The dark side of Doordash

Maya Campbell

Thirty percent. That’s the fee Doordash charges restaurants that utilize its service.

Doordash was founded in Palo Alto by two Stanford University students in 2012 and quickly expanded nationwide. It allows users to have food delivered or picked up at restaurants by ordering in the app.

As the most popular food delivery service in the U.S. with a staggering 57% market share, according to Backlinko, Doordash can afford to charge restaurants a slew of fees.

“Doordash takes a large cut of our profit, but it is by far the most popular online ordering option. If we stopped using it, business would undoubtedly suffer,” said Jia Cheng, the owner of Yan’s Garden Chinese Restaurant, a local business in San Carlos.

Cheng has witnessed Doordash’s impact on her business and businesses across the peninsula. It’s reach transcends more than just food deliveries as they offer pickup orders, which retain the 30% flat fee.

“I don’t understand why the fee is still 30% when drivers and outsourced labor aren’t used,” Cheng said. “I feel that decreasing the fee when dealing with pickups would help a lot.”

As a result, many restaurants resort to upping prices on Doordash while retaining lower ones in the restaurant itself. This strategy partially alleviates the problem of Doordash fees but also creates new issues with high pricing and incentive for the customer.

“We’ve gotten complaints about our pricing on Doordash compared with other restaurants and our website, but it’s just what we have to do,” Cheng said.

However, on the consumer side, fees are no novel concept either. A pang of hunger for a $6 drink can turn into an $18 endeavor after taxes, delivery fees, and service fees.

“For me, even the smallest craving turns into a Doordash order, to be honest,” said Andrew Benet, a Carlmont student and Doordash user.

After using Doordash for three years, Benet considers it a monetary vice, having spent over $1000 within the past month. He acknowledges that the habit is expensive.

For many, the convenience of Doordash is quickly disputed when one thinks about its negative impacts.

“I’ve done calculations, and on average, there is about a 25% price discrepancy on items between Doordash’s pricing and the restaurant’s pricing. It’s not gonna stop me, though,” Benet said.

The fact that Doordash can deliver essential food to almost any place in the U.S. makes it a force to be reckoned with. Although there are other food delivery services, they all have similar fees and pricing practices.

Doordash’s similarity to services such as Uber Eats, GrubHub, and Postmates caused the services to fall into legal trouble in 2022. To be included on their apps, these services forced restaurants to charge the same amount for dining in and delivery. The coalition was accused of having a trust, and a trial seeking damages for restaurant owners is still on the horizon, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.

Doordash has also run into issues withholding tips from drivers and misclassifying them as independent contractors to pay them less. This resulted in several lawsuits to be filed against the company.

The legal issue-ridden side of Doordash is unknown to most people; however, there does exist a minority group that is outspoken against all facets of Doordash’s practices.

Senior Carlmont student Katrin Lelyushkina consistently voices her anti-Doordash views, even when they contradict her friends’ purchases.

“Whenever my friends order Doordash, I always shame them, I know it’s a little mean, but the company is corrupt and very scam-like,” Lelyushkina said.

Lelyushkina always makes sure to cook her own food or directly support the restaurants she buys from by ordering from them directly. Lelyushkina is also acutely aware of Doordash’s power and influence.

“Doordash’s status as a food delivery giant allows it to get away with malpractice on all levels of the business, so that’s the main reason I don’t support the company,” Lelyushkina said.

Doordash did not respond when asked for a comment.