Delivery drivers getting slandered for out-of-pocket substitutions is nothing new—however, delivering a product that looks like it was stolen right out of the store isn’t something you see on your feed every day.
TikToker @jpall20 posted a video questioning just how in the heck an Uber delivery driver managed to get a bottle of Zyrtec, still in a protective case to prevent folks from stealing, out to a customer.
The strange circumstance, which originally appeared on Reddit on the r/UberEATS sub courtesy of user r/KatiaFlaviaGostosona, prompted a litany of replies from different users. Many thought that this was an instance of male delivery drivers doing what they do best: f*cking up orders. Others thought there may have been some scheming on the Uber employee’s part.
“An Uber delivery driver delivered this person’s Zyrtec to them, like this,” the TikToker says, showing off a picture of the allergy medication still inside a locked plastic bin security packaging.
“A couple of questions come to mind — one what the f*ck. Two: how did they even get it out of the store like this?” she says. “How did they get it past the cashier like this and why?”
She says it reminds her of the time she ordered paper towels from Walmart, and the replacement she received was bubble wrap.
“I don’t know who’s shopping for these orders but I think that when you apply for these delivery services, they have a question that says, ‘Do you have common sense?'” she continues. “And if the answer is no, you get hired. Because there’s no way that this keeps happening to people.”
This isn’t the first time a delivery driver has botched a customer’s order so badly that they felt the need to hop onto social media and share the bizarre substitution they got.
Instacart was previously slammed for replacing a woman’s request for lemons with a bunch of kiwis, and there was another guy who thought marinara sauce was a good replacement for salsa because everyone loves dipping tortilla chips into a nice bowl of marinara.
Many customers have claimed that men usually naturally care less about the specifics of someone’s grocery order. Recently, another male Instacart shopper was ridiculed for giving a female customer plastic lemons instead of the real ones she requested. This incident was seen as yet another instance of “weaponized incompetence,” a philosophy many male Instacart shoppers have been accused of embracing to get out of fulfilling their duties to the best of their abilities.
@jpall20 What ridiculous orders have you gotten? #delivery #deliverydriver #ubereats #instacart #walmart #shipt #doordash #fails #failarmy #theft #greenscreen ♬ Shocking / Comical / Prank / Suspicious(1320742) – nyansuke
Care.com defines weaponized incompetence as “a form of passive-aggressive behavior where an individual deliberately performs tasks poorly or pretends to be incapable of completing certain tasks.”
Several folks responded to @jpall20’s clip and also seemed to think that this issue could be explained by the fact the delivery driver was male.
“A man did that. I did an instacart order and wanted a lb of cheese. The man brought me the entire block and it cost me $75,” one person wrote.
Someone else shared their own out-of-left-field substitution story, writing, “I ordered PADS and he replaced them with fried rice.”
Then there was another delivery driver who was concerned with baby’s first gains, sharing, “I ordered baby formula and received protein powder.”
“I ordered a pack of diapers from Walmart and got a microwave as a replacement,” another remarked.
However, others were still trying to get to the bottom of just why in the world the Uber delivery driver decided to keep the Zyrtec in the security packaging, while others sought to provide a solution.
“So they’re paying for their own similar priced items on the door dash card and shop lifting the delivery stuff? Or what lol,” one individual surmised.
Someone else said they, too, had an item delivered in the security packaging.
“I got a flea collar from walmart a few weeks ago and it was in that exact type of box,” they said. “Had to pry it open with a screwdriver.”
Depending on where the Uber delivery driver picked up the package, however, it could be that the employee in charge of “picking” said items may’ve forgotten to take it out of the security packaging, or was waiting until the delivery driver showed up to do just that.
Or, like many in the comments speculated, the personal shopper just stole the Zyrtec and used the balance to pocket some products for themselves.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Uber via email, Redditor @KatiaFlaviaGostosona via direct message, and @jpall20 via TikTok comment.