Why The DoorDash CEO Has To Deliver Food

Nothing beats that exciting moment on a lazy night when a notification on your phone tells you that your Dasher is right outside your door. Whether a savory Poke bowl, a gooey sweet craving, or an amazing burrito, DoorDash delivers food from every type of local vendor since its start back in 2013 in Palo Alto, California. This delivery app has expanded throughout the years, especially during the pandemic, and is famous for being easy and fast to use. Today, it has an astounding 20 million active users (via EarthWeb).

DoorDash is not only a company known for its bright red-colored delivery bags or its next innovative initiative known as DashMart, but also for being the company that requires every employee, including the CEO, to do one delivery at least once a month.

Does this mean the company is struggling with a lack of Dashers? Actually, this practice is more of a quality assessment of their products, which is celebrated by some employees, but not so much by others.

After it was paused for health precautions during the pandemic, the program WeDash was reinstated in January 2022, which requires every employee, from the CEO to software engineers to managers, to make at least one delivery every month (per USA TODAY). And yes, it includes the whole ride, even relying on the tips, as every DoorDash worker does. This program started in 2013 so employees could check the performance of their products and technology, as well as to ensure customers are receiving quality service, and take note of what can be improved.

Per Business Insider, some employees were excited about this effort. They prefer to work as a team and consider it a bonding experience to look back on.

But, there is one employee who shared a statement about this program in a comment that went viral, complaining this was never mentioned in the job description. As documented by Food On Demand at the time, this comment received some criticism. One user asked the complainer what their work hours are, to avoid giving a tip to the employee, while another person praised the program for being an example of "product ownership." Apparently, the customers have spoken. In the end, all this effort is because of them and for them, and having all employees make deliveries and experience all, even the big problems DoorDash drivers face, seems like a great idea.