Kilgore Folks Warn This Door Dasher Has Been Texting to Ask for Extra Money?

Many East Texans got VERY familiar with food delivery services over the course of 2020's quarantine experience.

And it continues... After all, 2021 is shaping up to feel not all that different from 2020. But I have a feeling, pandemic or no, these companies are likely here to stay. And honestly, I'm pretty grateful for that.

It's just so easy to have Javi's or Chiangmiang Thai magically show up at your door. And I don't know about you, but my experiences have mostly been pretty good. Great, even.

The main complaint I've heard from people?

All the fees on top of the tips makes for some pretty pricey Taco Bell. But alas, that's the price of convenience, I suppose. And as a former server at various restaurants, I am a STRONG believer in tipping well.

And THAT'S one of the reasons this story makes me kinda sad.

Recently there was a post on a Facebook group page where a frustrated customer of one of these services, Door Dash, shared his recent experience with one driver in particular.

He shared a screenshot of his text conversation with the driver who said he was on his way with the man's food. But then went on to ask for an added tip on top of what the man had already tipped inside the Door Dash app.

Anyway, you can see the convo here:

The driver said he needed gas money because they were driving from Longview to Kilgore to make the delivery. The driver then asked the man if he could give him an extra $15 to which the man kindly said "sure."

It went on: 

The man who was receiving the delivery said this was "the second time [he'd] received texts from the driver like this. There was no way the driver came from Longview as [his] order was delivered in 25 mins. Is this some kind of scam?"

He ended up tipping the $15 on top of the $10 he'd already tipped in the app. He said he did report it to Door Dash but wasn't confident they'd do anything about it.

So, that was concerning enough. But then, several people commented that they'd had a similar experience. 

One Kilgore woman said she'd tipped a driver who then asked for more because they wouldn't be receiving that tip money until later in the week. Another said she'd had an almost identical conversation as the man who originally posted.

Other people chimed in with a similar story. As I read on through the comments, some of the people connected with each other and wondered if it was the same driver. Hmm.

To be fair, many others commented they'd had no such experience. However, quite a few did. And it wasn't just Door Dash, either.

Another commenter said they'd had a similar experience via Waitr.

Although I've not personally had this experience, several people particularly in the Kilgore area most certainly have. So, please just be careful. Obviously you can choose to tip whomever you want, as much as you want. But, please don't feel guilted into doing so.

Bottom line? YAY for tipping! But only when it's done fairly and without coercion.

Have you had this experience using any of the food delivery services? Let us know so we can make other East Texans aware.