Dasher Diary: The Day the App “Ghosted” Me at Indian Oven

Doing deliveries in Amarillo can be challenging enough. We have weather to deal with. Sometimes the traffic can be a nightmare. Don't even get me started on all of the construction going on. Then we have restaurant issues, and sometimes it all leads up to issues with the customers.

That is just a normal day. You never really think about having issues with DoorDash itself. I mean, back in late January, they did shut down for a few days. That was due to the weather, and they let us know that they were doing so.

Read More: Why Did DoorDash Close in Amarillo and Lubbock?

Last Tuesday, though, they were part of a much bigger problem. I headed out of work and decided to do a few deliveries. My first one was to stop at Indian Oven and drive ten miles. I didn't want to do this delivery so much because it would be over twenty miles there and back. But I went ahead and accepted it.

I always take a few notes so I can glance down at a piece of paper and know the address. I got all situated and started to head to the restaurant. I was pretty sure it was Indian Oven, so I went into the app, but couldn't find the delivery. I thought that was strange.

Communication Breakdown: Navigating DoorDash Busy Signals

I tried to close out the app and reopen it. It said I was paused, but when I tried to unpause it, it showed that I was doing a delivery, but wouldn't give me the details. I drove to Indian Oven anyway and got a message from DoorDash that I wasn't headed in the right direction, which confused me.

I tried to call DoorDash, but it would ring once and then go to a busy signal and finally disconnect. I didn't know what to do because I was now at the restaurant and didn't know the customer's name. I couldn't get a hold of DoorDash through the phone or app.

I was stuck. This order was already going to be majorly late. Then some good luck hit me, and I was able to get to the order. I saw the customer's name. I messaged her to apologize and tell her there was a glitch through DoorDash, but I was going in to get her food.

The Indian Oven Incident: When Your Order Simply Disappears

I went in and asked, and they said it was ready and in the back. As they went to get it, my phone went off again with a whole new order. The order from Indian Oven was gone. I couldn't contact the customer. So I told the restaurant I didn't know what was going on and for them to keep the food. Maybe another Dasher was coming.

I had no clue. I went to the second restaurant, and while I was standing there, I received a message telling me I received an extra tip for a delivery I was still in the middle of picking up. Very weird. Usually, you get that message after a delivery, but I didn't even have the food.

That is when I started seeing online that DoorDash had a glitch. It was happening all over the country. Luckily, my only issue with it was that first order. I never picked up the food, but I hope someone did.

The Silver Lining: How DoorDash Compensated Amarillo Drivers

I continued about my day, and when I ended my dash, I got a nice surprise from DoorDash: they actually compensated me for trying to make that delivery. I had an extra $10.47 payout from that delivery.

Luckily, these outages don't happen too often. Hopefully, a headache like that doesn't happen again anytime soon.