DoorDash Infuriates Their Employees With New Job Requirements

One anonymous employee took to social media to complain about DoorDash's requirement. This comment appeared on Blind, a platform for tech companies.

By Carolyn Jenkins | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

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Technology has changed – and sometimes improved – the way that consumers interact in today’s society. Simple tasks such as ordering food have been made simpler with apps such as DoorDash and Grubhub. With the swipe of a finger, food can be ordered for delivery or pickup. But with the ease of these services comes new company implementations as well. 

Reported by SF Gate, the food delivery service has a requirement for non-dashing employees. Even employees as far up as CEO Tony Xu are now required to complete one dash a month. It is easy to see why this policy has been initiated. Customer service-related jobs are notoriously difficult and require a specific set of skills. It may be easy for higher-ups at companies such as DoorDash to forget the day-to-day complications for workers doing this hard work. And while this policy seems to have been initiated with the best of intentions, some employees are not exactly supportive.

One anonymous employee took to social media to complain about DoorDash’s requirement. This comment appeared on Blind, a platform for tech companies. “What the actual f—?” the employee posted. “I didn’t sign up for this, there was nothing in the offer letter/job description about this.” There are many comments on the thread, some that agree with the first poster’s criticism. However, there are other varying points of view as well. “Empathy for your customers, dashers and restaurants is a good thing. Would be awesome to see dashers paired with engineers and product managers on these ride alongs. An opportunity to learn from each other,” replied one poster. Another said, “Seems like a good way to understand the client’s pains.”

The policy is called WeDash and is actually not a new requirement. Since the company’s founding in 2013, DoorDash has aspired to have an empathetic mission. Money that is gained by these once a month dashes are donated to charity (via CNN). WeDash had been put on hold during the scope of the pandemic. Since the first push for social distancing, food delivery services were in high demand. But now DoorDash will be reinstating the policy as of January.

The pandemic has impacted many industries, not just DoorDash. Some practices that consumers have grown accustomed to may be a thing of the past. Even wildly successful directors such as James Cameron have felt the effects of COVID-19. While it has been a decade since his characters first went to Pandora in Avatar, the award-winning director had been pushing to make several sequels. But now it seems less and less likely. By Cameron’s own admittance, the pandemic may put a stop to big blockbusters such as the Avatar sequels.

And even though DoorDash is reinstating an old policy from before the COVID-19 pandemic, other companies are still being cautious with the spread of the virus. Since the Omicron variant has become more prevalent, movie theaters are putting a temporary ban on selling concessions. This is unfortunately one of the biggest sources of revenue for theaters, but would potentially help in stopping consumers from taking off their masks while they eat in the theater. DoorDash continues to be compliant with no-touch contact on deliveries. Though according to social media, concern for COVID-19 was not the main reason that non-dashers are resistant to WeDash. They are more concerned with having a responsibility and tasks that they feel they shouldn’t.