The Real Reason Pizza Hut Sometimes Uses DoorDash For Delivery

It might be difficult to believe at this point, but there was a time before the COVID-19 pandemic that food delivery services such as Grubhub, DoorDash, and Uber Eats weren't as widely used as they are today. According to McKinsey & Company, the food delivery market has tripled since 2017, causing its worth to accelerate to $150 billion.

Delivery services aren't just convenient for those placing orders — they're also a way for struggling Americans to make some extra money. Per a study by Primerica, 75% of middle-class Americans claim to be falling behind as a result of the 40-year-high inflation. As credit card debt climbs and retirement plans dwindle, only 16% of those surveyed believe their economic situation will improve in the next year.

With more Americans working second jobs than ever (via Fred Economic Data), there are plenty of delivery drivers to meet demand. However, pizza delivery has been around much longer, leaving one Redditor confused as to why DoorDash was delivering their pizza.

When DoorDash was set to deliver Reddit user AyoItzE's order — rather than Pizza Hut — the intrepid Redditor asked on the r/pizzahut subreddit: "So I ordered online through the Pizza Hut website and I get a text saying my order is going to be delivered by a DoorDash driver. Just wondering how exactly this works because I paid with cash. Does DD driver go to PH pick up order and receipt, deliver, get the payment, then head back to PH and sort out whatever?" The poster also felt confused about the Pizza Hut delivery fee if the company isn't the one delivering.

One comment in the thread explained how the money situation is worked out. "The driver keeps the cash as it's taken out of his DoorDash balance even if it makes them negative. The driver keeps the delivery fee and the restaurant loses it," they wrote. Another comment came from a Pizza Hut employee, explaining why the company is outsourcing its delivery drivers. "We do use DoorDash to deliver whenever it gets extremely busy. Sometimes we don't have enough drivers on hand that day and will use DoorDash to make sure you get ur [sic] pizza on time." Mystery solved.