Why Your DoorDash Order Is Stuck on "Confirming" and What You Can Do About It

Few things are more frustrating than being hungry, ordering food delivery, and then having your order seemingly get stuck in limbo. If you‘ve ever placed a DoorDash order only to have it stay on "Confirming Order" status for an extended period, you know this irritation all too well.

Don‘t worry – in most cases, a "stuck" order is a minor hiccup that will resolve on its own. But sometimes intervention is needed to get things moving. Let‘s take an in-depth look at why this common issue occurs and exactly what you can do about it.

Why DoorDash Orders Get Stuck on "Confirming"

After you place an order on the DoorDash app or website, the restaurant needs to confirm they received the order and are preparing the food. During this period, your order status will show as "Confirming Order." Typically this lasts just a few minutes before changing to "Food is Being Prepared" or a similar status.

However, sometimes orders seem to get trapped on "Confirming." There are a few potential culprits for this:

The Restaurant Didn‘t Accept the Order

When an order comes in, restaurants receive an alert through their DoorDash Merchant tablet. A staff member needs to review the order details and physically tap "Confirm" to accept the order. If they fail to do this, your order will remain stuck awaiting confirmation.

This often happens simply because restaurant staff are busy and haven‘t gotten to the tablet yet. According to several restaurant managers I spoke to, it‘s easy for DoorDash orders to slip through the cracks if the restaurant is slammed with on-premises customers.

"When we‘re in the middle of a big rush, we prioritize in-person customers and phone orders ahead of DoorDash," said Maria Rodriguez, owner of Taco City Mexican Grill. "Sometimes the tablet is dinging with new orders but we can‘t break away to check it immediately. There are times orders go unconfirmed for 10+ minutes until things settle down and we can catch up on DoorDash."

Other times, the lack of confirmation is due to a technical issue like the restaurant‘s tablet losing internet connectivity or needing to be restarted. In rarer cases, the restaurant may have closed early or paused taking delivery orders due to being short-staffed but forgot to mark themselves inactive on DoorDash.

A Glitch with Your DoorDash App

Another possibility is your DoorDash app froze or glitched out after placing the order. Maybe the order didn‘t actually go through to the restaurant, so there‘s nothing for them to confirm. Or the restaurant did confirm but the status is failing to update on your end due to an app bug.

Restarting the app (fully close it and reopen) will often resolve any minor technical difficulties and restore accurate order tracking. You can also try checking your order status on the DoorDash website instead of the app.

You Used an Outdated Menu to Place the Order

If the version of the restaurant‘s menu on DoorDash is old and lists items they no longer make, this can gum up the confirmation process.

"We‘ll get orders for things we don‘t even serve anymore," said Harrison Kim, manager of Lucky China Bistro. "When that happens, we have to contact the customer through DoorDash support to ask them to change their order. This back-and-forth can make confirming the order take much longer."

Restaurants are responsible for keeping their DoorDash menu up to date, but mistakes happen. To minimize the chances of this, stick to ordering a restaurant‘s most basic, popular items instead of obscure dishes that are more likely to have been discontinued.

What to Do If Your DoorDash Order Is Stuck on "Confirming"

Now that you know the common causes behind stuck orders, what can you actually do about it? Follow these troubleshooting steps:

1. Wait It Out (For a Bit)

Some patience is needed with online food delivery. While we‘ve all grown accustomed to instant gratification with today‘s technology, the reality is restaurants still need time to confirm orders and prepare food. Don‘t panic if your order stays on "Confirming" for 5-10 minutes.

However, if it‘s been over 10 minutes with no update, then it‘s time to investigate further. Chances are there‘s an issue that needs resolving and your order isn‘t going to move forward on its own.

2. Restart the DoorDash App

As mentioned, sometimes a glitch with the DoorDash app itself is the reason your order tracking seems frozen. It‘s an easy fix to fully close out of the app and restart it.

On an iPhone, swipe up from the bottom of your screen to view all open apps. Find DoorDash and swipe up on the app window to close it. On Android, tap the square navigation button to see your active apps. Tap the "X" on DoorDash to close it.

Then reopen the app and check your order status again. If it‘s been stuck for an abnormally long time, you may see it has refreshed and is now showing "Food is Being Prepared." If your order still shows "Confirming," move on to the next step.

3. Call the Restaurant

Picking up the phone and calling the restaurant can help you get to the bottom of a stuck order. Explain that you placed an order X minutes ago via DoorDash but it still shows as "Confirming" on your end and you want to check if they received it.

If they haven‘t confirmed the order yet, they can do so while you‘re on the phone. They may offer a reason why it‘s taken so long – a backed up kitchen, internet issues, etc. If they aren‘t even aware of your order, there may be a problem with their DoorDash tablet or your order may have failed to go through.

In any case, calling enables you to find out the order status straight from the source. You may need to cancel and resubmit the order if there seems to be a glitch. The restaurant might even recommend ordering directly from their website for a smoother process if they are having technical difficulties with the DoorDash platform.

4. Contact DoorDash Customer Service

If you‘re unable to connect with the restaurant or prefer not to call, reaching out to DoorDash support is your next best option. You can contact them via live chat on the DoorDash app or website.

Click "Help" on your order screen and then select "Chat with Support." Explain your issue – i.e. "My order has been stuck on Confirming for over 20 minutes. Could you please check on it?"

The support agent can contact the restaurant on your behalf to determine what the holdup is. They may be able to cancel and refund your order if need be, or provide you with an extra discount or credits for the inconvenience.

5. Cancel the Order If Needed

If it becomes clear your order isn‘t going to be completed due to a restaurant being closed/unresponsive or an insurmountable technical issue, cancelling is your best course of action. You can cancel orders on your own via the DoorDash app or website up until the point the restaurant confirms it.

After confirming the cancellation, DoorDash will immediately process your refund if you paid with a credit/debit card. The funds will be credited back to your original payment method, typically within 5-7 business days. If you used DoorDash account credit to pay, that will be restored instantly.

Once you‘ve sorted out your stuck order, consider placing a new one to ensure you aren‘t left hungry!

How Long Should DoorDash Confirmation Take?

Ideally, restaurants will confirm DoorDash orders within 1-3 minutes of receiving them. According to DoorDash, most restaurants average a 4 minute confirmation time. However, some restaurants may take up to 8-10 minutes depending on how busy they are.

If a restaurant consistently takes longer than 10 minutes to confirm orders, DoorDash may reach out to work with them on streamlining operations and reducing wait times. In extreme cases, habitually slow restaurants risk being removed from the DoorDash platform.

So while a 10+ minute "Confirming" status isn‘t unheard of, it should be the exception rather than the norm. Don‘t hesitate to follow up on orders that seem to be lagging beyond the typical window.

Key Takeaways for Timely DoorDash Orders

No one likes a stuck DoorDash order, but they are usually resolved quickly with a little troubleshooting. Remember these tips for a smooth experience:

• Be patient, but not too patient. Wait 5-10 minutes for a "Confirming" order before investigating further.
• Restart the DoorDash app to resolve minor technical glitches.
• Call the restaurant to get a direct update on your order status.
• Contact DoorDash support for additional help.
• Cancel and reorder if your original order can‘t be completed.
• Choose popular, basic menu items to avoid issues with outdated restaurant menus.

Armed with this knowledge, you‘ll know exactly what to do the next time you see your DoorDash order status stall out. Bon appétit!