DoorDash Driver Notices A Trend With Her Customers That Indicates Times Are Getting Worse For Most People
We could be heading toward a real economic downturn.
Hassel Stock | Shutterstock People’s consumption patterns reflect the state of the economy. When times are flush, people will spend money without a second thought. When times are lean, they’re more hesitant as the sense of economic instability reverberates through society.
While economists insist that everything is A-OK, a DoorDash driver has noticed that people are still tightening their wallets, just in case.
A DoorDash driver noticed a trend that indicates people are getting more worried about their finances.
Ren shared a story to illustrate what she sees as an indicator that the country is heading toward a recession.
“The other day, I thought that I would do DoorDash to make some extra money,” she said. “There were no orders coming in.”
“I literally sat there for hours, and maybe one order would come in every hour, and it would always be a low-pay order,” she continued.
She shared her past experiences as a DoorDash driver to show how different things used to be.
“In 2020, I was in grad school, and I literally lived off of DoorDash,” Ren said. “I paid my bills with DoorDash, everything with DoorDash.”
“I would decline orders after orders because I knew a higher-pay order would come in right afterward,” she said. “People literally are not ordering DoorDash,” she said.
‘People cannot afford to order DoorDash in this economy.’
Due to the lack of orders, Ren switched her approach and tried Uber Eats, but “It was the same thing.”
She cited an article about the drop in sales at McDonald’s, which is why they came out with the $5 value meal.
“They’re like, ‘We can’t keep selling this because we’re just not gonna make enough profit off of it,’” she explained.
It’s not just the price of food that has Ren predicting a recession.
“The cost of housing has skyrocketed,” she said. “We are going somewhere that I’m very, very afraid of.”
She isn’t alone in her assessment. Numerous people in the comments explained that they’ve given up on using DoorDash completely because they don’t have extra money to spend.
Tirachard Kumtanom | Shutterstock
Not only has the price of food increased on a major scale, but the extra fees slipped into DoorDash orders have made it impossible for many people to access the service.
One woman shared her experience with food-related inflation as it relates to DoorDash, saying, “I tried to order 3 sandwiches… It was $70, including tip.”
She chose to drive to the restaurant instead and paid a total of $37 for the same three sandwiches.
Another woman described herself as someone who “Used to be a daily DoorDash [or] Uber Eats customer” and has completely shifted how she eats. “I can’t tell you the last time I’ve used either app,” she said. “The fees [and] overcharges just inspire me to pick up my own food.”
Overall, more people are choosing to forgo eating out due to how expensive food has become.
A recent survey by OnePoll on behalf of The Habit Burger found that 67% of Americans feel guilty when dining out because of cost. Additionally, nearly seven in ten Americans (67%) are currently stressed about money, and 39% have decreased their dining-out budget over the past year as a result.
Groceries are still costly, yet people are shopping and cooking at home more often.
Eating at home saves people money, as they're not spending extra on tipping for service, and they can make enough food to last the week.
If Ren is right, and people’s ordering patterns indicate how well our economy is doing, then we’re heading for a long fall into a hole it might take years to climb out from.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.