Kentucky DoorDasher drives full mileage on Taco Bell order, goes to 2 restaurants. Then he only gets partial pay

A delivery driver is raising a question regarding fair compensation on DoorDash after having his pay slashed.

Kentucky TikToker Jacob Howard (@howardz33) shared a video that received more than 2,000 views. In it, he questioned whether DoorDash handled two delivery orders he received fairly. According to his viewers, he had a reason to be concerned.

The situation

Howard said that he was given a two-part delivery order. He went to the first restaurant. Then he had to drive to Taco Bell for the last half of his delivery.

Howard said he picked up the first part of the order without any incidents. Then Howard went to Taco Bell. Upon arrival, he had to wait for an employee to assist him. Finally, an employee came out and told him his order had “already been picked up” by another driver.

Howard contacted DoorDash support for assistance. Then he said DoorDash removed the Taco Bell delivery from his dash and gave him partial pay.

Howard's question

The driver was left questioning whether he was wrong for expecting the full amount.

His argument was straightforward.

“ I went to both restaurants.  I spent another twenty minutes on support, and I'm still driving the same distance to the location to drop off,” he said. “I should be paid the full amount that I agreed to because I am going to both restaurants and the full mileage.”

Other drivers say it's a regular problem

In the comment section, other delivery drivers shared similar stories.

One viewer said, “This happened to me 3 times last week and they gave me zero.”

Another commenter said, “Twice this week I've went to pick up and the order was already picked up. They promised partial pay and I never received it.”

What does DoorDash say delivery drivers should do?

DoorDash's official guidance appears to differ from what Howard and other delivery drivers have experienced. 

According to the company's Dasher Support page, drivers can contact support when their order is not available for pickup. Importantly, DoorDash says Support will contact the restaurant to remake the order and have the driver complete the delivery.

This guidance contradicts what some delivery drivers have been experiencing. As in Howard's case, DoorDash should have contacted Taco Bell with a remake request. Instead, DoorDash removed the order from Howard, which left him with only partial pay for the delivery.

@howardz33 I'm so tired of everything felling like a scam. Is DoorDash in the wrong or Am I in the wrong? I say they should pay me the full amount since I went to both agreed upon restaurants and traveled the full agreed upon mileage. #wagetheft #scam #minimumwage #delivery ♬ original sound – Jacob Howard

Could these incidents be part of a customer scam?

Howard's experience also raises the possibility of a customer taking advantage of a gap in the DoorDash delivery process. While there is no evidence that this particular customer did so, the situation resembles experiences described by other delivery drivers.

One Facebook post illustrates how such a scenario could potentially work. A DoorDash delivery driver claimed Starbucks employees told them a customer had placed two orders back-to-back. They said that Starbucks employees mistakenly allowed the first delivery driver to deliver both orders. That left the second driver with nothing to deliver, which forced them to cancel the order. According to them, that meant the customer would get reimbursement, despite getting a full delivery. The delivery driver had to contact DoorDash to report the issue.

Ultimately, most viewers agreed that Howard should have received full compensation. Whether DoorDash offers its delivery drivers opportunities to receive full pay, however, is up for debate.

Buzz News reached out to DoorDash via email and Howard via TikTok direct message for comment.