You’re hungry at home and not wanting to cook, but also not wanting to drive anywhere yourself. So, you order food for delivery from Uber Eats, but when it gets there, you notice your large fries seem to be a little less full than you remember them being… Did your Uber Eats driver eat your french fries?!
It’s not uncommon to hear about food delivery drivers nibbling on their customers’ food in transit, but what happens when it happens to you? Are there drivers stealing their customers’ food? What can you do, and what should you do about it and in the future?
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Uber Eats Drivers Eating The Food of Customers
Most of the time, no. Your food is safe, and you can sit back and relax while you wait for your meal to be delivered to your doorstep. However, there have been reports of drivers munching on their customers’ food.
Recent studies:
A fairly recent study found that almost 30% of delivery persons admit to eating some of your meal before it gets to your front door. This study wasn’t Uber Eats specific. However, it does give a general idea of the atmosphere and attitudes of food delivery drivers.
Also, keep in mind that that means over 70% of drivers do NOT nibble on your food – so, for the majority of the time, your food is indeed in trustworthy hands, and you can rest assured your food has not been touched in transit.
30% of Drivers are Eating Food
In this same study, over 20% percent of users who use food delivery apps reported that they thought a delivery driver ate food at some point.
More than half of delivery drivers admitted to being inticed by the smell of their customer’s food. About half of those tempted drivers actually took a bite.
It is quite unfortunate that temptation sometimes gets the best of even the most dedicated delivery drivers, thus violating their duty and compromising the trust given to them by their customers to bring them their meal safely and untouched.
It is important to remember, however, that at the end of the day, we are all human and do still make mistakes.
But we should hold these hungry drivers accountable for their actions, right?
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Steps To Follow
If you suspect your driver has been eating your food before it was delivered to you, you can always contact the Uber Eats customer support line at 1-800-253-9377.
Customer service is available to you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so regardless of when such an incident arises, Uber Eats is there to help in any way they can to help make things right.
Before you call or make a report online, really be sure of your suspicions as not to unjustly accuse a kind-hearted driver of such a harsh crime. If you are sure, make a note of who it was, the time, and take pictures if you can to submit to Uber Eats customer support.
In some cases, you may receive a refund for the food that you ordered as it was not delivered in the state it was promised. If you do not receive a refund back to the card, you ordered with. Sometimes you may get credit with that same balance on your App to apply to your next order made.
Chances of Getting the Same Driver Again
Many customers worry that they will get the same driver again later down the road and thus be faced with the same situation. Uber Eats wants to maintain a good reputation and thus will not allow drivers who have been proven to be stealing food to remain to make deliveries.
After a recent video of an Uber Eats driver stealing from a delivery order goes viral, this issue is as hot as your food should be when it gets to you. But as evidenced by this event, Uber Eats will indeed fire a driver for being caught stealing your food.
What To Do In The Future
If you have had an unpleasant experience with a driver not just taking a bite from your fries, but stealing your entire order, you can take certain measures to make sure that circumstance does not repeat itself.
If you want to feel confident in your order making it to you and want to erase any uncertainty in the delivery process, you can track it mindfully from the time you place the order until the time it is delivered. Once delivered, you can also check your food to be sure it is all present before the driver leaves your house.
Preventative Measures Exist
While there are no real fool-proof methods to entirely ensure your food makes it to you completely intact, there are a few ideas some customers are pushing for.
Most notable is the demand for tamper-evident packaging from restaurants. Many restaurants are now sealing paper bags and/or food containers with stickers to help prevent their customers’ food from being tampered with before it reaches them.
Contact Customer Support
If you run into a problem with your order, Uber has an excellent customer service support team to help you. It’s recommended to first check their Frequently Asked Questions, as your answer may be a simple search away. However, if you require additional support, help is available whenever you need it.
You can submit a question on UberEats’ help page and someone on their support team will get back to you in the next 48 hours. You will also receive a notification on your phone from Uber alerting you that you have gotten a response as well as an email, so you can be sure not to miss it!
You can also check out the help page for a bank of excellent information or call their Customer Support toll-free line at 1-800-253-9377 if it’s available.
Canceling My Order
If you (the customer) cancels an order made and already picked up by an Uber Eats driver, Uber directs the drivers to eat it if they want to or to dispose of it in the trash. This would not be considered stealing your food, as the order was not able to be delivered to you because it was canceled.
Don’t Worry
Luckily, most of the time, your food is safe, and you do not have to worry about your Uber Eats driver stealing your food or eating it in transit.
There are, of course, the bad apples in every bunch, but Uber Eats does its best to ensure their drivers are trustworthy and will uphold the basic standards of picking up and delivering your meals to you, untouched.
Brittish, an UberEATS drive stole my entire order $76.88 she tried to be slick and park a half block or so from my house to make it seem like she delivered. Would had never noticed it was her (after stand outside for about 2mins) until she did a U-turn in a yellow 4dr. She took my food and said she completed my order. I got my refund and I took my $7 tip back but I want her thieving self fired.
that sucks if you tipped but if you didnt fk it you deserve it these drivers need to eat too the app will give them 2.50$ for the ride so if you cant tip get you ass up and get it yourself