Some DoorDash workers are demanding higher tips before delivery — and customers are freaking out
Some DoorDash workers are asking customers for extra tips after they've already agreed to pick up an order. Carlo Allegri/Reuters
- Some DoorDash workers are asking customers for extra tips to deliver their food.
- The workers accept orders, then ask customers for a higher tip before dropping purchases off.
- DoorDash said that it doesn't allow "any form of harassment" toward customers.
But on Sunday, there was an odd message from the DoorDash worker picking up her food: Her order was delayed, so could she add an extra tip? When Jade didn't immediately respond, the DoorDash worker followed up with a series of question marks.
Screenshots of a DoorDash customer's conversation with a Dasher. Insider source/Reddit
After the driver delivered her food, Jade sent him a message. "As someone who has worked delivery myself for 5+ years, I find asking for an extra tip in very poor taste, and I sincerely hope this is not a normal practice for you," she wrote.
"The fact that this guy actually asked for an extra tip and then blew up my phone with question marks is just wild," she wrote in a Reddit post recounting the experience.
Some DoorDash customers are getting similar requests for additional tips from workers, whom DoorDash calls Dashers, according to posts on social media and conversations that Insider had with a Dasher and two customers. The requests typically come after a Dasher has agreed to pick up an order before delivering the customer's food.
Jade, who lives in California, told Insider she will think twice before ordering food through DoorDash or other third-party delivery apps again. "It is the first time something like this has happened, and it makes me much less likely to order in the future," she told Insider. Insider verified Jade's purchase and is not using her real name for privacy reasons.
Most customers leave a tip, but "we understand the frustration that can come with either not receiving one or receiving a particularly low one," a DoorDash spokesperson told Insider.
"We strictly prohibit any form of harassment, and any Dasher who harasses a customer faces immediate deactivation from the DoorDash platform," the company said.
Other customers have posted on social media about requests for tips while the food was en route. One Reddit user posted screenshots over the weekend of a Dasher asking for a bigger tip. "I'm gonna go ahead and cancel this order if not," the Dasher wrote in a message to the customer.
"Go ahead hustler," the customer responded, according to the screenshot.
The customer told Insider that they eventually received their order. "I had to reach out to Doordash support, and they reassigned the order to a different driver," the customer told Insider.
Another customer, also posting to Reddit, said that their Dasher asked for a higher tip on a $162 order from the Cheesecake Factory.
"I agreed to give the Dasher more money because I do not know this person or how they will react if I say no and for the safety of my family," the customer wrote. "I am truly concerned about how much Dashers are paid that they are getting to the point of having to hustle for extra cash." The customer did not respond to Insider's questions about the interaction.
