DoorDash driver removed from app after contacting customer on social media

A relaxing Friday night in with takeout food turned into a distressing situation for a Toronto woman who placed an order with DoorDash last week.

Samantha, who prefers to use an alias for safety reasons, says her order on Jan. 7 was taking longer than expected to be delivered and she messaged the delivery person assigned to the order on the DoorDash app to find out why. He informed her the restaurant was a little behind and shortly after said he had picked up the order.

Upon arrival at Samantha’s condo building, the delivery person was not allowed to go up to her unit due to the building’s COVID protocols, so she met him in the lobby and picked up her order.

Thereafter, the delivery driver messaged in the app, apologizing for the inconvenience to Samantha. He then followed up with a personal question that she found unnecessary and inappropriate.

“Shortly afterwards I received a Facebook request … then I realized I got a notification from LinkedIn that someone had also viewed my account and it was the same person,” Samantha tells CityNews.

While the name of the delivery driver was different from that of the person sending the social media requests, she recognized his face and jacket.

“It felt very violating and a huge invasion of my privacy,” said Samantha. “I was using a food delivery app to deliver food to my home during a pandemic and it was really unnerving and scary to know that someone used my private information from the app and had done some internet sleuthing and tried to find me outside of the app.”

Difficulty registering a complaint

Samantha says she was angry and perturbed and tried to contact DoorDash right away, which she says was a very frustrating experience and it was extremely difficult to get past the automated system and talk to an agent.

She first tried registering a complaint via the app, specifying there was an issue with the order. None of the available options applied to her situation, so she asked to speak to an agent and was on hold for 30 minutes. An automatic $10 credit was also offered while she waited.

Thereafter she called the DoorDash helpline and was on hold for another 30 minutes before she spoke to an agent.

“They said this was not in their purview and took down the details of my complaint and said that someone from their safety team would be in touch with me shortly,” she explained.

The next day, Samantha received an email from DoorDash, that she calls “pretty generic,” saying they take the matter very seriously and asked her for more details regarding the incident. She responded with answers to their questions and thereafter heard nothing until Monday, after CityNews reached out to DoorDash.

“There has to be a mechanism for people to file a complaint or escalate an issue and that mechanism can’t be waiting 30 minutes to talk to an agent who then sends you off to another team who then doesn’t get back to you,” said Samantha.

Response from DoorDash

In a statement, DoorDash told CityNews they have connected with Samantha and expressed their regret and support. Samantha says they were also able to confirm that the driver was the person who contacted her on social media following the interaction within the DoorDash app.

“The trust and safety of our community is extremely important to us. The behavior described is concerning and completely unacceptable and we’ve deactivated the Dasher involved,” said a DoorDash spokeswoman.

DoorDash says a delivery driver is only provided with the customer’s first name and last initial along with their address for delivery. Any messages between customer and driver are sent through the app and if the customer chooses to call the driver, their phone number is masked for privacy.

They added that their policies clearly state that personal details can only be used for the purposes of completing a delivery. When a driver is deactivated, they are not provided with a specific reason and they no longer have any access to any previous customer information.

However, Samantha says not only does that policy not categorically stop misuse of information, but it is beside the point, as the driver already knows where she lives.

“This person has my full address … this individual already has access to that information and there’s really nothing I can do to protect myself in that sense,” she said, adding that she will not be using the app anymore and has deleted her account.

Samantha also noted that she lives in a building with security and other protections, but many others don’t.

“Right now, people are choosing to stay home and … probably using these food delivery apps more than ever. I can’t imagine, for someone who is already isolated and at home alone, experiencing something like this. That’s something that would keep me up at night, knowing that this individual was using my information in that way.”

Police recourse and safety tips

Samantha has chosen not to take this matter to police thus far.

Toronto Police says if they were to receive such a complaint, an investigation would be conducted and if warranted, a charge of criminal harassment could be laid in such a case.

DoorDash says they work collaboratively with law enforcement whenever they are alerted to any such incidents. They added that they not only respond to any police requests, but also proactively reach out to police in cases where they can be helpful to an investigation. Samantha says in her conversation with DoorDash, they mentioned that if an altercation or assault were to occur, they would fully cooperate with police.

She says that is simply not good enough and a reactive policy instead of a proactive one is highly inadequate.

“How is that ok? Their response is ‘if you do get attacked, go to the cops and we’ll talk to the cops.’ How about you do your best to make sure I don’t get attacked?” she said.

Const. Laura Brabant says when someone tells a police officer they do not feel safe, they go over general safety tips with the person, depending on the nature of the circumstances.

She provided the following tips that police suggest people should consider:

• Privatize social media accounts or familiarize yourself with the different levels of security options available on social media. Be cautious about posting information about your daily schedule on social media if you live alone or are out of town.
• For food or delivery drop off, use the lobby of your building. Ask building security or a neighbour to go with you for pickup.
• Don’t open the door unless you know who it is. If maintenance needs to be done at your residence, ask a friend or family member to be present with you while the worker is in the residence.
• Invest in a security system or camera/door camera.
• Leave a light on at home.
• Keep doors/windows locked/alarmed.
• Get to know your neighbours and ask them to report any suspicious activity/vehicles/people.
• Close the curtains.