Developer For Major Food Delivery App Says They Use A ‘Desperation Score’ To Pay Hard-Working Drivers Less Money
F01 PHOTO / Shutterstock Allegations from a former developer for one of these online food delivery services revealed that the company may be using algorithms to quietly pay drivers less, depending on how much they need the money. If this is true, these sneaky practices prove that the saying "work harder, earn more" isn't always correct.
Food delivery apps promote themselves as a quick, easy way to make money on your own time. Many use this flexibility to work nights or part-time as an additional source of income, helping them reach their financial goals. Unfortunately, the service's goal is to keep drivers for as long as possible, so they don't want to make it easy for these desperate workers to walk away.
A developer for a food delivery app claimed that drivers are given a 'desperation score' that determines the value of the orders they receive.
In an effort to expose the inner workings of one of the major food delivery services, the developer took to Reddit to share the harsh realities they experienced while working behind the scenes of a big delivery company. In the post, they wrote, "You guys always suspect the algorithms are rigged against you, but the reality is actually so much more depressing than the conspiracy theories."
DC Studio | Shutterstock
Apparently, not all drivers are treated equally. The developer said that the company they worked for actually uses a hidden metric to determine how desperate each driver is for money based on which orders they typically accept. If a driver tends to accept every order, including the lowest-paying ones, they are flagged in the system as "High Desperation." Then, the system is designed to stop showing these drivers higher-paying orders.
"The logic is: 'Why pay this guy $15 for a run when we know he’s desperate enough to do it for $6?'" said the developer. "We save the good tips for the 'casual' drivers to hook them in and gamify their experience, while the full-timers get grinded into dust."
This company is taking advantage of both drivers and customers, according to the developer.
The person also noted several other issues they had with the company, such as "Priority Delivery" simply being a "psychological value add." They mentioned a test run last year in which non-priority orders were actually delayed, and no speed-up was implemented for so-called priority orders. "Management loved the results. We generated millions in pure profit just by making the standard service worse, not by making the premium service better," the developer explained.
Additionally, the developer said the small extra "Benefit Fee" added onto orders is being used for a legal slush fund to fight driver unions. While customers believe that it is going towards benefits for the drivers, it's actually going towards expensive lawyers to battle against their rights.
After becoming fed up with these practices, the developer decided to defy their NDA and said, "I put in my two weeks yesterday and honestly, I hope they sue me. I’ve been sitting on this for about eight months, just watching the code getting pushed to production, and I can’t sleep at night knowing I helped build this machine."
A DoorDash representative has affirmed that this was not affiliated with their organization.
As of this writing, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu posted to socials, asserting that the developer's claims were not related to working conditions at DoorDash. As he noted, "This is not DoorDash, and I would fire anyone who promoted or tolerated the kind of culture described in this Reddit post."
Although the developer never mentioned the company by name, their post was quickly removed from Reddit. We can be sure, however, that according to Xu and DoorDash reps, this is not a policy that would stand at their organization. As Xu wrote, "We’re not perfect by *any* stretch of the imagination, but we work every day to make our platform better for everyone who comes to it. What’s described here is appalling, and if true, whoever is operating in this manner should be ashamed."
Delivery drivers are entitled to the same fair working conditions as everyone else.
A significant portion of the workforce is made up of delivery drivers and similar service workers. Nationwide, interest in delivery driver jobs has increased by 479% since 2023, according to research from Spoke.
New Africa | Shutterstock
While working as a delivery driver for food or groceries is often seen as a side hustle or gig work, it's a full-time job for some. Those who are out of work or struggling to find a job may rely on what they earn from these kinds of services to pay their bills and keep food on the table for their families.
Since many of the drivers are considered contract or freelance workers, they don't receive a lot of the same rights and protections that other jobs provide. They deserve to be rewarded for their hard work, not constantly fighting against a system that manipulates their ability to make money.
Kayla Asbach is a writer currently working on her bachelor's degree at the University of Central Florida. She covers relationships, psychology, self-help, pop culture, and human interest topics.
