TWA884

NPR:

JBord

I saw this as well, and immediately wondered if the same is true of delivery drivers who work for the restaurant. I've all but stopped using UberEats due to the outrageous fees I've seen in the last year (unless I want to eat dinner at 4 pm ), as well as the inflated menu prices. I'll pick up instead. This article further justifies my decision. I'd think the restaurant delivery drivers are less likely to eat my food as I assume many have some type of meal benefit with their employer.

Eastbay1K

So much better when they do things with your food in the kitchen as opposed to in the car after packaging.

milepig

I've really scaled back my deliveries, less because of contamination and more because delivery time estimates have gotten wildly inaccurate and the delivery fees are getting close to $10, with some over. That's too much.

JBord

Well, it actually doesn't concern me if they eat a few of my fries in the kitchen or in the delivery vehicle to be honest. I know some people would be outraged, but I typically don't let little things bother me, and that's a little thing to me. But I know that some of my friends who've worked in restaurants in the past would get a free meal (cooked for them not someone else). It wouldn't surprise me if a pizza place makes a couple for the delivery drivers and staff to split, for example.

milepig

In college I had the good fortune to have a suite mate who worked for a pizza joint. After almost every shift he'd come home with a "mistake" pizza that they'd conveniently made just before closing. It was pretty bad pizza (I mostly remember the grease) but it was free and we had little money, and so it goes.

As to the fries. Ick. At least in my market (Chicago) the deliveries come zipped up into a delivery bag and then inside there is a paper bag that stapled shut. To get a "few fries" the drive would need to open the outside bag, unstaple the paper sack and then rustle around inside to find the fries - cooling the whole thing off in the process. Just ick.

BamaVol

In college, I had a friend who worked for Kentucky Beef (an olffshoot of KFC competing with Arby's) and they did the same thing - made up a bunch of sandwiches right before closing so that employees had food to take home. I don't think the owner would have approved, but was absent late at night.

I don't order delivery. I suppose cost is a factor. Also, if I'm home I do know how to cook a healthy and tasty meal. This gives me a new reason to skip delivery. I don't want some driver grubbing around in my bag pulling out handfuls of fries.

KDS777

First of all, half of 54% is only 27%.......but saying "nearly 30%" is pure click bait.

Most orders are delivered in sealed in bags that cannot be opened by the driver, without it being blatantly obvious to the consignee. McD's even double bags their orders. This article is BS.

PS I don't deliver food, but I do order.

JBord

To your first point, I had a roommate who was a waiter in a high-end joint and we used to actually get some pretty good kitchen mistakes!

I'm in Chicago as well, and while your description is correct for some restaurants, it's not for all. Not everyone staples the bag shut...or maybe it just doesn't end up that way by the time it gets to me! I'll have to look for 2 little holes next time. What I will say makes it more difficult is that the Uber Eats people usually ride bikes (yep, even in the winter). I have to think that makes it more unlikely for them to steal a little snack.

teddybear99

I don't believe this. I used to deliver food many years ago, but actually worked for the restaurant. All food would be in containers that if opened would be noticeable by the customer. I have observed drivers picking up these days from fast food restaurants have the bags sealed with stickers.

There are restaurants that I used to order from that have "fired" their driver by having sublet out to one or more of these services. I no longer order delivery from them and will not use one of these apps to order food either as I don't trust the drivers.

CMK10

I put myself through law school as a delivery driver. I had one customer who was extremely rude and never tipped. He always ordered a shrimp dish and I'd always steal one shrimp on the way over as my own "tip".

I don't regret it.

milepig

Having never been a driver, they all share equally in my trust or distrust.

I use the app mainly since it's really easy. You don't need to find that tattered paper menu and then call and be on hold forever and then have them misunderstand you.

Instead, you fire up the app and walk through the menu with whoever you're sharing the delivery with. You choose your options as you go, then change your mind and remove a couple things from your cart and add something else, you see your total spend. You hit "order" and it charges your stored credit card or use apple pay and you're done. You immediately get a copy of your order via email or text. Then you can track the delivery in real time on a map and, in my case, head down to the lobby when they're 5 minutes away. So so easy.

So easy, in fact, that I use Grubhub to order a pizza for pickup from a place we can see from our windows.

JBord

Lol...I too have ordered from a place less than 2 blocks away a couple times. It's been during those lovely sub-zero streaks we have in Chicago occasionally. I always tip really well on those orders, because if it's too cold for me to walk 2 blocks then it's too cold for a delivery driver too, and they deserve it.

diburning

Some places like McDonalds will put sticker seals on the bag, but what if the driver arrives and the bag is open? You refuse the meal right? Not so fast. I'd say good luck getting a refund from Uber Eats considering how terrible Uber's outsourced customer service is. Sure, you can dispute the credit card charge, but now you're upset and hungry.

vijayasree5

This needs to be seriously taken into consideration it's not fair enough to eat some one's food which is to be delivered. The Food Delivery System Owners have to take a preventive measure against this.