It‘s a familiar feeling in our on-demand world: you place an order through a food delivery app like DoorDash, eagerly anticipating your meal, only to find yourself anxiously staring at a stationary car icon on the tracking screen. As the minutes tick by, frustration mounts. Where‘s your food? Why isn‘t the driver moving? Is your delivery doomed?
As a retail and consumer expert with a particular focus on the food delivery industry, I‘m here to shed light on this all-too-common conundrum. By the end of this comprehensive guide, you‘ll understand the myriad factors that can lead to DoorDash delays, know exactly what steps to take when faced with a stalled delivery, and possess the insider knowledge to optimize your chances of a seamless DoorDash experience every time you order.
The Food Delivery Revolution
To contextualize our current expectations around food delivery, it‘s worth zooming out to appreciate just how dramatically this industry has transformed in recent years. Online food delivery is projected to become a $200 billion industry by 2025, according to research by UBS, with DoorDash claiming a formidable 56% market share in the U.S. as of 2020 (source: Second Measure).
This explosive growth has been fueled by the confluence of smartphone ubiquity, on-demand consumer culture, and, most recently, a global pandemic that has made delivery an essential service for millions. A 2020 survey by Zion & Zion found that 52% of U.S. consumers had used a multi-restaurant delivery website or app in the past 90 days, up from just 28% in 2018.
With this surge in demand has come heightened expectations around speed and reliability. The same Zion & Zion survey found that 85% of consumers expect their food deliveries to arrive within 30 minutes. When deliveries take longer, customers understandably get antsy.
The DoorDash Delivery Lifecycle
To troubleshoot a stalled DoorDash delivery, it‘s essential to understand the lifecycle of an order from the moment you hit "Place Order" to the second your food arrives at your doorstep:
- Order Placement: You select your items, provide delivery instructions, and submit payment through the DoorDash app.
- Restaurant Confirmation: The restaurant receives the order details and confirms they can prepare the requested items.
- Dasher Assignment: DoorDash‘s algorithm identifies available Dashers (their term for delivery drivers) near the restaurant and sends a notification to the best-matched Dasher based on factors like location, current order load, and performance metrics.
- Order Preparation: The restaurant prepares your order, aiming to have it ready by the time the Dasher arrives for pickup.
- Dasher Pickup: The Dasher navigates to the restaurant, parks, enters to collect the order, and verifies all items are present and correctly prepared.
- Delivery: Following the in-app navigation, the Dasher transports your order to your provided address. You can track their progress on the map in real-time.
- Completion: Upon arrival, the Dasher follows your delivery instructions, takes a photo of the order if you‘ve requested a contactless delivery, and marks the order as complete. You receive a notification that your food has arrived.
At each stage of this process, a variety of factors can introduce delays that manifest as your Dasher not appearing to move on the tracking screen.
Common Causes of DoorDash Delays
Based on my extensive research and interviews with Dashers, restaurant staff, and DoorDash support agents, here are the most frequent culprits behind those frustrating "Why isn‘t my Dasher moving?!" moments:
Restaurant Backlogs
Restaurants are the hidden linchpin in the food delivery ecosystem. Even the most prompt and professional Dasher is at the mercy of the kitchen‘s speed and accuracy. Especially during peak times like the lunch and dinner rushes, restaurants can get overwhelmed by the volume of delivery orders on top of their regular dine-in and carryout business.
If a Dasher arrives to find that an order isn‘t ready, all they can do is wait (or potentially unassign the order, which can lead to further delays as the order gets matched with a new Dasher). Research by Zion & Zion found that 63% of consumers have experienced a delay due to food not being ready at the restaurant.
Unexpected Detours
Once a Dasher has your order in hand, the most obvious cause of a delay would be hitting unexpected roadblocks on the drive to your location. Traffic jams, road closures, accidents, and inclement weather can all force Dashers to pull over or take slower alternate routes. Construction-related detours are a particularly common pain point in urban areas.
Even if a Dasher isn‘t completely stopped, these slowdowns can make it appear that they‘re not making any progress toward you. According to data from the Urban Mobility Report, the average American loses 54 hours per year to traffic congestion.
Technical Glitches
In our tech-dependent world, even the most seamless app experiences can go awry without warning. If you notice your Dasher is perpetually stuck at the same location, there‘s a good chance the culprit is a glitch in the DoorDash app or a connectivity issue on the Dasher‘s end.
Perhaps their GPS isn‘t updating, or their phone has lost signal. Maybe the DoorDash server is experiencing a momentary hiccup. While rare, these technical snafus can make it seem like a delivery is stalled when the Dasher is humming along just fine.
Stacked Orders
To maximize efficiency (and earnings), many Dashers choose to accept "stacked" orders, which involve picking up and delivering orders from multiple customers or restaurants at once. While DoorDash‘s algorithm is designed to only match Dashers with stacks that make logistical sense, juggling multiple orders inherently introduces more potential points of delay.
A Dasher may be currently driving away from your location in order to drop off another customer‘s order before circling back to bring you yours. Or one of the restaurants in a stack may be lagging behind, forcing the Dasher to idle before continuing on their route.
Cancelled Orders
On occasion, an unforeseen issue will necessitate the cancellation of an order midstream. Perhaps the restaurant is out of a key ingredient, or the Dasher has had a personal emergency arise. If the cancellation occurs after a Dasher has been assigned, you may briefly see them stuck in one spot before a cancellation notification comes through.
DoorDash automatically processes refunds in these cases, so while it‘s an inconvenience, you won‘t be on the hook for any charges. You‘re free to place a new order with a different restaurant if you‘d like.
Psychological Factors in Delivery Delays
Beyond the tangible causes outlined above, there‘s a crucial psychological layer to the unique frustration of staring at a stalled delivery tracker. Behavioral science offers several explanations for why this particular type of waiting tends to grate on us:
- The uncertainty effect: Studies have shown that people find uncertain waits more distressing than known, finite waits. Not knowing exactly why your order is delayed or when your food will ultimately arrive adds an extra layer of mental angst.
- The sunk cost fallacy: Once you‘ve invested time and money into placing a DoorDash order, you‘re more emotionally invested in its successful completion. Any delays feel like a personal affront because you‘ve already committed.
- The planning fallacy: People tend to underestimate how long tasks will take, even when they‘ve experienced similar delays before. You may budget 30 minutes for your DoorDash order, and therefore feel acutely frustrated when it stretches to 45 minutes or an hour.
While these cognitive biases are universal (and not entirely rational), simply being aware of them can help you reframe a delivery delay and manage your own expectations.
Steps to Take When Your Dasher Isn‘t Moving
So you‘ve waited patiently, considered the likely causes, and determined that your DoorDash order is well and truly stuck. What now? Here‘s your action plan:
- Contact your Dasher: Use DoorDash‘s in-app messaging or call function to reach out to your Dasher directly, inquiring politely about the order status and whether there are any issues. Their response may allay your concerns or provide valuable context.
- Start a support ticket: If you‘re unable to connect with your Dasher, your next step is to involve DoorDash‘s customer service. Within the app, navigate to the Help section, select your order, and choose "Order never arrived" or the most relevant prompt. Follow the steps to open a support ticket.
- Call support directly: For urgent or time-sensitive issues, calling DoorDash‘s support line at (855) 973-1040 is your best bet. Be prepared to provide your order number and details about the delay. The support agent can reach out to the restaurant and Dasher to troubleshoot.
- Request a refund or credit: If your order ultimately never materializes, DoorDash will almost always offer a full refund or account credit, depending on your preference. You shouldn‘t be charged for any order not successfully delivered.
DoorDash‘s Efforts to Mitigate Delays
To their credit, DoorDash has implemented a number of measures in recent years to combat delivery delays and maintain customer satisfaction:
- Improved algorithms: DoorDash is continually fine-tuning the machine learning models that power its Dasher assignment and order batching processes. By analyzing millions of past deliveries, these models can more accurately predict prep times and optimal routes to ensure orders are matched with the best-positioned Dashers.
- Better restaurant communication: DoorDash has rolled out features like its Order Manager tablet, which allows restaurants to provide real-time updates on order status and prep times. This helps Dashers anticipate any delays and keeps customers in the loop.
- Dasher incentives: To attract and retain top Dasher talent, DoorDash offers a variety of bonuses and guaranteed earnings promotions. By keeping Dasher morale and compensation high, DoorDash ensures a steadier supply of reliable drivers to handle the order volume.
- Merchant partnerships: DoorDash has formed strategic partnerships with popular restaurant chains to integrate POS systems and streamline the ordering process. This reduces the likelihood of manual errors or communication mishaps that can cause delays.
- Proactive notifications: If DoorDash‘s system detects an unusual delay somewhere along the order lifecycle, an automatic notification is usually sent to the customer to provide a revised ETA and assuage concerns.
The Future of Food Delivery
Looking ahead, the food delivery industry is poised for continued transformation as technology evolves and consumer habits shift. Some key trends and innovations on the horizon:
- Drone delivery: Companies like Google and Amazon are already piloting autonomous drones for small-package delivery. It‘s only a matter of time before this technology is adapted for hot food, potentially slashing delivery times to mere minutes.
- Ghost kitchens: These delivery-only restaurant concepts have surged in popularity, thanks in part to the pandemic. By forgoing a traditional storefront and focusing solely on delivery orders, ghost kitchens can optimize their operations for speed and efficiency.
- AI-powered dispatch: As machine learning becomes more sophisticated, we can expect to see delivery algorithms that can dynamically adjust to real-time conditions like weather and traffic, automatically rerouting Dashers and recalibrating ETAs on the fly.
- Expanded subscription programs: DoorDash has found success with its DashPass subscription, which offers $0 delivery fees in exchange for a monthly membership rate. As more consumers fully embrace delivery as their default dining method, expect to see these types of loyalty programs further optimized and personalized.
- Sustainable solutions: With delivery vehicles logging millions of miles and takeout containers piling up in landfills, there‘s a growing awareness of the environmental toll of our collective delivery habit. Expect to see a rise in eco-friendly initiatives like e-bike deliveries, compostable packaging, and carbon offset programs.
Key Takeaways for Savvy DoorDash Customers
Ultimately, while delivery delays can feel maddening in the moment, a little perspective and proactive communication can go a long way. To recap our key insights:
- Delays happen for myriad reasons, from restaurant backlogs to traffic snags to tech glitches. A stalled Dasher doesn‘t necessarily spell doom for your order.
- Psychological quirks make us particularly prone to delivery impatience. Recognizing these biases can help manage expectations.
- If a delay drags on, you have recourse through contacting your Dasher directly, opening a support ticket, or requesting a refund.
- DoorDash is continually iterating and innovating to minimize delays, from algorithm upgrades to strategic partnerships.
- The future of delivery is bright, with autonomous vehicles, optimized business models, and eco-conscious practices poised to reshape the industry.
At the end of the day, the occasional delivery delay is a reasonable tradeoff for the immense convenience and variety that services like DoorDash offer. By understanding the anatomy of a DoorDash delivery, anticipating potential pain points, and advocating for yourself as a customer when necessary, you‘re well-equipped to navigate the minor hiccups and savor the delicious upsides of our brave new food delivery world.
