When no delivery driver came to pick up her DoorDash order, this woman took matters into her own hands. She logged into her Dasher account and picked up her order from Papa John’s herself.
Shalom (@lom.simply) posted a viral TikTok that garnered over 2 million views. In her clip, she describes the entire self-dashing process.
It seems she’s not the only person who placed an order through the app and was then left out in the cold. The Daily Dot previously reported on another DoorDash customer whose order was assigned a driver. The woman ended up driving to the restaurant herself to pick up her food and came into contact with the driver in the process. This led to a tense situation in which the DoorDash customer asked the app for a refund of her tip.
Fortunately, however, Shalom was satisfied with the service she ultimately provided.
Can you deliver your own DoorDash order?
Shalom begins her video by looking at the camera with a set of keys in her hand. “Pov: When DoorDash took too long to assign a driver for my order, I logged into my Dasher account to pick up my order myself,” she wrote in the text overlay.
Her clip then switches to a screenshot of her DoorDash driver’s app screen. “I’m taking my order on the Dasher app,” another overlay reads.
According to the app, Shalom would earn $11.75 per active hour plus tips if she picks up the order from Papa John’s. Of course, she’s also the one who pays for the order.
Next, her video switches to another screenshot. “This is in the DoorDash app showing that I received a driver for my order,” she writes. And sure enough, it says that a Dasher named Shalom is on his way to pick up her Papa John’s order.
The TikToker’s clip then switches to her picking up her order from the pizza chain, followed by a cut to her sitting in her car, smiling at the camera under an overlay that reads, “I deliver my order myself.”
In another part of the video, Shalom shows how she adds a two-dollar tip to her order.
“I’m giving myself a little tip,” she writes, followed by a laughing emoji. Next, she has to confirm whether the order was delivered or not. The “Confirm that you delivered the order directly to the customer” dialog screen appears in her video.
The TikToker then gives herself an “excellent” 5-star rating for the good work. In addition, she checks off all the qualification criteria and highlights the excellent service she has provided for herself.
Then Shalom drives her car into the garage and sits down at her table to watch something on her laptop and enjoy her meal.
But… the DoorDash fee?
One commenter who saw her clip didn’t understand why she would pay a DoorDash fee just to pick up her own food. “So you paid DoorDash a fee to pick up your own food?” he asked.
However, one user defended Shalom’s video in the comments section. “She obviously wanted to stay home but she already paid for it so why shouldn’t she go get it and get some of her money back?”
But people still didn’t understand why she paid more money for a takeout order. “She would have spent less money if she had just ordered for pickup,” one said.
Another wrote: “The amount they received is about three to four times less than what they paid.”
Another app user argued that there are certain circumstances where it’s beneficial to deliver DoorDash himself – thanks to a promotion in his area, he was able to get a decent payout in addition to his fast food. “When DoorDash started in a small town near me, there was a promotion for $200 for 5 rides. I ordered 5x from McDonald’s and picked up the rides myself and got the promotion money,” he said.
@lom.simply, I was hungry and needed the money 😂 #fypage #viral #naijatiktok #nigeriantiktok #relatable #funny ♬ Original sound – Bionation
Is this ever a good idea?
As several users said in the comments on Shalom’s video, ordering food through the DoorDash app may not be the most economical solution.
Often, restaurants will add a “DoorDash fee” to items in the app. This makes the products selected in the DoorDash app more expensive than those in the store. So customers not only pay the cost of the DoorDash fee, but also pay a surcharge for their orders.
However, there may be cases where it is beneficial to pick up and deliver your meal yourself through DoorDash.
As the TikToker mentioned above said, taking advantage of local cash bonus promotions could work to your advantage. You’re using DoorDash credits in your account and there’s no one else to deliver your food to you. You might also want to improve your Dasher order completion rate or driver ranking. Giving yourself 5 stars like Shalom did could improve your status on the app.
The Daily Dot reached out to DoorDash via email and Shalom via Instagram DM for more information.
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