DoorDash CEO Tony Xu has responded to unverified social media claims regarding driver rating practices within a food delivery service. The claims originated from an anonymous Reddit post.
Origin of Allegations
An unverified Reddit post, which has circulated on social media, included allegations from an anonymous user claiming to be a former developer for an unnamed food delivery company. This user stated that internal meetings involved discussions on maximizing driver output and referred to drivers as "human assets."
Specific Claims
The Reddit post made several specific claims:
- A "desperation score" was allegedly assigned to drivers based on their willingness to accept low-value orders. This score supposedly influenced access to higher-paying orders.
- Priority delivery orders were claimed to appear faster because standard orders were intentionally delayed by five to ten minutes.
- A "driver benefit fee" was alleged to be deliberately vague, with collected funds reportedly redirected to a "corporate slush fund" rather than directly benefiting drivers.
Platformer, a tech and democracy site, subsequently declared the Reddit post a hoax.
DoorDash CEO's Response
Tony Xu, co-founder and CEO of DoorDash, addressed the claims directly on X (formerly Twitter). Xu reposted a screenshot of the Reddit thread and stated that the practices described are not characteristic of DoorDash. He indicated that any individual promoting or tolerating such a culture within DoorDash would be subject to termination. Xu emphasized that "dashers are not 'human assets'" and characterized a "Desperation Score" metric as an "abomination." He also specified that DoorDash has never implemented a driver benefit fee.