Aita? non biased opinion wanted

Earlier today I ordered food from Uber Eats and filed a complaint about the delivery person. I live in an apartment complex that has 2 entrances. The front entrance you walk up the steps and the door to the building is about 5 feet from the top of the steps. The 2nd entrance is in the back but you must pass through a security gate. Security will call the person receiving the delivery to confirm. The 2nd entrance is also where you pass to get to the parking garage for the tenants. Uber Eats sent me and alert on my cellphone telling my food was 1 minute away.

I went downstairs and went to the front because that's where the gps said the delivery car was located. I went back and forth around the front of the complex for a couple of minutes before heading back to the front door. I was about to head back in and call the delivery driver when I accidentally hit something with my foot. I looked down and there was my food sitting on the ground. I was instantly upset. I had ordered 2 submarine sandwiches which were only wrapped in paper then put in a plastic bag. (Not mad at the restaurant. That's how it is packaged for pick up too.)

I was mad that the delivery driver just left my food like that on the ground. Insects could have gotten into the bag. Other animals like strays or opossums, etc could have gotten to it. Or another person could have just picked it up and walked away. They didn't even have the courtesy of calling me to let me know or wait till I was there to hand it to me. They left a message on my Uber Eats account to let me know but I didn;t see it until after I filed my complaint.

I called Uber Eats directly and told them the whole story. I told them I felt it was unprofessional and disrespectful to just drop my food on the ground and then run off. I asked them discipline their delivery driver and told them I was taking back the 21% tip I had given earlier. I used to be a waiter so I know the struggle. I usually tip at least 20 - 30 % instead of the usual 15.

I met up with some friends and told them what happened. My friends all agreed with me but some stranger walking by when I recounted the event to my friend said that I don't know the the delivery person's history or if they were going through something at that time. Maybe they didn't speak English and they didn't want the hassle of trying to communicate through a language barrier. Maybe they didn't want to deal with security for the same reason. They had a 95% rating and I tanked it because they didn't put it directly in my hands and they're probably struggling to make ends meet that's why they are delivering for Uber Eats. They stranger said if I didn't get them fired I probably put them on the shit list and all because I was entitled. I probably ruined their day or week if not their life.

My friends told the stranger to fuck off and leave us alone and told me not to listen to them. We went about our day but it stuck in the back of my mind. I went home and decided to post and ask because now I feel awful. I was never called entitled before and I didn't think it entitled of my to want my food to be handed to me instead of placed on the dirty ground. But that person was so incensed at my "entitledness" I had me doubting. So am I the asshole? Did I overreact?

Hello, cryingfreeman-

I don't know how Uber Eats works, is there a delivery notes area for instructions? With all of my deliveries, I give specific instructions with what bell to ring, where to leave food, etc. Works great, especially because I prefer non-contact delivery. Never had a problem, other than occasional language issues... my Spanish leaves a bit to be desired, although I try my best.

The stranger is correct, you don't know what happened on delivery driver's side- maybe he or she does non-contact only, could have been confused by multiple entrances, didn't know you wanted in hand delivery, was under the gun with deadlines, or anything else. As someone who had also worked in the restaurant industry for a long time, I know there are usually behind the scenes reasons for most situations, so being understanding both as a customer and as the service provider is very important. For what it is worth, the driver did leave you a message, it is not his or her fault that you did not look at it until later. Maybe follow up, if you can, and adjust your feedback to be less retaliatory.

A rule I try to live by, which may help you in the future, is to never post, respond, or act out on the fly when upset. Maybe write a draft, but leave it and come back later, after having calmed down and analyzed the situation. It saves trouble, heartache, and regret.

Regards
-Ms Black

PS- I like your username, I used to collect Crying Freeman comics back in the day.

I probably would have told them to fuck off as well. You're "entitled" because, why exactly? Christ.

While I don't agree with leaving the food, the person did message you, and its more on you than them that you didn't see it. However, they also could have called, So, i'd say 50/50 maybe? Going forward, I would suggest writing some details about how best to get you the food if they are delivering. I have my own problems with this stuff, because it seems people have a very difficult time finding our apartment. I've learned that it is best to be waiting in advance a few minutes to make sure I catch them before they get confused, even though I've written details on how to find us.

If it's a one-off thing, I wouldn't worry about it too much, but if this has happened before a few times, you might need to reevaluate your pick up practices.

Hi,

First I am going to start off by saying I love these "AITA" posts. Some really great stuff. I used to follow the AITA Reddit sub until I deleted my Reddit account. Anyway, I was a delivery driver for both Doordash and Grubhub for over a year, but never Uber Eats. With that being said, I will use my own experience to comment but also be as unbiased as possible.

There's really a lot going on with this whole process that many people aren't aware of. For starters, several of these food delivery companies will send out alerts saying your food is "insert time here" minutes away earlier than the time they state. AKA they're telling you that your food is 1 minute away, but it might actually be 5-10 minutes away. Its also not uncommon for a driver to mark the food delivered a little early to stay within a certain time frame or for the app to have a delay between when the app reports the food "delivered" and the food is actually delivered. Secondly, apartment complexes are for the most part, every delivery driver's nightmare. I base this off of my own experiences getting lost, and also tons of comments from other delivery drivers about how frustrating navigating apartment complexes are.

So a couple questions. As I said, I am unfamiliar with Uber Eats as I have never driven for them nor ordered through them. Is there a specific section where you can leave delivery notes (i.e. please leave the food (insert location here) or please call me upon arrival, etc.)? Also does Uber Eats ask you if you want contactless delivery or face to face delivery? These things matter because if you didn't provide the driver with specific delivery instructions or you have contactless delivery selected, then the driver is not necessarily in the wrong. If you have face to face or "hand to me" delivery and the driver left the food and drove off, that's on them. They did not follow instructions and they're in the wrong. Also is the door to your apartment complex locked? Perhaps he left the food outside because they could not get in through the door.

In regard to the whole situation and to answer your question, I don't think you're entitled first of all. You paid for a service and you felt that the appropriate level of service was not delivered. Its in your right to complain. Especially with how damn expensive these services are today. Also, assuming you're not lying, you tipped pretty well (20%+) so you're not a no-tipping piece of garbage either. I have also seen my fair share of terrible or lazy delivery drivers so maybe he was in a rush or lazy and just dropped your food real quick. its entirely possible, but we don't really know for sure.

On the other hand, UberEats did give you a message or two letting you know that the food was delivered. Unfortunately, thats on you that you missed it. Should the delivery driver have left your food on the ground? No, probably not. That is a very common complaint among customers. However, sometimes you don't have anywhere else to leave it. Is there a table or chair outside? Is there a mailbox nearby?

Honestly, I see how the situation could be upsetting but I do feel like you may have overreacted a bit. I dont really think it matters though because I dont think anything will come of it. Most of these delivery companies dont really give a darn about the driver, customer, or complaints. They just comp your food and forget about it. Occasionally an account will be deactivated. If this driver has multiple complaints against him he could be deactivated. If not, he'll probably be fine. I doubt one complaint will "tank" his reputation. Who knows. Like someone else said, I would try to analyze and think about the whole situation before jumping to conclusions and doing something potentially damaging to someone.

I will say I have called and filed complaints against drivers before as well, but thats because they stole my food or delivered it 45+ minutes late and ice cold.

Thanks for all the responses. I just want to make something clear. I didn't miss the delivery. I was paying attention to my phone the entire time and I went down as soon as I got the alert that it was 1 minute away. When I went to the front he was already gone but I didn't know he left the food until after I circled the front a couple of times looking for him then accidentally kicked it with my foot when I opened the front door of the building. I was upset because he couldn't even wait the 15 - 30 seconds it took me to ride the elevator down from my 5th floor apartment to the lobby and just left my food on the ground and left. I called and he didn't answer his phone.

This wasn't the first time. Another delivery person a few months ago did the same thing and my food got stolen. At first he answered and said he left it by the elevator and hung up abruptly. I checked but there was no food there. Then I tried calling him again and again but he ignored my calls. I called Uber Eats and they had the restaurant remake my food and deliver it again but I had to wait an extra 30 - 45 minutes and I had just come from a long day at work and was starving because I had to skip lunch to catch up. The second driver actually called me when he arrived then waited the 15 - 30 seconds for me to get to the front door.

I hope this clarifies why I got so upset. It was almost a repeat but I found the food by accident the second time around.

BlueLine7045 said:

Most of these delivery companies dont really give a darn about the driver, customer, or complaints. They just comp your food and forget about it. Occasionally an account will be deactivated. If this driver has multiple complaints against him he could be deactivated. If not, he'll probably be fine. I doubt one complaint will "tank" his reputation. Who knows. Like someone else said, I would try to analyze and think about the whole situation before jumping to conclusions and doing something potentially damaging to someone.

I will say I have called and filed complaints against drivers before as well, but thats because they stole my food or delivered it 45+ minutes late and ice cold.

Click to expand...

Just my 2 cents, but the above is why I don't use these delivery companies to begin with. If I want to dine out, I just pick it up or dine in the store. The "convenience" is outweighed by the fees, the lackluster companies, and often questionable drivers.

That being said, I guess it might be more sensible if you live in a massive city where traffic sucks, but otherwise, it's just cheaper and less of a hassle to get the food yourself.