DoorDash Driver Refuses Tip, When Customer Opens the Bag She Discovers Why

A woman has shared footage of the moment a DoorDash driver unexpectedly refused her offer of a tip.

In a video posted to TikTok under the handle tameraaw, the female driver can be seen rejecting Tamera from Prince George's County, Maryland's, offer of cash as she hands over a Popeye's takeout bag.

However, the reason for her decision soon becomes clear. "Ignore...you keep that," the driver says. "Why?" Tamera asks in response. The driver explains: "Because I didn't see a tip on the app and I put a little card in there. So please keep that, I'm sorry."

Tamera tries to offer her the cash again but the driver insists "it's okay" before making a swift exit. In a follow-up video, Tamera revealed what the note inside her delivery bag said. It reads: "Lucky for you I didn't bother the food but next time consider tipping your driver."

The U.S. has a uniquely expansive tipping culture that seeps into many areas of everyday life. However, it seems a significant proportion of the public would be happy for that to change. In 2023, a YouGov poll of 1,000 Americans found that 56 percent would prefer wait staff to be paid a higher minimum wage that meant people are not expected to tip.

Tamera had ordered the food with a friend who she had over at her house and told Newsweek they had no qualms about tipping her driver but opted to give it in cash rather than on the app for a very specific reason.

"We've both had food stolen before and DoorDash reimburses you everything but the tip when that happens so we held on to it thinking it would be fine when the driver arrived," she said.

The driver's refusal to accept the tip caught her off guard. "I was confused because normally people are appreciative and relieved when I do that," Tamera said.

She was also left feeling conflicted after reading the note. "My opinion of her didn't change because I was thinking if she was a bad person she could've still taken my money and just drove away by the time I ever saw the note," Tamera said. "I felt bad for the misunderstanding and that I had done it to others and probably frustrated them too."

Though Tamera feels the driver probably learned "not to jump to conclusions," she hopes the woman understands that "some people want their services rendered before tipping."

Tamera said she decided to share the footage on social media after talking about it with her family. "I showed some family members at a game night and it caused such a debate that we decided to post it to see other people's reactions," she said.

The clip has racked up over 250,000 views and counting, with many viewers appearing critical of the driver's actions. "I would be scared to eat my food after that," one user wrote. Another asked: "why did she accept the order if she's gonna be so mad about not getting a tip?!" while a third commented: "I wouldn't even want to eat the food. That is so uncalled for."

DoorDash even weighed in on the comments section, writing: "Regardless of the tip, they shouldn't have left any type of rude note at all. Period."

Tamera said she has been "surprised" by the response to the video. "I just got really lucky because a lot of people were on my side. I could have gotten a lot of backlash but I didn't," she said.

She confirmed that DoorDash had reached out but said she has no plans to follow-up with them: "I doubt that I will [respond] honestly so I think that's all there is to it."

DoorDash has confirmed to Newsweek that it is still looking into the incident. It was also keen to remind customers that if they ever want to add a tip after checkout, they can do so on the app by going to the Orders tab, clicking on "View Receipt" and then selecting the option to "Add tip."

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