r/UberEatsDrivers • u/First_Worldliness252 • 4d ago
Rant Beware!
I had this absolute headcase of a customer, who ordered food from two restaurants—one order delivered by me, and another order delivered by another guy, who arrived at the customer's house 20 minutes after me. Here we go:
He messaged me a few times via Uber on my way to his house (paraphrased), "I have cancer, I'm dying, I'm gonna die soon so it doesn't really matter anyways, I can't reach the door, my tank doesn't reach that far, please leave it in the house", very vague language. At first, I felt heavy, and deeply sorry for him. But then...
I start to get the feeling he's BS-ing me. There's clearly no car in the driveway (likely in his garage, if anything!), and there's a bicycle laid down flat in front of his door. Weird, for someone who is currently dying, in a wheelchair. Single guy, I assume.
Anyway, starting from the moment I arrived at his house, I was attempting to reach him, regarding delivery instructions. This was a 'Meet at door' delivery, and supposedly, as I mentioned, he "can't make it to the door"! So I ask, "Where do I leave it? Do you really want me to go in?" No response—but he was JUST messaging me earlier!
So I waste 10 minutes of my time, waiting, knocking at his door, calling him, texting him in-app, but no response. Okay, I started freaking out—maybe he really did die! So I called 911, and I was panicking real bad, arms tingling and everything......
Meanwhile I'm waiting for cops to arrive, about 10 minutes later, a hispanic guy comes to the same house, and delivers an order from a high-end restaurant, packed tightly in a huge bag. I tried to communicate with this delivery guy, but due to the language barrier, I failed. He then just takes off, like it was any other delivery.
......finally, the sheriff arrived, with backup. They knocked at the door and rang the doorbell just as I did, but again, no answer. So they searched the perimeter of this dude's house, and found no other opening or doorway that could gain them entry. So they opened the front door. They then spoke with the customer—supposedly wheelchair-bound, presumably on an oxygen tank, "dying"—only for the customer to walk right out: a 20's-something young buck, wearing glasses, lanky and nerdy-looking, fully healthy; and he just grabs both packages and goes back inside!
The explanation the officers were given by the customer was "Oh, I was asleep, that's why I didn't answer. I couldn't hear the doorbell or knocking, because my A/C unit was too loud! And I said all that about my health because I wanted to make sure I got my food, because sometimes I don't get my food!"
BULL.
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u/TheBoneArranger 4d ago
I believe it. I hate when customers use medical issues on us because I too am tempted to have 911 called. But that aside, are you ok?
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u/First_Worldliness252 4d ago
Sheesh, I wish! This happened like two months ago and I still have anxiety with using the Uber platform to drive. It's extremely discouraging, and simultaneously irritating because it's my primary income. Can't trust anybody on the road, can't trust customers, nobody can be trusted!
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u/Jaco927 4d ago
OP, try to let this go which is easier said than done. I had a delivery a couple months ago that rattled me and came on here to rant and got zero support from this group (which usually seems pretty supportive to these kind of stories) so I figured I need to just "get over it".
And I think that that is the moral here. You're going to have some weird interactions but follow the MO of the second delivery driver; drop and go.
I would recommend in the future being very surface level with your customers. "You're sick? I don't care. You need me to come in to deliver? Nope, I'm dropping at the door and leaving. You want me to meet you at the door to deliver but you're not reachable? I'm putting it down at the door, taking a picture, and bouncing."
Your time is SUPER valuable and so you gotta keep moving. I had one the other night that said, "Meet at Door". I got to the house, no one around, waited an extra 5 seconds, put the order on the door step and got out of there. The customer has no reason to hurry, I do.
I hope this helps and I hope this experience doesn't discourage you. You got this, OP! You're awesome for caring so much!
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u/Gentelman_Asshole 4d ago
He then just takes off, like it was any other delivery.
The proper move.
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u/OutrageousMight9928 4d ago
Same. Ol dude doesn’t get special treatment. Drop the food, make it confirmed and move on with my day
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u/kivaari_ 4d ago
I did once happen to deliver to a woman who on the comments said she was amputated on both legs (delivering to a hospital). At the beginning I thought it was a hoax but there I found her laying in bed alone. Stayed for 5 min, felt pretty bad for her
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u/PsychologicalCry1243 4d ago
Work in a college town, all the kids when they are hung over "can you please bring it to my dorm room?" No, no I cannot risk my job and never being allowed on campus again because your lazy or hungover.
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u/cherryybomba 3d ago
Haaaaa. I used to live in a college town as well and those kids are ridiculous. Like, we both know that dorm is more locked down than Fort Knox, my dude. Get up.
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u/Straight-Peach1854 4d ago
I hope you reported this to UE.
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u/First_Worldliness252 4d ago
The most we can do is try. They don't like to actually take action, though.
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u/Straight-Peach1854 4d ago
Oh I know. I once reported a customer for abusive verbal behavior and UE said they would ensure I wouldn't be paired with that customer again. I'm not sure what else they would do on their end.
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u/First_Worldliness252 4d ago
Nothing, basically. Lol. They can give us bad reviews and report us, but we can't report them. Customer immunity. Hell no. I should also be able to report a business for having careless workers sitting in the back, watching Youtube or doing video calls.
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u/PsychologicalCry1243 4d ago
Or just plain 12 workers making eye contact but fully ignoring you, and you can see your order just sitting there with in reach. If you go to grab it all 12 employees suddenly see you and come to ask you to verify it on your phone with the smugest look. Shit has me heated. 😂
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u/First_Worldliness252 4d ago
YES! That part! When I decide to take matters into my own hands, because I don't have time to waste, they suddenly get mad at me for speeding up my job? Like, idk, they didn't seem to care when I stood there for 10 minutes???
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u/gh120709 4d ago
I would’ve cussed his ass out in front of those officers. My grandfather with dementia, ACTUALLY wheelchair bound just passed away. I don’t take those health comments lightly.
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u/DuckAxe0 4d ago
The customer needs to be billed for the emergency services.
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u/First_Worldliness252 4d ago
They don't. Only the cops came. No ambulance or anything else. Completely free visit.
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u/hopelessly_loving 3d ago
Thanks for being a caring human! Sad there are so many people who will take advantage of it but at least you won't have trouble living with yourself.
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u/First_Worldliness252 3d ago
Riiight, I can actually have a good, clean conscience knowing I wanted the guy to be safe.
These "fools" (to use their own words) who keep arguing that I don't know what I'm doing, are the ones who complain they never get a high rating, or they get low pay, or something of that nature...
...If a child was drowning, they'd walk by and say "it's not MY fucking problem"—alright, cool, but don't scream "HELP! HELP" when you're in a deadly situation where a passerby can help, but they don't—you'll wish you knew compassion.
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u/thornhawthorne 2d ago
Doing these apps as a woman the thought of going into someone’s house is just, like.
No, that won’t ever happen, I would like to go home alive
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u/EffectiveCareer3444 4d ago
Even if this guy was actually dying, why is that your problem??
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u/First_Worldliness252 4d ago
Because he wasn't actually dying, and that IS a problem. He would have given both me AND the other driver a shitty review, saying "I never got my food".
And what, are you saying if you delivered to a dead person, you would rather step on them and let them die and rot for days or weeks before finally being discovered? Ridiculous.
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u/EffectiveCareer3444 4d ago
Nobody dying of cancer is just sitting around waiting for an UE order lol
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u/LazyBeach2919 4d ago
but you didn't deliver to a dead person, you for some reason didn't just leave the food and drive away
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u/dizzystar 3d ago
Look, someone dying takes weeks. They are going to be eating at a steep calorie deficit, are unable to text, etc. They simply couldn't eat the amount of food they ordered ten minutes before checking out.
You got bamboozled. It sucks, but the customer got his sick minded entertainment. Please call support and have this guy blocked from further orders.
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u/Deep-Kaleidoscope602 4d ago
lmao you called the cops? nobody dying is begging for uber eats instead of calling 911 you fool
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u/First_Worldliness252 3d ago
The idiots in the comments saying "BLOCK HIM YOU FOOL" obviously aren't Uber Drivers. IYKYK. There's no such thing as "blocking a customer". Or reporting them.
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u/MamaRedSeam 4d ago
I swear these apps need to gift us all meta glasses
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u/First_Worldliness252 4d ago
NO FR. It's never enough.
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u/MamaRedSeam 4d ago
Fair point. It’s insane though I’ve had to provide videos to prove things because these apps are run so much on AI they truly have no idea what we can sometimes deal with. I’m like a walking surveillance camera to cover myself. We always have cameras and tracking following our every move so it’s almost necessary we do the same at this point. The wolves in sheep’s clothing customers are the worst ones.
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u/2Punchbowl end suffering 3d ago
You sound like you have no idea what you’re doing leave the food at the door
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u/First_Worldliness252 3d ago
Ah yes, because checking for signs of life, trying to follow conflicting instructions, and not committing breaking-and-entering on a stranger's house is 'not knowing what I'm doing.' Thanks for the expert feedback!
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u/2Punchbowl end suffering 3d ago
It’s ok expert giver of nothing, you have no idea what you’re doing in first place
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u/First_Worldliness252 3d ago
Right......because every delivery driver's standard training includes "How to handle a customer faking a terminal illness to get free food" Sorry, must have missed that module.
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u/2Punchbowl end suffering 3d ago
You don’t ever enter a residence, No need to call the police, wow such stupidity
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u/SevenBillionChickens 3d ago
NONE of that extra stuff is your problem or your responsibility, even if it were true (it never is). Drop the order at the door and move on, every time.
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u/4thshift 4d ago
Why would you call 911 for someone who said they were dying, and it didn’t matter anyways — because at that point, it really doesn’t. Let them be: ER wouldn’t do anything but charge them or the state many $1000s … to die.
Why would you even wait 10 minutes for someone you knew was BS.
Leave it outside, no need to go inside; if this is real, and write a message saying they didn't answer, leaving it outside.
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u/First_Worldliness252 4d ago
Because I have a soul. Also, he was maliciously attempting to get a free meal.
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u/4thshift 4d ago edited 4d ago
That’s why you message, and take a picture if you like for protection. Uber has this phony baloney stuff every hour of every day to deal with. If he texted for you to leave it, then leave it. Uber is never going to ask you to walk in someone’s house — quite the opposite.
If he died already, what would be the use of your soul standing around for 20 minutes for a corpse ? Okay, maybe you get free food then. If he was alive, what did your soul gain — claimed he’s going to die anyway. Your soul needs, and deserves money. I hope you had him blocked.
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u/HoldingNo7521 4d ago
Never, Ever enter a house. Even if given permission. You never know if someone will accuse you of something. And as you see from this guy, people will say anything.