Foodservice News

28% of Delivery Drivers Admit to Eating Your Food.

As someone who used to be a delivery driver, this newest study does not come as a surprise to me. US Foods conducted a survey asking for information about food delivery drivers and customers of third party delivery apps. More than 500 drivers and 1,500 customers of DoorDash, Postmates, GrubHub, and UberEats were interviewed. The findings of this study are not positive to say the least, 28% of delivery drivers admit to taking food from an order. Another interesting finding was that 60% of Deliverers top complaint was about weak tipping or receiving no tip.

What Restaurants Do?

First and foremost, this is an easily solvable problem from a restaurant’s stand-point.  You need tamper proof to-go products. Whether you use a tamper-proof bag, container, or box – it’s going to become an industry standard for everyone who delivers.

Restaurants have virtually no control of third-party delivery services. Get ahead of the problem and ensure that your food is safe, no matter who drives it!

Expert Advice from a Delivery Driver

As I alluded to earlier, I used to be a delivery driver. So, I can understand the temptations that come along with driving tasty food to hungry people. However, this study and problem are third-party delivery driver specific. When I would deliver food, I was being paid a consistent wage and worked for the restaurant I delivered for. This is a huge distinction. When you are an employee of a restaurant, driving food to customers, your employer will feed you between deliveries! This curbs the temptation to pick at other people’s fries, garlic knots, or wings – because you’re being fed or can expect to be fed.

Third party delivery drivers pick up from McDonald’s, then a 5-Star Restaurant, then a pizza place, then picks up some Chinese food. There is no consistency, a hungry delivery driver is tempted by a cavalcade of different dishes in just one shift. This is why 28% of delivery drivers are tempted to eat your food.

Feed your local delivery drivers and tip your local delivery drivers! It seems like all sides of this story need to step up to the plate. Consumers need to tip more, delivery drivers need to keep their hands to themselves, and restaurants need to protect their food!

Lastly, this NPR Article brought this issue to light.

Steve Norris

Share
Published by
Steve Norris

Recent Posts

Offering Take-Out and Delivery in the Time of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

All over the United States, restaurants are closing their doors. It is a difficult decision…

April 29, 2021

COVID-19 Social Distancing Guide: How To Buy and Sanitize Your Groceries

2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases have climbed up over 600,000 in the United States. It…

April 16, 2020

Restaurants Open for Delivery or Takeout During COVID-19

COVID-19 is a scary time for all of us. With many cities and states issuing…

March 27, 2020

Offering Take-Out and Delivery in the Time of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

All over the United States, restaurants are closing their doors. It is a difficult decision…

March 24, 2020

Everything You Need to Know About the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.

To start 2020, one of the biggest stories in the world is the new strain…

February 24, 2020

The Art of Beer Tasting.

There’re over 900 flavors that have been identified in the sweeping array of beers that…

February 13, 2020