Doordash: Difference between revisions

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*Using AI to falsely advertise what menu items look like

*Subsidizing Dashpass subscriptions by passing commission rates onto business's

*Multiple ~~losses settling~~ lawsuits due to unfair business practices

*Multiple lawsuits due to unfair business practices

==Incidents==

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With many menus, consumers expect an accurate description of what they are ordering along with the ingredients that are being used to make it. In recent years companies have started relying on AI to generate a description and a complimentary photo of what the dish should look like. But in many cases this was done to falsely advertise to boost sales. We can look to an earlier instance during the lock down when ghost kitchens were popular;<blockquote>"Ghost kitchens are allegedly using AI-generated images on food delivery sites such as GrubHub and DoorDash. The images are used to promote online orders from kitchens that solely sell their food via online delivery services. Rather than using real photographers, they are using images of food that do not exist."<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Alex |date=2024-02-28 |title=The photos that you see on food delivery apps are probably AI |url=https://www.diyphotography.net/ghost-kitchens-using-ai-images-on-food-delivery-apps/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=DiyPhotography}}</ref></blockquote>Of which many delivered products that did not match the item description at all or was poorer quality than what was shown to them within ordering. Not to mention in many countries<blockquote>"there are firm advertising laws that state exactly what you have to show and what can be substituted in food photography. This helps protect consumers, making sure they get what they order."<ref name=":11" /></blockquote>Meaning when generating a picture of food it is not considered edible by many countries standards and may even be illegal. But industries are constantly changing; custom diffusion models being packaged like Swipeby to provide cheap alternatives to make selling menu items at a higher volume.<blockquote>"The company points to a survey from Snappr, a photography and visual content platform, that found high-quality food photos can increase orders on restaurant delivery apps by 35%."<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Canton |first=Rafael |date=2023-04-07 |title=The picture of that food you’re ordering online may have been created by AI |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90870969/food-delivery-startup-ai-photos-swipeby |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=FastCompany}}</ref></blockquote>By seeing the results that such a tool can provide shows how pressing it can be for other businesses to compete if they are not also resorting to the same measures. During this time Doordash had policies about having generative photos for menu items; the founder however thinks things will change soon as he said "Give it six months, that will change,” he says. “I will bet money on it. Because with AI generation right now, it makes so much sense."<ref name=":12" /> And as of 2025 Doordash has launched it's own tool for generating AI menus on it's platform which is able to generate descriptions and pictures of an item being listed.<blockquote>''“At DoorDash, we believe AI should make life easier for restaurants—not more complicated. It’s about using automation to enhance the guest experience while keeping the operator’s unique touch front and center,” said Arpit Dhariwal, Head of Product, Merchant Acquisition & Growth at DoorDash. “AI-powered tools are built to take everyday tasks off operators’ plates, allowing restaurants to focus on what matters most—delivering great food and service. We're excited to help drive more orders, save time, and support continued growth for our restaurant partners.”''</blockquote>As we have seen earlier higher profit margins has caught Doordash's attention. Since they also make more money from users seeing results that may resemble the food that will be ordered as a first result. However this tool can be used nefariously like how ghost kitchens used it to falsely advertise the quality and resemblance of the food being shown to the consumers of the app. It may be important to exercise caution from now on against actors that would leverage this tool against the consumer especially since there seems to be nothing in place to warn the consumer that the current item that is being viewed was generated by their AI tool. This leaves an extremely high risk that a consumer may be unsatisfied with an order because it did not match the description or the photo being listed on Doordash.

===~~Settling~~ lawsuits due to unlawful business practices<ref name=":2" />===

===Multiple lawsuits due to unlawful business practices<ref name=":2" />===

====Class-action lawsuit for misclassifying workers (2017)====

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This had led a customer to file a class action suit against the company claiming "materially false and misleading" in app tipping feature.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":14" /> The case was later moved to an arbitration hearing in August.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Casetext |date=2020-08-24 |title=Arkin v. DoorDash, Inc. |url=https://casetext.com/case/arkin-v-doordash-inc |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213085836/https://casetext.com/case/arkin-v-doordash-inc |archive-date=2023-02-13 |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Casetext}}</ref> Facing negative exposure and bad press the company finally complied to change their payout policy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abril |first=Danielle |date=2019-11-12 |title=DoorDash’s New Tipping Policy Has Increased Driver Pay |url=https://fortune.com/2019/11/12/doordash-new-tipping-policy-worker-pay/ |url-status=live |website=Fortune}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Newman |first=Andy |date=2019-07-24 |title=DoorDash Changes Tipping Model After Uproar From Customers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/nyregion/doordash-tip-policy.html |url-status=live |website=New York Times}}</ref> The lawsuit was settled by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine for $2.5 million with most of the amount going to dashers, government and charity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kerr |first=Dara |date=2020-11-25 |title=DoorDash settles lawsuit for $2.5M over 'deceptive' tipping practices |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/doordash-settles-lawsuit-for-2-5m-over-deceptive-tipping-practices/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=CNET}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Canales |first=Katie |date=2020-11-25 |title=DoorDash is paying $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the food delivery company of stealing drivers' tips |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/doordash-25-million-settlement-lawsuit-tipping-model-2020-11 |url-status=live |website=Business Insider}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=OAC |date=2020-11-24 |title=AG Racine Reaches $2.5 Million Agreement with DoorDash for Misrepresenting that Consumer Tips Would Go to Food Delivery Drivers |url=https://oag.dc.gov/release/ag-racine-reaches-25-million-agreement-doordash |website=Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia}}</ref>

=== Antitrust litigation (2020) ===

The Dacitashvili has filed against Grubhub, Doordash, Postmates and Uber Eats for having a majoritive monopoly over the food delivery market because of the way it selectively signed contracts with businesses to list them on the platform. Many of the clauses stated that delivery prices will be identical to dine in prices.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |last=Allyn |first=Bobby |date=2020-05-14 |title=Restaurants Are Desperate — But You May Not Be Helping When You Use Delivery Apps |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/05/14/856444431/cities-crack-down-on-food-delivery-app-fees-as-restaurants-struggle-to-survive |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-30 |website=NPR}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite web |last=Stempel |first=Jonathan |date=2020-04-13 |title=Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats are sued over restaurant prices amid pandemic |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-food-delivery-laws-idUSKCN21V2C1/ |url-status=live |access-date=2020-08-30 |website=Reuters}}</ref> Plaintiffs argued that this increased the cost unfairly to dine-in customers because all defendants required the restaurants to cover the delivery fees ranging from 13% - 40% of revenue.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":16" /> Keep in mind that restaurants like supermarkets runs on slim profit margins with the average being 3% - 9% total. This case seeks treble damages (multiply all damages by 3) for overcharges from the beginning of 2016 of April from the defendants delivery apps.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":16" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-04-13 |title=Case 1:20-cv-03000-LAK Document |url=https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6890558/DAVITASHVILI-v-Grubhub-ET-AL.txt |url-status=live |archive-date= |access-date=2025-08-30 |website=S3 Documentcloud}}</ref> Many preliminaries have happened since then but is unclear when the trial will actually begin.

"<blockquote>

~~===2020 antitrust litigation===~~

In April 2020, in the case of ''Davitashvili v. GrubHub Inc.'' DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats were accused of monopolistic power by only listing restaurants on their apps if the restaurant owners signed contracts which include clauses that require prices be the same for dine-in customers as for customers receiving delivery. The plaintiffs stated that this arrangement increases the cost for dine-in customers, as they are required to subsidize the cost of delivery; and that the apps charge "exorbitant" fees, which range from 13% to 40% of revenue, while the average restaurant's profit ranges from 3% to 9% of revenue. The lawsuit seeks treble damages, including for overcharges, since April 14, 2016, for dine-in and delivery customers in the United States at restaurants using the defendants’ delivery apps. Although several preliminary documents in the case have now been filed, a trial date has not yet been set.

===Driver strike for tip transparency (2021)===

In July 2021, DoorDash drivers went on strike to protest lack of tip transparency and to ask for higher pay. At the time of the strike, and, as of June 2022, DoorDash did not allow drivers to see the full tip amounts prior to accepting a delivery in the app. If customers tip over a set amount for the order total, Doordash hides a portion of the tip until the delivery is complete. The strike occurred after DoorDash rewrote its code to cut off access to Para, a third-party app that drivers had been using to see the full tip amounts.

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 *Using AI to falsely advertise what menu items look like
 *Subsidizing Dashpass subscriptions by passing commission rates onto business's
-*Multiple losses settling lawsuits due to unfair business practices
+*Multiple lawsuits due to unfair business practices
 ==Incidents==
@@ Line 64: / Line 64: @@
 With many menus, consumers expect an accurate description of what they are ordering along with the ingredients that are being used to make it. In recent years companies have started relying on AI to generate a description and a complimentary photo of what the dish should look like. But in many cases this was done to falsely advertise to boost sales. We can look to an earlier instance during the lock down when ghost kitchens were popular;<blockquote>"Ghost kitchens are allegedly using AI-generated images on food delivery sites such as GrubHub and DoorDash. The images are used to promote online orders from kitchens that solely sell their food via online delivery services. Rather than using real photographers, they are using images of food that do not exist."<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Alex |date=2024-02-28 |title=The photos that you see on food delivery apps are probably AI |url=https://www.diyphotography.net/ghost-kitchens-using-ai-images-on-food-delivery-apps/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=DiyPhotography}}</ref></blockquote>Of which many delivered products that did not match the item description at all or was poorer quality than what was shown to them within ordering. Not to mention in many countries<blockquote>"there are firm advertising laws that state exactly what you have to show and what can be substituted in food photography. This helps protect consumers, making sure they get what they order."<ref name=":11" /></blockquote>Meaning when generating a picture of food it is not considered edible by many countries standards and may even be illegal. But industries are constantly changing; custom diffusion models being packaged like Swipeby to provide cheap alternatives to make selling menu items at a higher volume.<blockquote>"The company points to a survey from Snappr, a photography and visual content platform, that found high-quality food photos can increase orders on restaurant delivery apps by 35%."<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Canton |first=Rafael |date=2023-04-07 |title=The picture of that food you’re ordering online may have been created by AI |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90870969/food-delivery-startup-ai-photos-swipeby |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=FastCompany}}</ref></blockquote>By seeing the results that such a tool can provide shows how pressing it can be for other businesses to compete if they are not also resorting to the same measures. During this time Doordash had policies about having generative photos for menu items; the founder however thinks things will change soon as he said "Give it six months, that will change,” he says. “I will bet money on it. Because with AI generation right now, it makes so much sense."<ref name=":12" /> And as of 2025 Doordash has launched it's own tool for generating AI menus on it's platform which is able to generate descriptions and pictures of an item being listed.<blockquote>''“At DoorDash, we believe AI should make life easier for restaurants—not more complicated. It’s about using automation to enhance the guest experience while keeping the operator’s unique touch front and center,” said Arpit Dhariwal, Head of Product, Merchant Acquisition & Growth at DoorDash. “AI-powered tools are built to take everyday tasks off operators’ plates, allowing restaurants to focus on what matters most—delivering great food and service. We're excited to help drive more orders, save time, and support continued growth for our restaurant partners.”''</blockquote>As we have seen earlier higher profit margins has caught Doordash's attention. Since they also make more money from users seeing results that may resemble the food that will be ordered as a first result. However this tool can be used nefariously like how ghost kitchens used it to falsely advertise the quality and resemblance of the food being shown to the consumers of the app. It may be important to exercise caution from now on against actors that would leverage this tool against the consumer especially since there seems to be nothing in place to warn the consumer that the current item that is being viewed was generated by their AI tool. This leaves an extremely high risk that a consumer may be unsatisfied with an order because it did not match the description or the photo being listed on Doordash.
-===Settling lawsuits due to unlawful business practices<ref name=":2" />===
+===Multiple lawsuits due to unlawful business practices<ref name=":2" />===
 ====Class-action lawsuit for misclassifying workers (2017)====
@@ Line 78: / Line 78: @@
 This had led a customer to file a class action suit against the company claiming "materially false and misleading" in app tipping feature.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":14" /> The case was later moved to an arbitration hearing in August.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Casetext |date=2020-08-24 |title=Arkin v. DoorDash, Inc. |url=https://casetext.com/case/arkin-v-doordash-inc |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213085836/https://casetext.com/case/arkin-v-doordash-inc |archive-date=2023-02-13 |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Casetext}}</ref> Facing negative exposure and bad press the company finally complied to change their payout policy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abril |first=Danielle |date=2019-11-12 |title=DoorDash’s New Tipping Policy Has Increased Driver Pay |url=https://fortune.com/2019/11/12/doordash-new-tipping-policy-worker-pay/ |url-status=live |website=Fortune}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Newman |first=Andy |date=2019-07-24 |title=DoorDash Changes Tipping Model After Uproar From Customers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/nyregion/doordash-tip-policy.html |url-status=live |website=New York Times}}</ref> The lawsuit was settled by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine for $2.5 million with most of the amount going to dashers, government and charity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kerr |first=Dara |date=2020-11-25 |title=DoorDash settles lawsuit for $2.5M over 'deceptive' tipping practices |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/doordash-settles-lawsuit-for-2-5m-over-deceptive-tipping-practices/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=CNET}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Canales |first=Katie |date=2020-11-25 |title=DoorDash is paying $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the food delivery company of stealing drivers' tips |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/doordash-25-million-settlement-lawsuit-tipping-model-2020-11 |url-status=live |website=Business Insider}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=OAC |date=2020-11-24 |title=AG Racine Reaches $2.5 Million Agreement with DoorDash for Misrepresenting that Consumer Tips Would Go to Food Delivery Drivers |url=https://oag.dc.gov/release/ag-racine-reaches-25-million-agreement-doordash |website=Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia}}</ref>
+=== Antitrust litigation (2020) ===
+The Dacitashvili has filed against Grubhub, Doordash, Postmates and Uber Eats for having a majoritive monopoly over the food delivery market because of the way it selectively signed contracts with businesses to list them on the platform. Many of the clauses stated that delivery prices will be identical to dine in prices.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |last=Allyn |first=Bobby |date=2020-05-14 |title=Restaurants Are Desperate — But You May Not Be Helping When You Use Delivery Apps |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/05/14/856444431/cities-crack-down-on-food-delivery-app-fees-as-restaurants-struggle-to-survive |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-30 |website=NPR}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite web |last=Stempel |first=Jonathan |date=2020-04-13 |title=Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats are sued over restaurant prices amid pandemic |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-food-delivery-laws-idUSKCN21V2C1/ |url-status=live |access-date=2020-08-30 |website=Reuters}}</ref> Plaintiffs argued that this increased the cost unfairly to dine-in customers because all defendants required the restaurants to cover the delivery fees ranging from 13% - 40% of revenue.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":16" /> Keep in mind that restaurants like supermarkets runs on slim profit margins with the average being 3% - 9% total. This case seeks treble damages (multiply all damages by 3) for overcharges from the beginning of 2016 of April from the defendants delivery apps.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":16" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-04-13 |title=Case 1:20-cv-03000-LAK Document |url=https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6890558/DAVITASHVILI-v-Grubhub-ET-AL.txt |url-status=live |archive-date= |access-date=2025-08-30 |website=S3 Documentcloud}}</ref> Many preliminaries have happened since then but is unclear when the trial will actually begin.
 "<blockquote>
-===2020 antitrust litigation===
-In April 2020, in the case of ''Davitashvili v. GrubHub Inc.'' DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats were accused of monopolistic power by only listing restaurants on their apps if the restaurant owners signed contracts which include clauses that require prices be the same for dine-in customers as for customers receiving delivery. The plaintiffs stated that this arrangement increases the cost for dine-in customers, as they are required to subsidize the cost of delivery; and that the apps charge "exorbitant" fees, which range from 13% to 40% of revenue, while the average restaurant's profit ranges from 3% to 9% of revenue. The lawsuit seeks treble damages, including for overcharges, since April 14, 2016, for dine-in and delivery customers in the United States at restaurants using the defendants’ delivery apps. Although several preliminary documents in the case have now been filed, a trial date has not yet been set.
 ===Driver strike for tip transparency (2021)===
 In July 2021, DoorDash drivers went on strike to protest lack of tip transparency and to ask for higher pay. At the time of the strike, and, as of June 2022, DoorDash did not allow drivers to see the full tip amounts prior to accepting a delivery in the app. If customers tip over a set amount for the order total, Doordash hides a portion of the tip until the delivery is complete. The strike occurred after DoorDash rewrote its code to cut off access to Para, a third-party app that drivers had been using to see the full tip amounts.