The good news is, you’re not just being paranoid. The bad news is, there’s a chance your delivery driver might be eating your food.
In fact, it’s actually happening more often than most people think. According to a new study by US Foods, 28 percent of delivery drivers have admitted to stealing a bite or two of a customer’s order. In the same survey, only 21 percent of customers reported that they suspected a delivery driver of helping themselves. So if anything, we’re being too trusting with our Seamless orders.
This is definitely alarming, but maybe not terribly surprising, news. While over a quarter of drivers admitted to stealing a bite of your dinner, that’s out of 54 percent who admitted the smell was tempting. So that means 26 percent of drivers have incredible self control, and 46 percent are lying.
Unsurprisingly, most customers weren’t thrilled by the idea of sharing their order with a stranger. When asked how upset they would be if a deliverer “grabbed a few fries along the way” while delivering their burger, customers gave an average answer of 8.4 out of 10, on a scale of 1 meaning “no big deal” and 10 ranking “absolutely unacceptable.”
Fortunately, if you’d rather not take the chance of having your deliverer dig into your dinner, restaurants and delivery services are working on a solution. Some companies are switching over to tamper-free labels and containers that will tip you off beyond reasonable doubt if your deliverer stole a bite. Customers are on board with the idea, with 85 percent reporting they would like restaurants to use tamper-evident containers — and that was before they knew 28 percent of deliverers were willing to admit such measures might be necessary.
Do you wish that you could unlearn this information? Same, but it’s too late now. In the meantime, you might want to double check your next order before you dig in. You’ve been warned.
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