In a survey of food delivery workers, 28 percent admitted to eating food from a customers’ order before it was delivered.
The US Foods survey also revealed that 54 percent of delivery workers have been tempted to eat food they were delivering. Twenty-one percent of food app users suspected their delivery workers of consuming food from their order.
The survey also asked people who use food delivery apps; “If you ordered a burger and fries, and the deliverer grabbed a few fries along the way, how upset would you be?”
A shocking number of delivery drivers are reportedly eating your food. https://t.co/TzWdEWRnXQ
— 10News WTSP (@10NewsWTSP) July 26, 2019
US Foods set ranking a “1” as “No big deal,” and a “10” as “Absolutely unacceptable. Respondents chose an average of 8.4 out of 10.
The US Foods survey of 1,518 Americans took place through May 9 to 13, 2019. The respondents had to have used food delivery apps. The age of respondents ranged from 18 to 77. Thirty-one was the median age.
Tamper-Evident Food Packaging
US Foods offers an option for tamper-evident food packaging to keep delivery drivers from succumbing to temptations. Such packaging could provide a solution to the worried consumer. Eighty-five percent of survey respondents said they would like restaurants to use tamper-evident labels to keep drivers from nibbling on their food orders.
New reports have continued to surface about people finding that their order was made incomplete once in the deliverer’s hands. Ruin My Week recounts a story from an Uber Eats customer who had part of her order eaten by a deliverer.
“I ordered #UberEats from the same restaurant that I’ve ordered from before, and this time, the new delivery driver ate my food … NEVER AGAIN. I called the restaurant and texted them this picture. The lady at the restaurant that made my food said, ‘the driver ate all of your meat and some of your yams too.’ MY TRUST IS GONE FOREVER!!!'” wrote Vanessa Harrell, via a Facebook post used in the Ruin My Week story.
Harrell included a profile photo and the name of her deliverer, along with a picture of the food with substantial portions missing.
“#Twahnica you should be ashamed of yourself. I would have given you the entire order if you told me you were hungry. Don’t do this to people,” Harrell added.
Fox40 showed security camera footage of a DoorDash deliverer taking a sip of a milkshake while waiting for a customer to open the door.
“We have trust between the company and the drivers,” said Rajesh Malhotra, via Fox40. “Once that trust is broken, we can’t go back.”
Malhotra’s son was the one that received the milkshake from the deliverer and drank it.
“Then my dad told me to check out the video from last night, and once I checked it out, I brushed [my teeth] five, six times. I felt really disgusted,” said Rishab Malhotra, via Fox40.
A video report from 9 News shows an Uber Eats driver eating a French fry and then wiping the grease on his pants while waiting for a customer to open the door. Talitha Chilcote, who claims to work in the industry, commented on the video as posted to Facebook.
“I personally drive for UberEats and never touch a customer’s food, but I love it when certain restaurants put sticker seals on the bag. Gives me and the customer a peace of mind that no one has touched their food except those who prepared it.
“Plus half the people that drive for UberEats don’t take their job serious enough. It’s easy money and doesn’t require a lot of effort, but those need to learn self-control or don’t deliver at all.”
