DOORDASH is issuing thousands of refunds to frustrated foodies after a nationwide outage disrupted service on the platform.
The tech issues, surfacing in the early hours on Wednesday morning, have since been resolved, leaving the popular food delivery service company to make amends with customers.
On Wednesday morning, thousands of reports about a DoorDash outage began flooding in[/caption]
DoorDash has since resolved the outage and is issuing refunds to affected customers[/caption]
DoorDash connects consumers with restaurants, convenience stores, and other retailers via its platform through which shoppers can order food or other items.
Thousands of customers and DoorDash drivers faced issues with placing and fulfilling orders via the mobile app early on Wednesday morning.
Reports of the issues began flooding DownDetector, an online outage tracker, starting just before 5 am ET, with around 200 complaints issued.
As the morning progressed, the number of complaints ticked upwards into the thousands.
By around 8 am, at the peak of DoorDash’s breakfast rush, nearly 5,500 customers had reported issues with the company’s platform.
Since then, the issues have been on the downtrend, with around 2,800 reports clocking in at 8:47 am, and just over 500 at 9:19 am.
The majority of complications with the DoorDash platform were related to the Dasher App, according to DownDetector, which is the mobile app that Dashers use to receive and fulfill delivery orders.
Fewer issues, at 31%, were reported with the consumer version of the DoorDash app.
Only 1% of DoorDash users reported having problems at login.
DoorDash’s service has since been restored, a company spokesperson told The U.S. Sun.
Customers who tried to make purchases and businesses who prepared orders for the impacted drivers will be compensated, according to the delivery company.
“We’re actively issuing refunds to all customers who were charged for undelivered orders and to merchants who prepared orders that were not completed,” said the rep.
“We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate everyone’s patience.”
HANGRY
On DownDetector, users flooded the website on Wednesday morning with complaints about the tech trouble plaguing the DoorDash platform.
DoorDash’s PIN policy
DoorDash rolled out a new policy last summer to help fight against false delivery claims.
How it works:
- A Customer is given a PIN (4 digit code) to hand off to a Dasher upon delivery
- The Dasher then inputs the PIN to complete their delivery
DoorDash said of the new program:
“The vast majority of DoorDash consumers do the right thing and only request refunds if something has actually gone wrong, like their order not being delivered. However, there may be times when a consumer makes a report that turns out to be inaccurate or even more rarely makes a false report. We already have safeguards in place to prevent inaccurate and false reports and help protect Dashers from being wrongly accused.
“As an additional safeguard, we’re launching a new feature that requires consumers to provide a PIN code to receive a delivery in certain situations or if the consumer frequently reports issues with their deliveries. Here’s how it works: a consumer will be shown a 4-digit PIN code in the app and have to share that code with the Dasher at the drop off so they can receive the order. At the drop off, the Dasher will enter the PIN code to ensure it matches. If the consumer cannot provide the PIN code, the Dasher will note the PIN was not provided.”
Dashers were especially frustrated by the service interruptions, with one writing, “Hopefully it will be up soon. Don’t really want to waste my entire day.”
Another DoorDash driver warned others that it was likely better to wait at least a few hours once the platform was up and running to start delivering again.
“With this kind of outrage you are setting yourself up for a ton of headaches and frustration if you try to Dash right away,” they wrote.
The Dasher noted that drivers could get dinged or even lose their status due to the platform’s internal glitches.
“Plus most customers gonna be super antsy and cheap cause they are pissed at DoorDash. ITS NOT WORTH IT,” said the driver.
Other Dashers commented that the issues stemmed from a nationwide outage, with DoorDash support revealing that its engineers were working on getting the platform back online.
“DoorDash is slowly bringing it back up for all states… Be patient and keep checking every 10 min… I’m up and running now making $$,” said one.
On the diner side of things, several users noted that the customer app was marking every restaurant as closed, but the DoorDash app would still allow foodies to place orders.
Many hangry customers vented their frustrations on social media, with one user X writing, “DoorDash not working right now is ruining my day ?? I’m so hungry.”
Another user complained that the app went down at the worst time.
“I’m so thirsty and finally ordered drinks and now its just.. nothing.. for an hour and a half. No updates,” they wrote.
“It’s had 1,500 reports of problems in the last hour and on the app every store is closed and my order is stuck waiting.”
Although DoorDash occasionally faces issues with its platform, the company offers customers a speedy perk with orders delivered by 65 mph drones in a major US city.
Plus, Starbucks previously announced a major change to its DoorDash service to help customers get their coffee fix faster.
