The National Institute of Health advises against going grocery shopping when you’re hungry, and the same could apply to ordering food through delivery apps as it’s easy to rack up the bill for food you may find underwhelming.
This is something that a TikToker named Athena (@chasing.athens) said she endured upon ordering Sonic via Uber Eats in a viral clip that’s accrued over 1.3 million views as of Sunday.
Her post touches on the feeling of regret many feel after they realize they forked over too much money for the amount or type of food they had delivered to their home.
@chasing.athens yes five dollars of that was a tip, but still. also no one say anything about me eating on the floor! i love sitting on the floor and setting up my laptop on my bed to watch things!
♬ oh – CY
In her video, Athena disappointingly looks down at the food she just ordered from Uber Eats. She doesn’t seem too enthused about the purchase, writing in the text overlay, “Getting my Uber Eats and realizing what exactly I just spent 25 dollars on.”
The camera then cuts to her showing off the food: a single bag of what appears to be four to five small cheddar jalapeño bites, and a cardboard holder containing french fries loaded with chili and cheese. The last item is an M&M milkshake from Sonic.
She added in a caption, “Yes five dollars of that was a tip, but still. also no one say anything about me eating on the floor! i love sitting on the floor and setting up my laptop on my bed to watch things!”
Commenters sympathized with Athena, with one user sharing the app food delivery pain, writing, “The worst part is when it doesn’t taste good.”
Another quipped, “The $25 starts feeling a lot more like a quarter of $100.”
Someone else remarked that cost-wise, Athena got off easy, writing, “That would cost 50 dollars where I’m at.”
This was a sentiment echoed by someone else who wrote that they’ve simply stopped using the application because of the premium upcharges. “Bruh I stopped bc in Alaska it’s been getting like $35-$50 every time,” they said.
Another TikToker said if the restaurant they were ordering from was a mile or less away, they’d simply just walk there to get their meal.
The costs associated with food delivery via apps like DoorDash, GrubHub, Uber Eats, and the like can mount quickly due to a litany of surcharges. First, many restaurants simply charge more for their items within these applications themselves; customers can often get cheaper prices if they order directly from the restaurant via the phone, its dedicated website (if they have one), calling it in for pick-up, or purchasing directly in store in person.
Then, there are delivery fees associated with each order, which adds yet another premium to the order, not to mention any tip or gratuity that’s attached to an item. In fact, there have been instances where patrons’ orders, without tips even factored in, have purportedly cost nearly double what it would’ve cost had they simply ordered through the restaurant’s website or gone in person.
One commenter who replied to Athena’s video mentioned that they tend to use food delivery applications for “big” occasions by simply ordering larger quantities. “I always make it a big event,” they said. “Get 40$ worth of food and then it don’t seem as bad of a deal because you got a lot.”
Another person didn’t think that Athena’s delivery was that bad of a deal, saying, “Sonic’s chili cheese fries are worth the 25 dollars alone.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Athena via TikTok comment and Sonic and Uber Eats via email.
