Doordash is to blame when there are missing items or wrong items received
I would have to disagree with anybody that takes this stance. Sure, Doordash is the centerpiece here that holds the customer, the merchant and the driver all together, but there is only so much that they can do to make sure that everybody perfectly takes care of their responsibilities. Mistakes can happen from every corner, and a finger can't be pointed at Doordash every time something goes wrong.
With that said, Doordash will, and should, always have to take responsibility when things go wrong with a customer's order. No matter where the fault is, this is Doordashes realm and customers that are not happy with the service that they received should take it up with Doordash. This is the company that they directly paid to have a service provided to them. The customer did not directly pay the restaurant or the driver therefore should not contact them if they are unsatisfied for any reason.
Even if a customer believes that the driver or merchant should be held accountable, it is not their place to dictate that. Do not think that just because you are a paying customer that purchased $10 of Taco Bell gives you special rights. Doordash decides what merchants they will work with. Some restaurants they partner with and others they don't. Doordash also decides on who can drive and deliver for them. If Doordash does not want a certain dasher driving for them they can terminate their contract with them if they wish to do so. The point here is that when a customer is not satisfied, they have to go to the source. Doordash is the one that has to hear the complaints, issue reimbursements or credits and deal with a lot of other stuff that nobody wants to deal with, but everybody knows that is part of running a company.
Is Doordash ever responsible for messed up orders?
There is only one instance in which I think Doordash is directly responsible, and it does not happen with partnered restaurants. It happens when a Doordash representative places the customer's order via telephone call to a non-partnered merchant. When this happens, the driver will show up at the restaurant and only have to pay for the order with their red card. I must note that orders like this are rare, but it does happen from time to time.
If the Doordash rep messes up on the order, there is nothing that the merchant or the driver can do about it. As far as the restaurant is concerned, they are following the instructions that they received. The driver will be blind as to what the Doordash rep told the merchant. It does not happen often, but this is the only way that I think the blame can be completely off of the merchant and the driver. If the Doordash rep gives the order wrong, then there's nothing anybody else can do about it.
Is it the merchants fault if a Doordash customer's order is wrong?
If we are only talking about partnered restaurants, I would put the blame on the merchants 100 percent of the time. Doordash partnered restaurants receive the customer's orders directly from Doordash via a tablet, computer or some other electronic means. The order will show them exactly what the customer ordered, how many of each item and how the customer wants certain items prepared. For example, maybe a customer wants no lettuce, extra pickles and wants their meat well done on their cheeseburger. If the restaurant prepares the food wrong, there is nothing that Doordash or the Doordash driver can do. For those already thinking that the Doordash driver should go through and examine the food before taking it, all I have to say is XXXXXX. You can translate that into whatever you want. There is no way that I am gong to open up a customer's hamburger to make sure it is well done or anything like that. I am not touching anyone's food, and no other dasher should either. More about this in a while.
Many times, the problem with a customer's order is missing items. We have to remember here that restaurant workers are human beings and make mistakes just like anybody else. Sometimes when they are packing the food into bags they may forget something. This is why some merchants pack the food into bags right in front of the dasher. They will name off the items while doing so. Doing this increases the chance that the customer's order is correct, but it is still no guarantee. This is especially true if the dasher is not familiar at all with the type of food being picked up. The restaurant workers are certainly familiar with their food and should make sure that the Doordash customer is getting exactly what they ordered just the way they want it.
Since Doordash drivers have to place the order themselves sometimes at non-partnered restaurants, the blame for the mess ups at these merchants are probably spread even between the merchant and the driver. Surely there are times when the driver places the order perfectly, but the merchant messes up. Also, I am sure there are times when the dasher makes mistakes when placing the order and the merchant makes everything just the way the dasher ordered it, but of course the order is still wrong.
Some may think that I am being kind of harsh here, but even though the merchants may see Doordash and the Doordash driver equally responsible with them for making sure that the order is correct, that is simply not the case. The merchant is the partner here that is actually physically preparing the customer's food and drinks. They have all of the preparation notes, and it is their responsibility to make everything just the way the customer wants it.
Is it the Doordash driver's fault if a customer's order is wrong or missing items?
Now we get to the fabulous Doordash driver. The one that seems to get the blame from customers way too often. Like I said, there are times when it is the dashers fault. I stand by this because dashers will mess up sometimes when they are placing the customer's order themselves at non-partnered merchants. This is especially true with new dashers.
I remember when I first started dashing I had my share of orders that I messed up on. I would say that the reason for my mistakes was that I was not able to make out everything on the app. There were times when the app wouldn't be clear to me if the customer ordered the burger alone or a meal. I should have contacted the customers, but at that time I didn't even know that I could. When I had to order from a restaurant that I was not familiar with like an Indian restaurant or a Chinese restaurant I was really lost and confused. I had no idea what this stuff was that I was ordering. Curry? What the heck was that? I had never heard of that in my life. I ended up learning that sometimes it was just better to show them the order on your phone. I am glad to say now that I am an expert at ordering food. I had never thought of it as a skill before, but doing Doordash or delivering for any other similar type company really improves your food ordering skills.
What about partnered restaurants though? A dasher never has to place the order there. All the dasher has to do is pick up the food and drop it off - right? Well, technically this is true. Is it a dasher's job to make sure that every item is counted for? If you want to be a good dasher it is, but sometimes our wants are limited.
Here is an example of an order that is easy to check. I go to Burger King, which is a partnered merchant in my area, and the customer ordered a Whopper Meal, I can easily see that in the bag there is a burger and fries. Of course I will also have received the drink. I know that I have the complete order. Now, if the customer wants me to make sure that the burger has cheese and extra pickles that is not happening. I mention this because I once had a customer text me this. I told her that I cannot stick my hands into her bag of food and touch her food. She actually wanted me to unwrap the paper around her Whopper, touch the buns with my hands and make sure everything was as she wanted. I found this to be insane.
Sometimes, orders are not so easy to check. This is especially true if a merchant already has all of the food bagged up. There are even times when a merchant may have the bag stapled or some other kind of tamper-free stickers. There is no way that a dasher can check the items in situations like this and just has to trust the merchant. As I mentioned earlier, many restaurants bag up the food and name off the items in from of the Doordash driver. This is a terrific practice to decrease the chances of mistakes, but it still does not guarantee anything.
Conclusion:
After reading this entire article you will see that I cannot blame Doordash, the merchant or the dasher for every single time a order is messed up. Yes, it is true that I give the bulk of the blame to the restaurants. They are the ones that have the most control. After initiating the order, Doordash is pretty blind as to what is going on. The Doordash driver picks up the food and can inspect the best they can, but their hands cannot be crawling through customer's food. All they can do is a quick visual. You may have a different opinion than me, or maybe you agree with me. Either way - Happy Dashing!
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