A frustrated business owner has slammed dodgy Uber Eats drivers for claiming they have picked up an order when they are nowhere in sight.
John Jenkins, who runs Gold Coast Kebabs, said a recent experience with a delivery driver left him outraged.
Mr Jenkins described how a driver accepted an Uber Eats order but did not arrive at the store for more than 13 minutes.
‘He claims he’s been waiting for 13 minutes, but there’s no driver here,’ Mr Jenkins said in a TikTok video, showing the front of his shop.
‘So what’s gonna happen now?’
Mr Jenkins claimed he contacted the driver, who told him he was ‘coming’, but still took more time to arrive.
‘Mate, you don’t like it? Cancel the job. Give it to someone who’s close by,’ Mr Jenkins said.
‘You cannot. This is not fair.’
John Jenkins, who runs Gold Coast Kebabs, said a recent experience with a delivery driver left him outraged
He said the situation put him in a difficult position: if he gave the driver a thumbs down for the delay, the driver would know it came from him, and could retaliate.
‘All of a sudden you want to give them a thumbs down, what do they do? They go on your Google review and they give you thumbs down,’ Mr Jenkins said.
‘Is this fair? Is this justice?’
The kebab shop owner warned the system creates a risk for business owners, who may avoid giving negative feedback to poor-performing drivers out of fear of bad reviews.
‘Uber, you’ve got to fix this problem,’ Mr Jenkins said.
‘This is causing businesses big problems. If you don’t fix it, you will lose a lot of customers.’
Social media users were left disgusted by the dodgy tactics used by some drivers.
‘I had one say they had picked it up, but the store rang me to say they hadn’t,’ one wrote.
‘I told them I’d pick it up, and in the meantime, the driver cancelled the order. I got a refund and the food. Some drivers are very dodgy.’
Mr Jenkins described how a driver accepted an Uber Eats order, but did not arrive at the store for more than 13 minutes
Another added: ‘Lately my Uber orders are cold. The problem is they are multi-lapping and have three or four orders at the same time.’
Uber Eats’ rating system allows both customers and delivery partners to leave feedback on each other after a trip.
However, small businesses have long raised concerns about the potential for ‘revenge’ reviews that can impact a store’s public reputation and revenue.
In February, a retail worker claimed his lunch was stolen by a food delivery driver who pretended to leave the order at his address.
Corey Davis, an employee of Billy Hyde Music in Marleston, Adelaide, had ordered the expensive feast from Betty’s Burgers for himself and his colleagues.
CCTV footage from outside the shop appears to show the Uber Eats driver attempted to cover his tracks by taking photos of the delivery on the kerb, before he immediately picked it up again and drove off.
After submitting a complaint, the delivery service offered him a flat $25 refund.
Daily Mail has contacted Uber for comment.
