Lubbock, Don’t Blame the Restaurant for Delivery App Problems

A post in a Lubbock food group recently got a lot of attention and a lot of comments. It shows two utterly destroyed pizzas and asks the question, "Has anyone else had issues with [restaurant]? We ordered through [delivery service], and this is how the pizzas arrived." The post went on to say that the restaurant didn't refund the money, and that the customer had to go through the delivery service to get a partial refund, when, to be fair, a total refund was warranted.

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Your Food Leaving the Restaurant Is Only Half the Story

You may already be thinking what I thought, and what most of the commenters on the post thought, which is that this is, of course, the delivery driver's fault. The pizzas very much look like the driver dropped them or slammed on the brakes at some point.

Even if they hadn't, it was part of their job to ensure the food was correct before they left the store. Additionally, since this person paid through a 3rd party delivery app, of course it is on the delivery app to refund the money- they are the ones who have that money to give back.

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Delivery Apps Add Another Layer Between Restaurants and Customers

With pizza especially, a lot of us remember (and still wish for) a time when restaurants employed their own delivery people, so if we had an issue with a cold or incorrect or decimated pizza, we could get it handled right away at the source. However, 3rd party apps are just that- a third group in the mix and another chance for things to go wrong. Many of these delivery apps encourage drivers to multitask deliveries, and even prompt you to have them make an extra stop. So, of course, it's not as hot and fresh as it could have been.

Before Leaving a One-Star Review, Give the Restaurant a Fair Chance

In this instance, it was almost certainly the driver's fault. However, other things can go wrong with a 3rd party delivery, like missing items. Before you leave a potentially business-killing review, assign the blame fairly, and give the restaurant a chance to make it right.