Thanks to a partnership between DoorDash and Walmart, some Walmart orders are now delivered by DoorDash—and Uber Eats, too. Convenient, right?
But there’s a problem: Many DoorDash drivers hate doing Walmart orders. Take one visit to the DoorDash subreddit you’ll see daily posts like these by drivers complaining about Walmart orders.
- “Walmart orders are making me lose money”
- “I decline all Walmart orders”
- “200 items up to a 3rd story apartment and no tip”
- “Just remember, Somewhere in the world right now….someone is on a $3 Walmart order”
The disdain for Walmart orders is so strong that some drivers even request to block all Walmart orders (pic).
So what are the main complaints from drivers? Low pay, slow service at Walmart, infrequent tipping, and simply too much work for too little money.
Just check out these estimated payouts to see why drivers are upset: $3-$5 to spend 30+ minutes hauling heavy groceries, with no guaranteed tip. Normal food deliveries are faster, easier, and typically pay more.
Haul 43 items for $5 with no guarantee of a tip. Would you accept?
It’s clear that DoorDash drivers don’t like Walmart orders. To get to the root of the issue, let’s look at how Walmart orders on DoorDash work, and what DoorDash and Walmart can do to improve the situation.
How the pickup and delivery process works for Walmart orders on DoorDash
Here’s what the overall delivery process looks like for a Walmart order:
- Accept or decline the Walmart order request
- Navigate to the Walmart pickup area
- Wait for Walmart employee to load the order into the car
- Navigate to the customer
- Drop off the order at the customer’s door
Walmart orders might not look too different from a typical DoorDash food delivery, but the problems lie in the execution.
Problems with the DoorDash/Walmart delivery process
A Walmart order request looks similar to other requests: Drivers see the location of the Walmart, the customer drop off location, and a payout amount that includes a base payout and any electronic tip.
Walmart customers can now tip when they place an order, and DoorDash updated the Dasher app to include tips in the overall estimated payout on the order request screen.
A lot of complaints are with the pickup experience. Drivers say that pickup areas can be disorganized, and wait times vary wildly. It’s not supposed to take more than 5 minutes to get the groceries, but DoorDash drivers regularly report that it can take 20+ minutes.
Drop offs are another point of friction for drivers: Food deliveries are typically just a light bag or two, but Walmart orders can contain dozens of heavy items that must be hauled to the customer’s door.
Imagine taking several trips to the car to haul cases of water up the stairs at an apartment complex. It’s a lot more work than a food delivery for the same, or sometimes less, pay.
6 stops? This is more like a UPS delivery route. Credit essejpatterson on Reddit
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How DoorDash Drivers Get Paid for Walmart Orders
Payouts for DoorDash orders work the same way as a typical food delivery order: Drivers receive base pay + promotions + 100% of tips. Base pay is an algorithm that accounts for time, distance, and ‘desirability.’
The issue is that base pay can be quite low, sometimes as low as $3, and tipping for these orders seems to be less frequent than regular orders. Many DoorDash drivers share screenshots of orders in the $6 – $8 range, which isn’t terrible as long as the entire order doesn’t take too long. But when wait times are 20+ minutes with a long drive & delivery to follow, $6 doesn’t look so great.
It used to be that Walmart customers could only tip after an order was completed, but that has changed. Walmart customers can now leave a tip when they place an order, and the tip will be included in the order payout estimate that drivers see.
Which would you accept: A food delivery that shows a $10 payout to deliver a bag of food, or a Walmart grocery order with 25 items that shows a $5 payout?
Controversy: Does Walmart ‘Keep’ Tips on DoorDash Orders? (No)
Tips on Walmart orders can be so few and far between compared to food delivery that some drivers suspect an issue with the payment might be preventing them from receiving tips.
The way payments for Walmart orders are handled might also cause a delay in tipping, or potentially missed tips. With a typical food delivery order, payments are directly handled by DoorDash. With a Walmart order, payments are first handled by Walmart, then are completed by DoorDash. Walmart seems to settle orders more slowly than DoorDash, so the extra step can cause delays.
I asked DoorDash for more clarity on how the payment system for DoorDash/Walmart orders works, and if it’s possible for Walmart to ‘keep’ tips that are intended for drivers.
A DoorDash rep said, “[Walmart order pay] is the base pay plus 100% of the tips. However, for Drive and Grocery order, the customer’s are placing the order directly to the store. We cannot see here in our system if there’s a customer’s tip or none. It still depends on the store if they will provide the tip or not.” [Pic of conversation]
Some DoorDash customers have complained that they tried to tip DoorDash drivers, but an app bug prevented them from doing so. One customer said, “The app will show that the tip went through, however, the following day after delivery there’s an error message in the app that says “sorry your order is no longer eligible for tipping, your tip has been removed.”
My take: Walmart isn’t keeping tips, but they might be slow to deliver them, and app issues may prevent them from going through.
Some Walmart Customers are Unhappy with DoorDash Deliveries Too
Down in the comments section of this article, you’ll find comments from Walmart customers who were unhappy with a DoorDash delivery. The main complaint is that they weren’t notified that their order would be delivered by DoorDash. Some orders are split between shipping companies, so some items in the order are delivered by DoorDash others are delivered by FedEx.
Many Walmart customers don’t feel that they need to tip DoorDash because they were never notified that DoorDash would be fulfilling the order. If they didn’t request DoorDash, why would they tip? And if they don’t tip UPS or FedEx, why would they tip DoorDash? This is a common customer outlook on the DoorDash/Walmart situation.
One customer said, “The current system is not set up to even make customers aware of HOW/WHEN their items will be delivered. Most will just assume it’s through USPS FedEx or UPS.”
And it’s hard to argue with this customer’s logic: “I can’t justify a tip for something I was not advised was going to happen.”
Walmart Workers Chime in
DoorDash drivers don’t like Walmart orders, and it turns out that the feeling is mutual for Walmart workers. Walmart employees complain of impatient DoorDash drivers who become rude when wait times are longer than a few minutes. And then there’s the time a frustrated DoorDash driver dumped a load of groceries in the Walmart loading area without telling anyone.
Another point of friction is that Walmart instructs workers not to load an order into a car if the driver or vehicle appears disheveled or unclean, or if the driver has young children in the car who can’t be left unattended. Imagine how uncomfortable it is for employees to turn a driver away, or to be turned away as a driver!
How DoorDash and Walmart Can Improve The Situation
DoorDash drivers don’t like them, Walmart workers aren’t big fans either, and customers feel like they are in the dark too. What can be done?
Walmart should let customers know that their delivery is being completed by DoorDash. Too many Walmart customers have no idea what DoorDash is, or why part of their delivery was done by DoorDash when another was done by FedEx. If customers know what to expect, they’ll be a lot more satisfied.
Walmart orders are much less appealing for Dashers compared to restaurant orders, so Dashers either need more tips or higher base to make it worth their while. Walmart could try to encourage tipping, but it’s understandable that adding a new cost won’t go over well with Walmart customers who already pay for shipping or delivery memberships.
The remaining option is a higher delivery fee for drivers that is paid for by Walmart and DoorDash, or their customers. In the end, someone will need to pay more.
Another necessity that’s easier said than done: Improve logistics. One of the major complaints from DoorDash drivers is that they have to wait far too long at Walmart to pick up an order. Some type of logistical upgrade is needed to streamline the process, but there’s no guarantee that DoorDash and Walmart will be able to sort that out.
DoorDash drivers: If the payout doesn’t look right, decline it! You can’t be deactivated for a low order acceptance rate, so you’re free to decline any order that doesn’t meet your standards.
H H says
I do Uber Eats in Canada which does get Walmart orders frequently. The number one problem is how long it takes for Walmart to bring the order to the car. We do not get paid to wait . Today I had an order and 2 cars that came after me were looked after before me. I asked an employee How long it can take. He said it was in progress . That answer does not help me. I cancelled that order after about 20 min. Advice to Walmart . Get better organized. There are lots of restaurants that are better with less wait time and sometime it is ready when i get through their doo.
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Kelly says
As a doordash driver, I’ll never accept Walmart orders because it’s always like 7 different people, going 32 miles for $11 and No one tips.
Joanna says
Who do you file a complaint about the driver delivering the food to wrong address then taking the food and keeping it?
Doug M says
It’s up to Walmart to properly tag the groceries with a lable and more often than not when I did do Walmart groceries they did not tag the bags with the customer name. Drivers given multiple orders are sometimes guessing which bags go to which customer because of this. I, as a dasher myself, insist on the orders being tagged with a barcode label and the customer’s name. Another problem drivers encounter in delivering groceries is their vehicle does not provide a way to keep multiple orders separated unless they use their food bags which I sometimes do. If the wrong order is delivered, I would complain to both Doordash Support and Walmart. I don’t even accept food orders not marked with customer’s name let alone grocery orders.
Erin says
I’ve been a Walmart delivery customer since the beginning of the pandemic. It’s organized like a hot mess and the Doordash drivers frequently mess up. Three times now, I’ve had the wrong order delivered to me. Completely wrong. Someone else’s groceries. One of those three times I was lucky enough to catch the driver before he drove off. He had accepted two orders at once and dropped the wrong food at the wrong door. He drove back to the other address, and switched the food, bringing me my order. The other two times, I had to contact Walmart, and alert customer service. They can’t send out a replacement order, either. They have to refund your money, whereupon you order all over again. In both instances, I needed the food to cook that night’s meal, so each time I was forced to pay $10 extra for an express order. Even worse, the guy who delivered the one tonight was the same guy who’d delivered the wrong food to me earlier today, some chicken and oj, neither of which we eat, and, presumably, my $70 worth of groceries to someone else. And I had rated him as a 1 on that first order, removing his tip. Awkward.
Terry says
The driver delivers what is given to deliver . They don’t know what you have ordered . Walmart employees bag your order not the driver .
Susan says
We have been using Door Dash from WalMart since the pandemic started. We have only received the wrong order once. I called WalMart and they could not take the wrong groceries back. Unfortunately, they were nothing we could use. We donated then to the local food bank. WalMart sent a replacement order. They filled from my order on my account. Since the order was going to require another Door Dash fee so they issued me a credit for that amount which my husband using on a oil change. My husband is immune compromised and even without a pandemic, or cold/flu season we try not to be in public spaces. This service is a godsend. I make sure to go to the door, wave, and tell them thank you.
galleylama says
Recently I ordered a couple items from Walmart…no where did it say that there would be a man at my door with the delivery 3 hours later with his hand out to my husband for a tip. I expected the item to be dlivered as normal from UPS or FEDEX in 3 days time. This has happened twice in 6 months, all other orders came in 3 days like they used to. I now will not order from them because #1 I need to expect the delivery when it was originally expected #2 I do not want to be embarrassed if I have no ready cash by a delivery person who wants a tip. I can order from Target and Amazon and not have either of those problems. At the very least Walmart should have a place to select or reject a door dash quick delivery. If I want same day dlievery I chose it and pay for it and tip the driver.
Ted says
I did not ask Walmart to send me anything via Door Dash! I ordered expecting my product to be delivered by FedEx as it has always been done! if someone orders over $35 Walmart says that qualifies for FREE shipping! How is it free if I am expected tip for a service I f
did not request?
Connie Williams says
I am here as a consumer and agree 100% with the complaints and am glad to see drivers boycott them. I sent this to Walmart today.
SHAME ON WALMART FOR ENCORAGING CUSTOMERS TO NOT TIP DELIVERY DRIVERS!!! I always tip my grocery driver $20. Order delayed yesterday, no drivers, cancelled after 5 hours. Same thing today, cancelled after 3 hours. I can get tacos in 15 minutes. Did my research and yep, Doordash drivers are losing money by taking Walmart orders. Then to find out the company encourages NOT tipping. This is bad business, bad customer relations and so on and so forth. Deciding to get your own fleet of drivers does not fix this broken bridge. Sorry to lose you as my long time grocery store.