The food delivery industry is absolutely booming, but it is not without deep-seated problems. We suspect that even if the apocalypse were to occur, people would still continue ordering something to eat while dodging hellfire. There are two sides to this story. Even though food delivery drivers face many exhausting challenges, intense pressure, and burnout, it would be naive to think that all of them, well, actually care about doing a decent job.
In fact, some workers behave in a way that almost feels like they enjoy making your day worse. Bored Panda has collected the most egregious food delivery fail photos, shared by frustrated and annoyed customers, and you can scroll through them below. After seeing these pics, you might swear off ordering anything all week.
#1 Delivery Driver Handed Me This, Holding Back A Grin, “Can I Have The Pin, Please”
I told him to take the pizza back, and he cancelled the order, so I had to deal with support for a refund. They originally told me “We can only refund 80% of the order” and I snapped… Definitely won’t be using it again.
Image source: Few_Ad_9145
To be clear, we have a lot of empathy for food delivery drivers. Their jobs are tough, they are constantly under pressure, they often have to deal with customer rudeness, and their pay often isn’t stellar. However, the simple truth is that not all drivers are hard-working and ethical. Some are trying to ‘game’ the system by rushing orders without caring about customer satisfaction. And while everyone makes mistakes, not every mistake is equal. Some are worse than others.
It is an understatement to claim that the online food delivery industry is big. It is humongous, on a global scale. Around the world, the industry—which encompasses both meal and grocery delivery—reached nearly $1.4 trillion (yes, that’s ‘trillion’ with a ‘t’) in 2025.
The leading food delivery markets are China and the United States, followed by India, the United Kingdom, and Japan, Statista reports.
#2 Ordered 6 Bananas. The Delivery Person Turns Up With This
Image source: Jun_snow
#3 Cookie Delivery Person Abandoned My Order On A Random Sidewalk I Don’t Recognize
Image source: Prince_Marf
This sector has seen massive growth since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The lockdowns and quarantines forced many people to stay at home. So, the demand for meal and grocery deliveries spiked.
Currently, around 3 billion people use online food delivery services (yes, you are, in fact, reading that right). Around two-thirds of these customers live in Asia.
Grocery deliveries are growing the quickest and have now, somewhat surprisingly, outpaced meal deliveries!
Unfortunately, there are tons of problems associated with food deliveries. Careless and rude drivers are just the tip of the iceberg. Some issues are systemic.
For example, China is dealing with predatory pricing and merchant coercion in the sector. So, the country is now moving to end “‘irrational’ food-delivery subsidies and the sector’s price wars,” according to the South China Morning Post.
#4 DoorDash Leaving Food On The Ground Instead Of The Marked Food Delivery Basket
Even put in my instructions, please place food in the basket on the East side. Instead, they place it on the ground right beside it.
Image source: unknown
#5 Meat Delivery Company Delivered Our Order Two Days Early. I Ordered It To Be Delivered On A Specific Day My Wife Doesn’t Work
Came home to hot meat on the doorstep. What can I actually do with it? Throwing it out seems like such a waste. Would an animal shelter take it? Ok, asked and answered, I won’t be feeding it to animals. Re-holster your pitchforks, team.
Image source: bigdaddyborg
#6 Smoothie Delivery. Ordered A Smoothie For Delivery (Lazy, I Know), And This Is How It Arrived
Image source: Ill_Cress1180
Under the old system in China, everyone was losing out, including the customers, delivery drivers, and businesses.
Recently, Chinese authorities introduced draft regulations aimed at cracking down on the misuse of subsidies by food delivery platforms that were fueling immense competition. Basically, some platforms were using subsidies and selling goods at a loss to disrupt the market.
“China’s food-delivery platforms exhibit problems such as using capital advantages to seize market share, coercing businesses on their platforms into taking part in subsidies, and triggering irrational competition in the industry,” the regulator said.
Basically, food delivery platforms in China will no longer be allowed to force merchants to take part in subsidy activities. What’s more, the goal is to prevent the platforms from unfair or monopolistic competition.
#7 Who Does This Mean? Just Wanted Some Tacos
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#8 I Saw This On The Stairs In My Apartment After Hearing A Loud Noise And Being Notified That My Order Was Cancelled
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#9 Honestly, Real And Self-Care Pill
Image source: uncledoomer
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that Chinese authorities are also tackling ‘ghost kitchens,’ which are restaurants that appear on apps but don’t actually exist. The issue is that these ghost kitchens outsource their orders to third-party vendors. The latter then fulfil them at lower costs. Meanwhile, the merchants maximize profits by keeping prices down.
The main issue here is that these low prices come at the cost of food safety.
As per the BBC, food delivery apps in China will need to verify their restaurants’ licenses and addresses. In short, the online listing has to match the physical business. Moreover, apps will have to note whether they offer dine-in services.
#10 Am I Rightfully Grossed Out?
Received this pic from the dasher. I was so disgusted that I threw the food away. How gross! I used to be a dasher and would never, in a million years, throw people’s food on the car floor into the garbage with my bare foot, like in the pic! Contacted support, and they credited my full order, and she won’t deliver to me again. Completely lost my appetite.
Image source: East-Weakness4472
#11 Didn’t Get My Sandwich. Had The Courier Re-Deliver The Order. DoorDash Sent Me 6 Redeliveries Using 6 Different Dashers
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#12 Thank God For The Warning
Thank god I saw this before I got to the house, he greeted me at my car, and was standing so close I couldn’t get out with having to tell him to move back, when he eventually did, I went to the back door to get the food, which he, indeed snatched, ran up his steep driveway swinging the bag of food around like it was a helicopter (McDonald’s, 4 drinks inside).
Image source: bingethinkingsallow
Intense scrutiny of the industry started in 2025, when a Beijing-based customer complained about a cake topped with inedible flowers. The product, which he ordered via a food delivery app, was unsatisfactory.
Officials who began digging into the issue found that the cake chain listed nearly 380 locations on e-commerce platforms and did not have even one physical store. What’s more, its online shops allegedly forged business licenses.
As the investigation continued, officials found that the cake chain accepted orders, transferred them to a different platform, outsourced the orders to third-party vendors, and picked the lowest bids.
#13 The Delivery Driver Hung The Food Order On My Fence, And My Dog Ate It, The Very Single Bite
Image source: Lucia_Unicorn
#14 Ordered $22 Worth Of Taco Bell Through Their App, Received $10 Worth Of Cold McDonald’s
Not much to add to the story. I was feeling unwell and decided to try Taco Bell’s app and use their delivery. The driver dropped off this McDonald’s bag instead, with fries that had to have been made the day before, given their temperature. Thanks, Taco Bell.
Image source: BIGMCLARGEHUGE__
#15 Can You Guess What Happened When I Opened The Door?
Image source: 120cmMenace
Of course, this chain wasn’t the only problem. The investigation found 67,000 ‘ghost shops’ across seven major food delivery apps. Together with the order-transfer sites, these shops “formed an illegal supply chain through mutual collusion,” as reported by Xinhua.
Seven e-commerce platforms were fined 3.6bn yuan, mostly over ghost kitchen deliveries. The result is that some businesses are embracing top-tier transparency to gain consumers’ trust over food safety. For example, over 20 takeout stalls in Hangzhou installed ‘transparent kitchens’ with live broadcasting features. They allow customers to see how their food is prepared in real time.
#16 Food Delivery Driver Drove Across My Lawn And Up To My Door Instead Of Using The Driveway
You can see my driveway on the right.
The driver literally drove right up to my front porch, ignoring the driveway completely.
This was a delivery order through the Taco Bell app. I messaged her and said, “You drove over my front lawn, and I’m also missing a drink” to which she responded, “There was no drink”.
I’ve since reported her, but I have my doubts.
Image source: rper22
#17 A Food Delivery Driver Carries A Pizza Like A Book
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#18 This Is Not The Curbside Delivery I Was Asking For
Image source: –TAXI–
Meanwhile, in India, food delivery drivers are facing an unprecedented amount of stress. Their jobs have, frankly, become incredibly dangerous as they are forced to fulfil mind-bogglingly short delivery times. For example, many people living in big Indian cities have become used to rapid deliveries of groceries, drinks, books, tech, etc., within mere minutes.
“Unlike traditional retailers, platforms such as Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto don’t deliver from large supermarkets or distant warehouses. Instead, they operate out of small storage units embedded deep inside residential neighbourhoods,” the BBC writes.
These so-called ‘dark stores’ are what allow delivery drivers to reach customers’ homes in minutes. There, workers pick, scan, and pack items that are meticulously kept on shelves and in freezers, and then hand the paper bags off to the delivery drivers.
#19 Dasher Threw My Food Into The Door
Ordered a sandwich, cookie, and drink, 20$, and tipped 10$. Noticed they were nearby, and I heard a loud smash on the door. Dasher whipped my food into the door. Why take the order if you’re gonna ruin it anyway?
Didn’t answer texts or call or anything either, granted it’s probably for the best because I feel I tip well and you’re just gonna do that? I just don’t understand the logic here.
Image source: Throwaway45674332
#20 Delivery Driver Thinks It’s Ok To Make Their Food Cold Because They Didn’t Tip Them
Image source: spaceeong
#21 Food Tampering By Delivery Riders. How Often Does This Really Happen?
Image source: Silver_Impact_7618
One major problem is that in dense cities like Delhi, addresses can sometimes be missing, digital maps don’t match up with reality, and buildings look similar. So, people rely on landmarks instead. And it’s not like they’re always visible or obvious.
According to the BBC, which spoke to one driver, Alam, he tries to complete around 40 deliveries a day. After deducting money spent on food and fuel, he earns between 900 and 1,000 rupees ($9.23 to $10.59) on a good day. There is no financial consistency because earnings can vary widely depending on order volume, distance, and in-app incentives.
Some major downsides of gig work like this are that people like Alam do not get a fixed salary, paid leave, or social security. Meanwhile, workers are pressured to do as many deliveries as possible within specific windows of time, to unlock ‘streak’ incentives on their apps. In a nutshell, you get more pay for longer hours.
#22 The Delivery Driver Left My Lunch On The Doorstep, So I Can’t Get It Without Spilling The Drink On The Food
Image source: Seeking_Starlight
#23 Uber Eats Is To Recover This Very Expensive Delivery, As Expensive As King Crab Has Become, Which Looks To Be About $400 Of Food. Maybe More
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#24 Tang Dynasty
Image source: barbara_weston, -Ashishins-
Delivery drivers recently went on strike in several Indian cities over falling incomes, unpredictable incentives, and unsafe conditions.
“In other countries platforms avoid committing to a fixed 10-minute promise and instead use terms like ‘very fast’ – thus lowering customer expectations. They also charge a premium for faster delivery, but in India there are no such constraints,” says researcher and author Vandana Vasudevan.
“Quick commerce has tapped into a huge pool of time-poor urban residents who spend long hours commuting and would rather order in essentials than step out again,” adds Ankur Bisen, from retail advisory firm Technopak.
#25 I Ordered Some Food. Can Someone Tell Me Where This Is?
Image source: Svnny-
#26 The Food Courier Ate All The Customers’ Food Because They Didn’t Tip. Thieving Isn’t Going To Get You Your 2¢ Tip, My Friend
Image source: umm_again
#27 Everyone, Be Careful Out There. Confirmation Picture From My Roommate’s Order Yesterday
Yup, the door on the left leads to my bedroom, and I was in there with headphones on at the time. Reported and slept a little nervously last night, and all doors were locked.
Image source: Paege_Turner
What has your experience with food deliveries been like? What are the very worst deliveries that you had the ‘pleasure’ of (not) receiving? From our perspective, most delivery drivers are great; however, a select few have been an absolute nightmare to deal with—we literally had to clean up after them.
Have you ever worked in the food delivery industry? If so, what have been the biggest challenges and upsides of your job? What do you wish all customers would know, and what would you like them (not) to do differently?
Tell us all about it in the comments.
#28 Delivery Driver Puts Food And Drink Too Close To The Door
I really appreciate the delivery driver, who also followed my pre-filled instructions to please leave it on the porch, but they left it too close to my door.
I couldn’t open the door without crushing and spilling my drink.
This was the delivery photo they sent me.
Image source: Entire_Chicken_2630
#29 I Would Never Imagine This Happening While Waiting For My Food Delivery
I was waiting for my food, the courier had picked it up, and suddenly the order was canceled. I’ve contacted support, and it clarified that the courier’s vehicle was stolen. Like what?
Image source: syny13
#30 Why Did My Uber Eats Driver Send Me A Picture Of Me Taking My Food Into The House
Image source: PapiiSteez
#31 My Dasher Left My Order On The Road
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#32 To Get Uber Eats To Stop Delivering Unordered Food
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#33 Ordered From DoorDash, A Single Meal, Got Handed This And Told, “This Is Your Order,” And The Guy Walks Away
I can’t eat any of it, and some poor group is now foodless.
Image source: Silver_Fang_575
#34 Uber Eats Driver Couldn’t Find My Address. Had To Light The Beacon
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#35 This Is How My Pizza Was Delivered Last Night
Image source: Outside_Big_7612
#36 Pizza Delivery Driver Didn’t Think This Placement Spot Through
We order the Hut every other month on average. I always provide the gate code for our community; they always use it and bring it to our door.
Today, the driver got stuck outside the exit gate (there’s a different gate to enter where the code box is). Instead of calling me, I received the first photo as “proof of delivery”. I was annoyed I had to go out there, but it was whatever.
In the time it took me to walk to that gate (5-ish minutes), someone had used it. The arm attached to the gate pushed the pizza off, and all the food was upside down by the time I arrived. Some of the food fell out of the smaller boxes. The toppings on the actual pizza were jacked up.
I just wanted food.
Image source: Just_Another_A-hole
#37 Delivery Guy Decided To Carry My Pizza Vertically
Image source: Sobwyy
#38 Walmart Delivery Swapped My Purple Plums For Purple Onions
I ordered plums to put in my kids’ lunch boxes. Somehow, the good people of Walmart managed to confuse a smallish purple plum with a gigantic purple onion.
I really can’t figure this one out. I can’t see how they could make that mistake unless it were like…
“Well, no plums… But hey, this guy said “purple” plums, right? I mean, purple onions are purple, so that’s like half right. Send it.”
I guess the kids are going to learn to love onions.
Image source: kickasstimus
#39 I Ordered A Salad, And They Sent Me 12 Slices Of Ham
I ordered a salad from Subway using this little robot delivery service my campus has. I get back to my room and see that my “salad” is just a bowl of ham. The cold cut combo is supposed to have three types of meat anyway, why just the ham?
I’m mostly just baffled. I’m upset because it cost nearly $8 and they just gave me ham.
Image source: BitOBunny
#40 Uber Eats Driver Bully. My Uber Eats Grocery Order Prompted A Rude Message Before The Driver, Thankfully, Dropped It Off. It Was Just A Normal $100 Order
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#41 How Do I Get My Dasher His Cat Back?
My food was left out for exactly seven minutes, but when I went out, little dude was in the bag.
Was he abandoned? Possibly just a promo from Outback Steakhouse? Perhaps we will never know.
I did leave them a little piece of sweet potato placed out away from the houses. There aren’t a ton of them around, and they’re really helpful with snakes.
Image source: Roseartcrantz
#42 Who Is In The Wrong Here?
Image source: thebunnywhisperer_
#43 Dasher Threw My Food
First, yes, I tipped, and I always tip decently, so that wasn’t the issue.
I heard my dasher pull up to my place, and a bunch of commotion was going on; they were fighting and yelling with their girlfriend (or whoever was with them), and the man got out, chucked my food, and stomped on it in front of my neighbor’s house and took off running down the street. The girlfriend, screaming at him, got in the car and drove off.
This was so beyond disrespectful. Yes, I did get a refund, but that’s not the point. This shouldn’t happen to anyone’s food ever; there’s no excuse, even if you’re having a bad night. I’m still in shock.
Image source: tofu-bby
#44 My Chuck Roast Had A Photo Shoot Today, Apparently. 10 Different Angles Overall
Image source: Legitimate_Gold_1991
#45 Dasher Gave My Food To A Stranger
I got a notification saying my food had been delivered, so I stuck my head out, and it wasn’t there. So I walked around outside, but nowhere to be seen. I texted my dasher asking very politely where my food was, and then we had this interaction where she confirmed she gave it to a literal stranger. I blocked out my address, but are you serious? My instructions were “go up the stairs and leave at the door and knock,” and she ignored all of that and dropped it off at a different house entirely. I put in a request for a refund, and DoorDash denied me. I’m so irritated that I’ve never had a bad experience until now, but now I don’t ever want to use DoorDash again.
Image source: erikgelden
#46 Guess A Memorial Day Beach Goer Forgot To Change Their Location For Delivery. The Bag Has Been Outside The Door Since Friday Night
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#47 Ordered Food, And In The 5 Minutes It Took Me To Get To The Door, The Neighbor’s Cat Ate Through The Box And Stole Some Chicken
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#48 An Entire Staircase Just Collapsed Under Me As I Was Doing A Delivery
Yep. That just happened. Decided to follow a customer’s delivery instructions to bring it down to their basement suite, and the entire staircase collapsed under me. Dude couldn’t even come outside to meet me to grab his food. I was supposed to pick up another delivery, and Uber is investigating whether I will get compensated for the trip I had to cancel. Customers never tip in my area, so how did I do on the delivery?
Image source: Cute-Dragonfruit4
#49 In The Middle Of A Storm… Really?
Got a notification that my food was delivered. Opened the door, and nothing was there. Was really looking forward to this all day. I complained to support and got my credit back. Will Uber penalize him so that he does not get future orders?
Image source: ExtravagantToad
#50 Did My Uber Eats Driver Take One Of My Pizza Hut Cinnamon Sticks?
I’m pretty sure the cinnamon sticks come with 10, so either Pizza Hut messed it up, or the Uber Eats driver took one. The order wasn’t sealed.
Image source: Papaya-Serious
#51 Oops… It Was Only A Matter Of Time
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#52 A Squirrel Stole My Hash Brown
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#53 “Leave At My Door”. Luckily, The Customer Opened Their Door Immediately
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#54 Dasher Stops At A Random Neighbour On The Other Side Of The City Where I Am, And Keeps Asking For My PIN
I tried calling him, and all I got was angry French. Not sure what the endgame was here. Customer service cancelled my order, but I’m still puzzled about what Buddy was trying to do.
Image source: mikey_87
#55 By DoorDash To Deliver My Dinner
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#56 Unreal Message My Wife Got
My wife ordered her Starbucks coffee, which was around 8-9$ she tipped $3.50 the Starbucks is legit two blocks away from our house. This is the message she got. She reported the dasher immediately, and he has been banned until it’s investigated. This is crazy. Taking bad orders out on a customer who actually tipped almost 40% for a two-block travel time is unacceptable. We are not the type to report or get people in trouble, but this guy gets everything he deserves.
Image source: Tikkity_Tok23
#57 It Finally Happened To Me
Ordered food last night and got a notification saying that my dasher picked up my food at 8 pm, and immediately suspicious because she didn’t leave the restaurant until 8:09. THEN she pulled onto a side street for 10 minutes before driving towards my house. Mind you, my boyfriend and I were STARVING. She then drives right past my house while my boyfriend is standing in the driveway waiting for the order, and then marks it delivered. So that’s when I sent the first message. Two minutes after I sent the first message, she came back. Noticed my boyfriend standing there this time, and turned around again, which is what prompted me to send the last message. Haven’t even gotten a refund yet! And yes, I tipped well; it was a $5 tip for a 0.7-mile order. I used to door dash and can’t imagine stealing someone’s food and the money that they gave me towards a tip. ended up just driving to a fast food place up the road, where it took an HOUR in drive-thru. Anyway, hope you guys had a better night than I did!
Image source: witchybytch_1
#58 DoorDash Driver Left Food In The Entryway, Under A Sign Saying Specifically Not To, Then Sent This Picture 10 Minutes After Leaving
The food was stolen by the time I came downstairs.
Image source: OneTrueClassy
#59 Heard My Amazon Delivery Driver Drop My Package On The Front Porch. It Was Dog Treats And Taco Sauce. The Driver Left It Like This On The Porch
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#60 Tonight’s Tip: Bag Of Pennies
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#61 I Received My Order With The Bag Ripped Open. Did My Driver Eat My Fries?
Okay, so granted I sent a 15% tip for a $20 order 8 minutes from my house, and not only was the delivery 15 min late (I don’t mind), but my bag was ripped open, and my fries didn’t look full. Did my driver eat my fries? I don’t want to eat the fries.
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#62 About The 6th House?
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#63 To Whoever Is Waiting For A Food Delivery, Your Robot Is Stuck On The Highland. Also Wasn’t Aware These Things Were Around Here Now
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#64 People Thinking This Is Just For Me And Not For A Group Of People Is Frying Me
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#65 As A Delivery Driver, The Number Of Times I Get An Order For A Gated Community Where The Customer Does Not Provide A Gate Code, Won’t Answer My Calls Or Texts
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#66 My Ring Thought There Was Uber Eats Delivery
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#67 The Driver Couldn’t Find My Apartment Complex, Didn’t Bother To Call Me For Directions, Didn’t Answer My Calls, And Then Sent This Photo
Image source: the-friendly-squid
#68 Dasher Spat In My Drink
I ordered from Starbucks today, and I noticed something off. Usually it comes in a bag and has a sip cover. Today it came with no bag and no sip cover. Immediately, I knew something was off, so I didn’t drink it. I’m always a good tipper, and today I tipped 1 dollar and 50 cents because the Starbucks is literally 0.2 miles down the road from my job. Anyways i thought I’d put this out there for anyone who thinks their food can’t be tampered with. Beyond disgusting.
Image source: Hot-Confection9733
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