I hate that I am become this person but: are delivery drivers just allowed to call and say 'please come and meet me' now?

_number8_@lemmy.world to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 180 points –

i get it's a legitimate safety thing to some degree and to certain people but have you considered that i cannot leave my place right now which is why i paid 40 dollars you ess dee for taco bell. which was a legitimate safety thing for myself as well, frankly.

and i totally get it: apartments fucking suck ass. i did this job for years. every single apartment design is absolute dogshit minus maybe 2 or 3 i've seen in my life between 3 cities. buildings will not be laid out, address wise, sequentially at all so finding anywhere is a fucking nightmare, the roads will be dogshit as well, potholes and speedbumps and i'm just trying to do my job and certain dumb complexes will randomly have some address noumbers on like, the back side of the building facing away from the fucking road for some reason??? why??? insane. just a total fucking hell. yes. i understand. but when i did the job i gritted my teeth and figured it out myself. calling the person is an absolute last resort. it's a nightmare but frankly also when i gave up and called the person, waiting around and/or trying to get directions from them was just as annoying. bullshit job. we need high speed tubes connecting everywhere in the city.

90

Personally, I'm crippled, so even getting to the front door is a process. If a driver calls me and says I need to come down, I tell them no shot, I paid you to bring it to my door, so either bring it to my door or refund it.

If drivers are not getting paid enough to bring deliveries to people's doors? That's a conversation for the drivers to have with the company. The company says they'll bring it to me, and I expect the service I pay for.

Putting that explicitly in the delivery instructions might help them have a better idea what they’re getting into and what to expect

I am paying a to-my-door delivery service to deliver things, to my door. I shouldn't have to specify that I expect people to do the entire job and not just the easy part of it. If they don't want to do the entire job, that too is a conversation for them to have with the company, not me.

I get the impression they can look at and choose whether or not to take a delivery before accepting it. If you have in there that you absolutely need it delivered to your door, you’re a lot more likely to get someone who knows and is ok with that. That should lead to more no questions asked deliveries for you at basically no cost. Rage against what should and should not be all you want, but it’s not going to change your experience if you don’t do anything different.

depending on the changes since i stopped delivering for the apps, no we cant see the special instructions before we decide to take the trip. One app would only tell you where you are picking up, and how much you would make (including tip) for that trip. Thats all, and based off that we choose to pick up the trip or not. Now most apps will punish you if you refuse too many trips, and they doll out the gravy trips to those who have a high % acceptance rate, so refuse too many and you will only get shit trips. I believe the other app would tell me what area its going, but again, zero special instructions. Most of the apps I have used as well, dump the instructions at the bottom of the order, so we scroll through a page or 3, and its at the bottom. I myself got into the habit of checking every time.

You're correct. But you should focus on the outcome you want rather than the philosophy.

Putting text in the delivery instructions saying, I have a medical issue I cannot leave my apartment, please deliver to my door. If you cannot please cancel the order. Would get people to go out of their way to deliver to you.

I get what you're saying, but I think the whole idea that if you actually want your point-to-point delivery, which is the service you paid for, you're making the driver "go out of their way" is the whole weird debate people in the thread are having. Like, the service is the service, or at least it should be, if it's making doordash "go out of their way" to dash ya know, to my door...well that's not the expectation these companies set with their customers I guess is all I have to say there.

I suspect prices will go up if every able bodied person does this. If you instruct you are not mobile then they can accommodate I am sure but for efficiency it would make sense if those that are able do a bit to make it easy will allow for prices to stay less pressured to increase.

Then it's not really a delivery service. It's a halfway service.

why i paid 40 dollars you ess dee for taco bell

Did... Did you just spell out USD($) as "you ess dee?"

Ah, aren't I an idiot... I was racking my brain trying to work out what an S.D. was, and what OP was calling the delivery driver one of them.

Yeah I was thinking maybe it was some new racist term for “ese”, trying to understand what the “de” was supposed to be. Glad this guy spelled it out.

I also did not make the connection, after a 12 pack this lovely Friday night. OP is not wrong - even as someone who sometimes dashes for extra cash and hates people just like OP - but was thinking I missed some cultural reference.

That looks like a classic voice-to-text homophone transcription error.... they can get really creative

I've given up on food delivery. With the all the fees and tips and shit to wait who the hell knows how long for food to show up colder than a penguin fart.

It's just not worth it to me anymore. Why would I want to pay for that experience? I can make less disappointing food quicker for less money.

You can always pick food that is not supposed to be hot such as poke bowl or sushi! I usually have a good experience with indian food as well.

I really hope app-based 3rd party food delivery just dies soon. The incentives are so fucked up and at cross purposes between the customers, companies, restaurants, and drivers. Like literally no one is getting a good deal out of it except the app itself. Support places that actually want to deliver enough to have their own drivers, and you'll almost always have a smoother, faster, and more professional experience.

Between feeling like the corps are just using the delivery drivers and the fact that the service, locally, adds minimal value for the $ spent...

I don't use them. I really don't think I'm alone in this. The feels are just consistently ick every which way.

2 more...

I gave up on the food delivery because of the ludicrous fees and whatnot but also because of how inconsistent it is since you literally have no idea who's delivering your food. Sometimes they take forever and your food is ice cold. Also, I wasn't particularly fond of people sending their little 8-year-old kid up to my door with my food. I'll just eat what I have in the house, go out and get food myself or just not eat but I refuse to play that game again.

are delivery drivers just allowed to call and say 'please come and meet me' now?

Not in my world lol.

I order it for delivery, you're arse comes to my door. I don't care if it's a house, I don't care if I live 400 floors up in a space elevator. If the apartment number is on the order, buckle the fuck up, sunshine.

Delivery guys ring my buzzer, I don't talk to em I just hit the button to open the front door and they can figure their lives out from there. If they call me from their cell phone, sorry kemosabe but I don't know your number and don't answer phone calls from random numbers I don't know.

Food at my door, period. Don't even have to look at me, you can drop it and run for the hills to make up time for all I care. But it's at my door or your boss gets a phone call lol.

Edit: Low expectation mother fuckers in these replies I swear. Try not properly completing the one sole task your job involves and see how long your bosses keep you around kiddies. Holy fuck.

Edit 2: lol the copium below is both amazing and embarrassing.

I'd love to continue engaging but I've gotta go get a job digging 10' holes. Might just dig them 5' deep and assume the boss will be fine with me doing a half assed job like so many in the comments seem to do apparently ROFL. Stay fresh, cheesebags.

Damn yo, have some sympathy for the working man. You act like delivery drivers have a boss these days, it's all gig work; neither the drivers nor UberEats gives a shit about your customer satisfaction.

#1: They probably should as customer satisfaction is a huge part of any business involving customers.

#2: I'm not necessarily talking about UberEats, I stopped using their services during the pandemic when a $15 meal magically turned into $43 by virtue of pure unadulterated magic. This is a problem that occurs even with in house delivery people who I assure you very much have a boss.

#3: I don't care if anybody involved doesn't give a shit about my customer satisfaction. I care about people doing their job. I don't get to hang up on people who call me for help on the phones when their being twats because part of my job is handling those twats. If part of your job is delivering food to a specified address, then do your job and deliver the food to the specified address. Failure to do so means you aren't doing your job lol.

I'm not going to debate what is and is not "doing your job," just asking you to empathize with someone who probably makes shit money and works like a dog to feed entitled brats.

I do empathize with them. I make shit money. I work like a dog to feed entitled brats (well I don't consider my kids entitled but lol..). But if I stopped doing the literal most basic functions of my employment then I'll be making no money, and not working like a dog to feed entitled brats, because I'd be fucking fired from that job.

If your job is to deliver anything from point A to point B, you need to take it from point A, to point B. Taking it from point A to point C is called "fucking up your job".

Have a good day.

Imagine if you could just do less than the bare minimum at your job and still get paid the same.

You'd be doing it too.

I was a delivery driver. He’s 100% in the right. Delivery services have gotten so shit over the last few years where the drivers won’t even do the bare minimum of coming to the door

But it's the bosses demanding tight schedules not the delivery people. I don't feel bad for the bosses trying to squeeze every amount of productivity out of the system at the cost of the quality of service.

No wonder prices are increasing and people wages are not keeping up. These costs are transferred directly to consumer and there is no way around that.

Inflation and low wages are caused by people asking door-to-door delivery drivers to actually deliver door-to-door? Guess I'll go save the economy by hopping out my taxi before they actually get to the airport then to save those folks some time and gas and tamp down that pesky inflation!

There is a way around that. Put their name and number on a list by the phone under "DO NOT SERVE" and hang up when they call.

Some call those who deal with people like this saints, but I call them enablers.

I suspect some people get put on a list. I know most business will go out of their way though to assist if someone is not mobile.

People this angry about delivery issues tend to also be the people who fail to actually include their apartment number in the order and then their pizza goes back to dominos because their dumbass didn't answer the phone.

Sorry I had to call because you, the customer, fucked up.

If they call me from their cell phone, sorry kemosabe but I don't know your number and don't answer phone calls from random numbers I don't know.

"Hey I ordered 2h ago where the fuck is my food?"

"You forgot to put your apt #, or fatfingered your address, or we otherwise had a problem with the delivery, and as is customary since the dawn of the cellular phone the driver attempted to contact you 1h 30m ago, but since you didn't answer we were left to assume you no longer wanted your order or would call back eventually. Would you like us to send our driver, who now hates you for wasting his time and knows you won't tip him for both of the deliveries you made him take?"

Edit: LOL downvote but no comment, eh? I'll take that as tacit admission that the described scenario has happened to you exactly.

As a manager of a place that delivers I would just say “k” to you and hang up.

These are the words of someone who is destined for a life of disappointment from his deliveries. If you expect perfection then expect to be disappointed.

I don't expect perfection, nor did I ever state that I did. I expect the literal bare minimum of service which in the realm of delivering something means as I said to the other person, taking it from point A to point B. If you take it to anywhere but point B, you have failed the basic task your job revolves around.

I'm going to have to agree with you. I feel bad for the people that have really bad jobs and really bad pay but so many times I see people that can't even perform the bare minimum of their job and I'm confused about why they have a job to begin with. Maybe it's because I'm getting old but it seems to be getting worse lately ever since the pandemic. Honestly I think that all the schooling from home during the pandemic has made a port impact on our youth's education. I by no means expect everything to be perfect, we are all humans after all but I do have a bare minimum expectation and a lot of the times that's just not being met.

Exactly.

And please don't anyone get me wrong, I'm in no way saying "Lol fuck these struggling cunts, fuck the poors!" or "Lol minimum wage is enough just do your jobs", I am not. I am 100% behind Fuck-you-I-ain't-going-above-and-beyond-for-a-pittance*. If you get paid $15/h, give your boss not a single fucking penny more than $15/h's worth. If you're in the US and get whatever $7/h bullshit arsed shit you all haven't rioted about yet, then by all means give your boss not a single penny's worth of labour above $7/h.

But there's a difference between 'doing 125% when you're being paid dogshit wages and the company gets extra labor out of you for free' and 'well I don't care about this job so I'm not even going to attempt the literal minimum.' If you're getting paid $7/$15 per hour, you do need to at least give $7/$15 worth of labour, not $3.5/$7 worth.

I stand corrected, you are obviously very relaxed about the whole topic to the point you will "phone the boss lol". To me you're sneering at people who are doing poorly paid gig economy jobs. Maybe when you get some experience of the real world you will learn things are seldom so straight forward and black and white.

Next time you ask someone to give you some slack in your job (maybe extending a deadline? Maybe moving something around to accommodate you?) you might understand how even something as simple as "moving from a to b" is not always as easy as you think.

I don't think it has to be easy, these are tough jobs. So are most jobs, and mistakes do happen. But I don't think there's anything wrong with expecting the service that the company is offering to actually be performed to completion. I get it's tough working in something like an oil change place, but promising to do the whole job and then deciding to save yourself some time by not putting a filter on because "things are seldom so straight forward" would not, I'd hope, be acceptable to anyone involved.

I don't expect perfection, but I do expect companies and employees (even gig employees) to fulfill the basic promises they make about what their service consists of. Surely not too much to ask?

I delivered food many many man....you get the idea, years ago, long before the delivery apps, and even before the interwebs. The short answer is: No, we/they are not supposed to do that.

I cannot be sure, as I quit because of asshats who cheat the system and screw over the customer. I understand why they do it, we stopped making money once the apps came into existence. Back in the day, I made $300+ after expenses on Valentine's Day, and now it be a good night if I made $100 before expenses. However the jerks will run multiple phones, accounts, and apps, at once. So they will pick up your order, head to McD's to wait for the order to be ready. Stop to deliver it, and if there is another pickup on the way to your house, guess what, they are stopping. They call you because it can/will/might save them a minute or two, added up over the night, that could amount to a couple extra deliveries.

Again, I'm only assuming by what I've seen on the other side of the app and the asshat drivers who have taken over, and I do NOT condone that practice at all.

I deliver for Domino's. I'm not a fan of climbing three flights of stairs with the equivalent of a grocery cart of food in my arms for a two dollar tip. But you know what, we all suck it up and do our job. Only time I called to have them meet me downstairs was the time I fucked up my leg.

Oh, and 100% agree that apartments are laid out like shit. Thankfully, most of the apartments here in my city will give us a map of the complex.

That’s pretty much how it was when I delivered with Dominos too. It was a cold day in hell before we’d tell someone to have to come out and meet us. We even still had to do 100% in person, face to face deliveries.

There was a couple occasions where I had to call the customer due to being lost in an apartment complex, but most are fairly understanding about that.

Curious how that customer reacted. Hopefully well.

I used to get Domino's delivered to me years back. Often in the winter with snow on the ground and it is near zero. I always put my porch light on and waited near the door. The app showed me they were close, so why wouldn't I? I can't believe how many drivers thanked me for just doing these things. Many told me they'd often wait 5 minutes after knocking or ringing the doorbell. Like WTF? You know your order is coming.

Like WTF? You know your order is coming.

Angey Driver noises

You have no fucking clue how much I hated these people. And then when they finally do come to the door, they don't tip and say "hey thanks man I really appreciate you coming out here" NO you DON'T or else you'd TIP! Fuck!

I need a smoke lmao.

Worked for Dominos too. There were a few places where it was dangerous to get out of the car, so the customer knew they had to come to the car.

They're allowed to ask and you're allowed to say no.

That said, if there is a door that you need to unlock for them, you better open it for them or let them drop it off at the door.

Are humans performing labor allowed to ask a question? Yes. Especially when they are performing dangerous work, which it legitimately is where I am. I have no desire to fuck with low earning people in dangerous jobs, so I wait outside for them when I see they're pretty close on the GPS.

When I had covid I put "have covid, knock and leave at apartment door" as the delivery note. It worked pretty flawlessly. My normal delivery message is "will meet you out front, do not call unless necessary", which works about 90% of the time.

The delivery people who actually piss me off are the ones who call/text "I've arrived" when I'm waiting outside and I can see they're still 3 blocks away on the GPS. Don't lie to me, even though i understand you're trying to reduce your wait time, and some people make them wait for 15+ mins.

The other ones who piss me off are the ones who take a 30min detour with my food because they're juggling apps and two different services have told them to go in opposite directions. Special shout out to the dude who literally rode past me while I was waiting for him outside, so that he could pick up an order for a different app instead of giving me my order. Thanks for chilling half my hot food too with what I assume was a cold drinks order, asshole.

so I wait outside for them when I see they’re pretty close on the GPS

You are the kind of person who made my life easier when I was a driver, so on behalf of the good drivers out there, thank you for that. I dont understand how the drivers today are getting away with half what they do, unless told otherwise, I always go right to the front door.

30min detour with my food because they’re juggling apps

This is against the TOS for the drivers, while on one app, you cannot run another. zero enforcement tho, the apps make more money that way, the customer is the least of their worries.

I've had them do that when it's pouring rain outside. Like yeah, I get it, one of us is going to need to get wet, but considering I'm the one paying you, you should be the one getting wet.

It's also impossible to get them to ring the fucking doorbell. I've had drivers leave my food on the porch when it's 10 degrees F outside and just walk off. What in the actual fuck? My instructions said "please ring doorbell", it would take half a second to ring the fucking thing, and I tipped 25 freaking percent, plus a bunch of fees, expecting a basic level of service. The doorbell thing has led to me just not using Door dash. Idk what's up with their drivers, but if a button isn't on their phone, they refuse to push it. I think a lot of these problems stem from tipping them before service is actually rendered. What the fuck do they care? They've already been paid.

Yep. Tip only after worthy service has been rendered. (Former waiter)

I can't get them to not ring the doorbell, even though I put in the instructions Do Not Ring Bell or Knock Please, Sleeping Children.

I can't say I'm a frequent user of delivery services. I see Uber Eats at least has an option to say beforehand if you agree meeting at the door, driveway or whatever and sometimes I, I choose to make things easier for the driver...

But having to haggle on the phone sounds ridiculous. There's a thousand reasons you may not be able to walk out of your apartment ffs.

I refuse to answer phone calls from delivery drivers. They either deliver it, or they don't. For the drivers that just use the phone call to alert you that it's been delivered great. I don't need to answer that call. For the drivers who want to negotiate at my front door for whatever reason, I don't need to talk to them either.

I should add there's a table at my front door for deliveries to be left at. There is no human interaction required for a delivery. Though happily all the local drivers here just take a photo of whatever it is on the table, 10% of the time they'll make a phone call (one ring - they don't want to talk either) to let you know it's been delivered.

Nah they just suck. Complain to the company.

Complain that they asked a question? Do you usually do that? I only ask because I save complaints for deliberately shitty service.

I think it's more the nature of the question being "hey is it cool if I don't complete the delivery as written and just save myself some minutes by doing curbside when we promised door-to-door?" That's what I'd have to guess is annoying to people.

Door dash (or equivalent)? They don't have to care like drivers employed by "a guy you could theoretically call and have bitch the employee out." Stick to ordering from a delivery spot that delivers themselves, if they still exist and haven't been killed by door dash in your area yet, that is. Well, at least there'd still be the chains then, too. Bonus though: it isn't $40 for a McDouble and a McChicken like it is with uber eats. Helps with (not solves, but) the apartment issue too since the store likely has a smaller delivery area and the driver has been in your complex 6x tonight so he knows where 1401 #D is by heart.

They are free to try. What shall they do if you say "No"?

Not deliver it, claim they did, and let you fight it out with the delivery company for a refund. The whole 3rd party food delivery business is a scam.

I think they should really go all out and just text "is it cool if I deliver to you at the restaurant parking lot, I got a real busy night, just come on down and help a guy out?"

Isn't it how it works ?

The guy rings my appartment or gives a phone-call, and I have to come down to open the door anyway. Sometimes they're smart enough to call in advance so we know they are coming, and sometimes I discover that I have a package a day when I'm not available so it ends-up being at the pick-up point

If there's a delivery, they usually call so you have time to get dressed and get down (because it's always easily in the morning). That's normal for package delivery, at least. I've never ordered food though.

why wouldn't the package delivery just leave the package at your door? do you need to sign for your packages?

Because i live in an apartment building. Rich folks with a house don't want their package stolen or rained on

Often I need to sign, when not I live in a (semi) large building in the city centre, if noboly open the door to the delivery person they won't let it in the street. Sometimes, they let it in the hallway, but I am never comfortable with it. Rather walking 5 minutes to the post office/pick up point

I assume the people acting like this are doing it because I didn't give them a tip before they did their job.

Either way, it's just wasting their time; if they ring the front gate of the building and then just wait there for me to walk down, that's worse than if they save themselves time by meeting me halfway.

Meanwhile, I'm baffled this was/is a thing in some places. We always had to go get our food once the delivery was outside of the building

I would just ask them to come up when I was in an apartment. And then meet them at the elivator if I was in a good mood.