A woman’s unpleasant exchange with a DoorDash driver has people rethinking the safety of delivery apps.
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Kayla Ausmus shared texts she allegedly received from the person assigned to pick up her order at the start of March. The exchange began with the traditional notification that DoorDash was connecting her to her Dasher for updates.
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Then the driver said he had a question.
“First, are you single lol,” he wrote.
There’s just no scenario in which that’s a good start to a conversation with someone you’ve never met who is headed to your home, but Ausmus went ahead and informed him she had a boyfriend.
“Well look,” the Dasher replied. “First off, it’s late, wet, rainy, and im tired. Doordash offered me this delivery when I was 10 miles away, meaning there’s not many drivers out.
“So I’ll make you a deal. Help me out a little sexually and I’ll deliver the food. If not I’m gonna have to cancel.”
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Ausmus says she immediately called customer service to deal with the inappropriate messages, but claims they simply said “He must’ve been tired” and gave her a new driver.
“I feel incredibly unsafe because now this sick individual has both my phone number and my address,” she wrote.
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This isn’t the first time the food delivery service has had to do damage control following allegations of unwanted sexual texts sent from one of its drivers.
In 2019, a Philadelphia woman shared screenshots of texts inappropriately complimenting her body. When she responded, she received a notification that the number was no longer functioning, as happens when a DoorDash delivery is completed.
Rideshare services like Uber and Lyft have long provoked safety concerns among users, but those same concerns haven’t been as prevalent among food delivery services, though Ausmus’s experience is making other users reconsider.
However, despite their lukewarm response to Ausmus when she initially contacted them, DoorDash claims the driver who texted her was removed from the app.
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“The Dasher involved was immediately deactivated earlier this month when the incident occurred, and we have been in touch with the customer and fully refunded the order,” a spokesperson said. “We sincerely regret that this incident fell short of the experience we strive to provide every day.”
*First Published: March 22, 2021, 6:32 am
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