Dasher Diary: When DoorDash “Has Your Back”, Until It Doesn’t

One of the most frustrating parts of delivering food is trying to keep a perfect on-time delivery score. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get mine above 95%. I know it doesn’t really matter, but seeing that number not at 100% bugged my perfectionist personality.

Recently, that changed. When I opened the DoorDash app, my on-time percentage had been reset to zero. A fresh start. A do-over. I thought, “OK, let’s make this count.” All I had to do was stick to the pickup and delivery times. Easy, right?

Except it’s not. In a perfect world, maybe. But in Amarillo, there are plenty of hiccups you run into while picking up food. Restaurants run behind, orders aren’t ready, or you get stuck in the endless maze of construction zones. Things happen.

DoorDash has sent me messages saying they’ve “got my back.” The app will recognize if I arrived at the restaurant on time and, if the delay was on their end, it won’t count against me. And most of the time, that’s true.

Until it isn’t.

Recently, I picked up an order at a fast food spot just as Tascosa High School’s lunch period was kicking off. The place was packed with students, and the staff was hustling to get everyone’s food out, both for in-person customers and delivery drivers.

Read More: Dasher Diary: Safety is My Number One Priority When Dashing

The problem was that DoorDash didn't have my back this time. The order was marked late, even though I arrived on time. Thankfully, there’s a way to dispute those marks. I explained that the restaurant was overwhelmed and that I’d notified the customer about the delay. DoorDash reviewed it and quickly removed the late mark. They still marked that I took too long and the food was late. The good thing though is that I have a chance to dispute.

I told them about the place being overrun by customers. I let them know that I notified the customer. So after that they removed the negative mark right away. So at least that is nice.

It turns out, as long as you give a valid reason for the delay, they’ll usually take the mark off. I’m happy to say I’m now back to 100% on-time deliveries which is just the way I like it.