One of the urban legends surrounding actor Bill Murray is that he once passed someone sitting in a fast food restaurant and helped himself to some of their French fries.
Maybe that’s charming when a reclusive celebrity does it, but it’s not so charming when it’s your food delivery driver. Yet a new study from US Foods found more than half of delivery drivers it polled admitted to being tempted by the smell of a customer’s food, and about half of them took the additional step of taking a bite.
“We're sorry to report that sometimes, impulse gets the best of deliverers, and they violate their sacred duty by taking some of the food!” the authors wrote.
The study surveyed both consumers and drivers. It found that 21 percent of food delivery customers have suspected a driver of taking some of the food order, while 28 percent of drivers admitted to doing so.
Eighty-five percent of consumers say they would like their food to be delivered in tamper-proof containers to stop in-transit pilfering. Local health departments would likely be pleased by that move.
Unauthorized snacking
The revelation of unauthorized snacking was buried in the study, which focused on what consumers want in food delivery services and how to improve the customer experience. The research found that the average consumer has two food delivery apps and uses them about three times each month.
The most popular food delivery app, according to the survey, is Uber Eats, followed by Grubhub, DoorDash, and Postmates.
Drivers who nibble on the delivery didn’t rank very high on the list of complaints. Rather, consumers said they want food served warm, fresh, and on time – especially when they're paying a premium for it.