you feel oppressed being a contractor, you can always get a job at such a restaurant. I would assume the people who choose to be a contractor do so for the flexibility it provides. As an employee, you usually do not have the ability to choose to work when and how much you like.
 
The delivery apps should spin the survey as a value added service: "All the food you order is personally tested for poison by our drivers!"
 
aquabliss said:
HMart said:
They aren?t even employees. They?re independent contractors with no job security and no vested interest in the community. I feel for them given the cost of living in our area.
Click to expand...

Why feel for them?  Do you feel bad for all low paid individuals?  I chose to bust my *** and work my way up the ladder, getting my MBA while simultaneously working 50+ hour weeks, reading books to learn about management and tech in my spare time.  Educated myself on investing, budgeting, and saving.  Lived under my means until I could afford a home for my family in a HCOL area.

These guys are probably 30 years old living with their parents, playing Fortnite and staying up until 3am.  So sure, why not let them have a bite of your food while you celebrate their complacency.
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At least they're saving rent money while living with parents so that they can buy a condo like Delano at the next RE down cycle.

In all seriousness, I think most of them work in that service as a side gig to get some side money.
 
Happiness said:
There are lots of restaurants who employ their own delivery people so if you feel oppressed being a contractor, you can always get a job at such a restaurant. I would assume the people who choose to be a contractor do so for the flexibility it provides. As an employee, you usually do not have the ability to choose to work when and how much you like.
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May you live through the interesting time of chasing accountability with them.
 
aquabliss said:
HMart said:
They aren?t even employees. They?re independent contractors with no job security and no vested interest in the community. I feel for them given the cost of living in our area.
Click to expand...

Why feel for them?  Do you feel bad for all low paid individuals?  I chose to bust my *** and work my way up the ladder, getting my MBA while simultaneously working 50+ hour weeks, reading books to learn about management and tech in my spare time.  Educated myself on investing, budgeting, and saving.  Lived under my means until I could afford a home for my family in a HCOL area.

These guys are probably 30 years old living with their parents, playing Fortnite and staying up until 3am.  So sure, why not let them have a bite of your food while you celebrate their complacency.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying socialism is the way to go, that we should break up these companies, that they should be illegal, etc. I'm not saying that working hard shouldn't be rewarded. I mean we're all capitalists here right?

At the same time, I feel for people who are in unstable deadend gigs that aren't even jobs. I also think it's part of a trend of job opportunities increasingly becoming more polarized towards very good jobs and very not-good jobs.https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-...yed-by-the-lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-famous/I think there's an increasing inequality of opportunity which is totally rational but has some consequences that are worth thinking about.

nosuchreality said:
Why would a business do that?  As it stands today whether Wag, Lime, Doordash, Uber or any other reliant on a flotilla of 'contractors' or self-rentals, the purpose is to side step employment laws, limit liability and bypass regulation and oversight.
Click to expand...
I think it would be good to have an option in the marketplace that has employees and provides higher quality service. It might totally fail! There is no question that the app-based gig-economy services provide tremendous value and convenience to me at unbeatable prices. But I'm trying to think of a restaurant that I can order from right now and get food for say 3 people within an hour delivered to our door in Irvine via an employee. I can't think of any.

As a side note, it's frustrating to see other businesses violate the spirit (if not the letter) of employment laws while I'm here running a business and providing jobs that are compliant with employment laws.
 
When I used to work as PM, I'd personally order, inspect, taste test, and pick up the food.  By taste test I mean eating there first or ask for samples.  For hackathon events my orders run in 4 digits.  If quality is not acceptable to me, I wouldn't place the order considering buffet trays to have to prepped ahead and already not same quality as freshly cooked.
 
Project manager or post mates?

momopi said:
When I used to work as PM, I'd personally order, inspect, taste test, and pick up the food.  By taste test I mean eating there first or ask for samples.  For hackathon events my orders run in 4 digits.  If quality is not acceptable to me, I wouldn't place the order considering buffet trays to have to prepped ahead and already not same quality as freshly cooked.
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eyephone said:
Project manager or post mates?
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Officially, Project Coordinator.

Unofficially, PMO/Project Manager, SCRUM Master, Release Manager, QA Analyst, Event Coordinator, Video Editing guy, and JIRA admin.  Yes I was an 8 legged octopus on that job.
 
momopi said:
eyephone said:
Project manager or post mates?
Click to expand...

Officially, Project Coordinator.

Unofficially, PMO/Project Manager, SCRUM Master, Release Manager, QA Analyst, Event Coordinator, Video Editing guy, and JIRA admin.  Yes I was an 8 legged octopus on that job.
Click to expand...

Cool. I understand
 
momopi said:
eyephone said:
Project manager or post mates?
Click to expand...

Officially, Project Coordinator.

Unofficially, PMO/Project Manager, SCRUM Master, Release Manager, QA Analyst, Event Coordinator, Video Editing guy, and JIRA admin.  Yes I was an 8 legged octopus on that job.
Click to expand...

All of the unofficial titles have better salaries than "Project Coordinator" :)
 
momopi said:
eyephone said:
Project manager or post mates?
Click to expand...

Officially, Project Coordinator.

Unofficially, PMO/Project Manager, SCRUM Master, Release Manager, QA Analyst, Event Coordinator, Video Editing guy, and JIRA admin.  Yes I was an 8 legged octopus on that job.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a small business owner. Doing everything.  :)
 
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