One woman said she quit her job as a DoorDasher because of some very serious safety concerns.
The viral stitched video, uploaded by Tessa420_ (@tessa420), amassed over 2.7 million views and 374,000 likes. It highlighted the pitfalls of working for the app, especially as a woman.
It began with another user, Deandra Kanu, asking why the service she receives while using the app appears to have changed. “I wanna know what happened to DoorDash,” the woman began in the clip. “Cause somehow DoorDash quickly became ‘call you when I’m in the lobby dash.'”
The TikToker offered up an unexpected explanation. The app’s users’ behavior made her feel uncomfortable. “Men started changing their names to women’s names, and they started using that to their advantage,” she said.
Ultimately, she said she began to feel unsafe, which prompted her to quit her job as a dasher. “So many weird things that happened during my time DoorDashing that the last like three months, I literally brought a dude friend with me every time,” she continued.
She gave examples of two situations that “scared the absolute sh*t” out of her and caused her to quit. In one instance, a customer claimed to be an 80-year-old woman with COVID, who was wheelchair-bound and needed food delivered directly to her.
“The second I turned on that street, I got a horrible feeling,” the former DoorDasher said. “Something inside of me said, ‘Do not text that person until you are back safely in your car.'”
Tessa said she was grateful her intuition kicked in and gave her a warning because as soon as she texted the customer to let them know she delivered the phone, a tall man opened the door. Then, she said, he walked outside looking for her vehicle.
“Only once he saw that I had a dude sitting in the car with me did he like immediately retreat, grab the food, and go inside,” she alleged.
Her disturbing experiences did not end there, she said.
“Final, final straw was when this girl named Katie said she’d broken her leg, and she lived in like a … 15 floor, story walkup,” she explained.
The woman used the injury as a reason for why she needed the food delivered right to her door. When the former DoorDasher arrived at the front door, she said she realized her customer was not a woman.
“There were three grown—like 30, 40-year-old—men behind the door,” she said.
Fortunately, the woman said she brought her male friend along for the delivery. The men, she said, said “sorry” and attempted to shut their door without even taking the food.
Tessa said she could no longer deal with the uncertainty and possible threats to her safety, so she quit.
@tessa420_ @Deandra Kanu IS THE ORIGINAL CREATOR!!!!!! #ask #askme #askmeanything #askmehow #askontiktok #asktiktok #how #howto #howtotiktok #dasher #doordash #delivery #food #foodie #foodtok #fooddelivery #ubereats #postmates #grubhub #chicago #chicagotiktok #chicagotok #chicagocheck #answer #answeringquestions ♬ original sound – Tessa420_
Other DoorDashers flooded the comments section with concerns about the safety of using the platform as both a customer and worker.
“They take extra steps to verify drivers yet not those same steps to verify the customer,” user Zoey commented.
“No like fr I started carrying every time I had dashed,” another TikToker named Joel wrote.
“DoorDash needs frequent ID checks on both sides,” a third suggested. “Creeps are either trying to lure you to their house or they’re trying to.”
“I do DoorDash & lately I keep getting orders for truck drivers? ‘Parked behind this store’ NO THANK YOU,” user @kweenshel added.
The Daily Dot reached out to Tessa420_ and DoorDash via email for comment.
