12 Restaurants DoorDash Drivers Hate Picking Up From

Is it too much to call DoorDashers, and really all delivery workers, the unsung heroes of modern society? Whether these industrious folks, trying to make an honest buck, are couriering our food in a car, atop a bike, on a scooter, or straddling an electric unicycle, they deserve our thanks. We often just get our food dropped off right at our door, without having to come face to face with these fellow people. We're spoiled.

Spoiled, unlike DoorDash drivers. At least when it comes to having to pick up food from some restaurants. A lot of our favorite places to eat take an at-best ambivalent, at-worst antagonistic approach to people working for DoorDash. So much so that some DoorDash drivers have just outright sworn off picking up orders from certain eateries.

Thankfully Reddit has given us a peek into the DoorDash driver-sphere, serving as a forum for gripes, complaints, and rants from this over-relied-upon sector of workers (although the DoorDash gig has worked out for at least one well-off retiree). They have let loose with their grievances, and we're here for it. We're presenting the 12 restaurants DoorDash drivers hate picking up from. Ready for the takeout tea?

There was one name, above all the names, that appeared repeatedly on angry-DoorDash-driver Reddit. An establishment that, no matter where it was, seemed to tick off delivery workers with an alarming consistency. If there was a championship belt for poor DoorDash relations, it would be awarded to none other than Wingstop (after a major heel turn in the ring). Whether this is official Wingstop company policy to make enemies of DoorDash workers, who knows. To drivers, it feels like there's only one flavor at Wingstop, not the many the chain is known for. That flavor is antagonism. 

Again and again and again, Dashers cited Wingstop as one of the worst restaurants from which to pick up. There are commenters who even declared Wingstop their top three worst. Yes, all three places on their angry list were taken up by Wingstop.

One of the main issues is apparently the time it takes for an order to be prepared. For DoorDash drivers, whose livelihood is defined by timing, this is a source of endless frustration. One driver even declared that Wingstop is the only chain they automatically reject, no matter the payout on the order.

Folksy, friendly Dave Thomas may have been the founder of Wendy's, but there's nothing wholesome about the feelings many DoorDash drivers have for the popular burger chain. In fact, one driver on Reddit is "ready to cry" when they have to go to Wendy's to pick up an order. Goodness, does DoorDash cover therapy for its workers? Another dasher also called Wendy's, straight-up, "the worst." Tell us how you really feel.

Once again, wait-time is the main sticking point, with another Redditor calling Wendy's "slow as hell." It's not uncommon for drivers to give the store the silent treatment — or rather, the decline treatment – regardless of how much the order will pay. That's a sure sign that it's crappy for DoorDash drivers. Turning away money is not something anyone is prone to do when they're already hustling for a living.

One of the more descriptive drivers broke down the problems, citing not only the lengthy waits, but "messy bags" and "spaced-out workers." In summation, they called Wendy's "miserable." That's a proper conclusion to a thesis if there ever was one. Would love to see Dave Thomas' bespectacled face hearing that.

There seems to be a big gap between the customer adoration of some places and the delivery workers' experiences with the same places. Popeyes is a good example of that. It's one of the more beloved fried chicken chains around. Even Beyonce has gotten her hands on a free-Popeyes-for-life card. (Shame it goes to someone who could easily afford the food). The elites love it, the common folks love it. The DoorDash drivers? Let's just sugarcoat things by saying they detest picking up from Popeyes with a fiery passion.

"Immediate decline," one driver was inclined to say. "That store always makes me want to quit," followed-up another. Drivers report up to 20 minute waits for orders at the Louisiana-born eatery.

When Popeyes actually works well for a driver, it can be very surprising — in the case of one who got a nice tip because the meal was hot and ready, prompting a "thank you" from the driver to Popeyes for having its "(bleep) together for once." That bleep was not the word chicken, FYI.

One of the big problems cited by DoorDash drivers when it comes to Taco Bell is the fact that it's often drive-thru only after a certain time. This creates issues, mainly long car lines that slows any Dasher's momentum to a crawl. And just as people aren't thrilled with the chain's new menu items, delivery drivers aren't thrilled with the treatment they receive from the Tex-Mex giant.

It just doesn't seem like Taco Bell makes any extra effort to help them out, stating that if the lobby is open, even if it is deader than Caesar in the place, the Dasher has to come inside to pick up an order — as opposed to just an easy, time-saving pass-along through (even an empty) drive-thru window. Taco Bell staff will not even come to the window.

How does this kind of experience play out for DD-ers? The second one Redditor sees Taco Bell it's an "instant decline." This is a Reddit sentiment shared by many other DoorDash workers, to no great shock.

The Golden Arches may be a welcome sign for many a hungry hamburger hunter. After all, it's the stuff of American dreams, isn't it? Not for your average DoorDash worker, it seems. They want to pick up from almost anywhere else. And even though McDonald's hates losing to Burger King, either on the menu or elsewhere, it seems Mickey D's is much more maligned in the DoorDash community than its old burger rival.

Case in point: When the main restaurant closes at McDonald's, and DoorDash drivers are only left to sit at the drive-thru while their earnings disintegrate, that's when rage gets involved. "One of the most aggravating things I've ever experienced," according to one Dasher, who described idling for 40 minutes in a car line for a single McChicken.

But it's the attitude drivers catch from the staff that really eats at them. "Most of the time you can't even get someone who works there to get the order," said one exasperated Redditor. Even ex-employees at McDonald's have admitted that their managers would talk crap about DoorDash workers. Hmm, why the hate?

Five Guys takes the freshness and quality of its french fries extremely seriously. (Which is to say nothing about its yum-tastic secret menu loaded fries). For those on the customer end who get to devour the golden mini-husks, there is certainly no complaining. But for those in the middle of the fry-maker and the fry-eater — namely DoorDash drivers — there is a great deal to complain about. And they don't hold back.

Waiting 20 minutes just for fries is one Reddit grievance — but certainly not the only one of its kind. "They wanna drop the fries when you come in," barked an impatient fellow Dasher, who was forced to stand there and wait for the quote-unquote fast food. "They refuse to make the order till you get there," echoed another with a shared experience of Five Guys-based frustration.

Admittedly, this one makes it tough to totally side with the driver. Yes, they have to make a living, but the customer also has a right to the best possible food experience that they're paying for. Fresh french fries are part of that equation, even if it unfortunately clashes with the livelihood of delivery workers. Sometimes the world is cruel in this way.

The once-mighty faux-Aussie dining chain has seen better days, what with recent closures of dozens of Outback locations and the perception that the steakhouse has lost its golden touch. This has been reflected in some dissatisfaction from once-loyal customers. However, people somewhere are still ordering their Bloomin' Onions and Gold Coast Coconut Shrimp for delivery — effectively transferring that dissatisfaction with the eatery over to the people doing the delivering.

Outback makes a number of DoorDash drivers' Reddit rankings of worst places to pick up from. It even made the top of some lists, which is an ignominious distinction to be sure. The common complaint is the wait time. And to be fair, Outback is not a fast food joint, nor has it ever pretended to be. It's debatable how much expeditiousness it really owes to delivery drivers.

With that said, it could help a declining enterprise like Outback to embrace all things modern convenience. By not prioritizing DoorDash and the like, you're not prioritizing the people on the other end of the delivery. Where do you think these workers are delivering the food to? Empty chasms in spacetime?

IHOP has been a source of uncomplicated happiness for so many people young and old, like anything calling itself a House of Pancakes would. It feels like the world's neighborhood diner –- and it truly is international, with over 1,800 locations across the globe. But if it was up to many DoorDash drivers, they wouldn't be walking into a single one of those outposts while they were on the clock. Too bad IHOP's attempt at fast-casual, Flip'd, failed, and was banished to the dustbin in 2023. It could've helped out these deflated Dashers.

Waiting for orders is very annoying for drivers. Not that the folks at IHOP seem to care very much. One driver on DoorDash Reddit wound up waiting 20 minutes for an order, only to find out that all the cooks had taken a break and weren't even working on the food. That's cold.

Another complainant warned other Dashers to avoid IHOP especially on weekend mornings, which makes sense. It's probably impossible for the place to keep up with deliveries when it's mobbed by syrup-pouring hordes of sit-down customers. A driver has even decided to never, ever accept an order from IHOP if it's under $10. Who can blame them, especially when some IHOPs make DoorDash wait outside in the parking lot so as not to disturb the customers. Disturb? They're already in a very public place with other people around. Do better, IHOP.

The Cheesecake Factory has over 200 locations in nearly the same amount of American cities. The only thing bigger than its real estate footprint is its absolutely enormous menu. A sizable offering of food items doesn't always make for quick and hasty food prep, although The Cheesecake Factory does a decent job of it for its sit-down customers, depending on the outpost. It's when that enters into the realm of DoorDash delivery that things get a bit, shall we say, contentious.

This can happen when you make DoorDash workers literally stand in front of the kitchen while being ignored for almost half an hour — which was the plight of one Redditor. Or when drivers are sent all around the restaurant in confusion trying to figure out where the hell to pick up an order, as was the ill-fate of another. Someone give these people some basic directions, please. What's it take?

Even for DoorDash-driving Redditors forming their top-five worst-of lists, they have made room for a sixth just so they could squeeze The Cheesecake Factory in there. That's some telling animosity. Sounds like it is a factory ... of DoorDash frustration.

Starting out in Pasadena, California about five decades ago, as "The Original Chinese Kitchen," Panda Express is now the largest Asian restaurant chain in the country. Freely serving Americanized food takes on all types of East Asian cuisine, it's a good spot for folks at home who get a hankering for something in the sticky-sweet-savory-umami flavor profile and aren't picky about cultural authenticity.

Unfortunately that often includes sending out poor DoorDash delivery drivers to Panda Express, and those workers have been none too pleased with the task. How has Panda Express wronged the good giggers of DoorDash-dom? Well, it seems not to care about delivery orders and pays no mind to those carrying the Dasher bag. And when it does, it can be, according to one driver, "the rudest fast food workers [they've] ever dealt with."

On top of that, the chain will apparently make DoorDash folks fill the drinks themselves in the order, despite sensible pleas from delivery workers who are just trying to make good time and avoid, like, health code violations or whatever. Maybe one day Panda Express will come around. Literally, its employees could come around the counter to fill the drinks themselves.

Arby's claims to have the meats. Tough to argue. The menu is certainly a barrage of meat-centric fare. What it might have a more difficult time making a claim to is the approval of DoorDash delivery drivers. Because there doesn't seems to be very much of it. And according to Dashers, this has everything to do with the roast beef-and-more chain itself. 

How has Arby's transgressed in the eyes of DoorDash workers? For starters, the staff won't begin an order until the driver arrives at the restaurant, defeating the whole purpose of the "Dash" and perhaps even subverting the very foundations of modern food delivery. But it doesn't stop there. Oh, not by a long stretch (about as long as driver wait times there).

Arby's also has a tendency to fill the to-go bags up too much, rendering the securing stickers completely useless. That's fun for a person on the move to deal with it. Drivers have had enough, with one colorfully fed-up Dasher letting loose on Reddit: "I (bleep)ing abhor Arby's. I (BLEEP)ING HATE ARBY'S." And this from someone who's done DoorDash in no less than 12 states. No small sample size of dissatisfaction there.

When Harmon Dobson opened up the first Whataburger in 1950, in Corpus Christi, Texas, neither he nor many others could probably foresee forthcoming inventions like smartphones, apps, digital payment, or services that would bring food from anywhere to anyone, regardless of whether an eatery actually offers its own delivery or not. Or maybe Dobson did and was a visionary. Who knows? What we do know, is that Whataburger is not a favorite of those futuristic (to 1950s Dobson) DoorDash drivers.

In fact, to one driver on Reddit, it's an obvious choice for the worst place to pick up an order. To another, it doesn't matter what time it is, Whataburger is the "slowest place on the planet." Despite the giant, red, oversized bag and eager disposition of DoorDash drivers, they can still manage to be ignored at Whataburger by, well, managers. Like, what else is the person doing ... just standing there? Auditioning to be the Whataburger "W?"

This has left at least one Dasher in particular to categorize a Whataburger pick-up as nothing less than a "Herculean task." Just as a reminder, Hercules fought a giant lion, slayed a hydra, captured a bull barehanded, and stole a girdle from an Amazonian queen.