DoorDash Is Making Its CEO, Engineers Fulfill Deliveries At Least Once A Month
DoorDash, the San Francisco-based food delivery rival to Uber Eats, has announced it will be requiring its c-suite and engineers to personally deliver at least one per month.
It’s likely that this policy was introduced in a bid to tackle the disparity between the company’s highest and lowest-earning employees. According to Ridester, a regular Dasher (delivery driver) earns just US$11 an hour before tips. The number doesn’t take into account transportation expenses including gas or vehicle insurance.
Contrast this with what the brand’s chief earned in 2020: a staggering US$400 million in compensation, most of it in the form of company stock. Many engineers in the firm take home six-figure salaries, and despite their once-a-month delivery wages being donated to charity, they’ll still be earning more per hour than the average Dasher.
As per a report by Marketwatch, white-collar employees have taken to an app, Blind, to complain about the requirement. A thread comprising over 1,500 comments had workers airing complaints, such as: “I didn’t sign up for this, there was nothing in the offer letter/job description about this.”
While it’s not likely all the commenters can be verified as actual employees of DoorDash, the app does require work email addresses for users to create accounts.
Interestingly, it appears that the once-a-month delivery exercise isn’t an all-new initiative. According to Input, the program existed before 2020, with DoorDash pausing it during the pandemic. It’s now just being reinstated, and may have drawn the ire of new employees at the firm.
Despite the protests from staff, perhaps this monthly experience will allow them to better appreciate the employees carrying out the back-breaking, unglamorous legwork that makes up the core of the business.
