It’s hard to deny just how much easier our lives became when delivery apps like DoorDash were invented. From McDonald’s cravings and Olive Garden dinners to quick errands at CVS and other essentials, DoorDash can deliver just about anything.
Or maybe not.
One woman learned the hard way that perhaps not everything should be ordered via DoorDash–especially pricier items, like a laptop.
In a viral TikTok, Natalia (@quadzillas) shared her friend’s unfortunate experience with the ordering and delivery company. She explains how her friend’s laptop died, and since she has “no money,” is doing clinicals at nursing school, and is in severe student debt, she desperately needed a new laptop.
“I thought it was a good idea to DoorDash…because they’re always advertising that you can buy anything on DoorDash,” she recalls her friend saying.
So what did her friend do? Order a Chromebook laptop from Best Buy on DoorDash.
According to Natalia, her friend opted to tip the driver in person to make sure he handed her the laptop.
But things didn’t go according to plan. Natalia’s friend received a receipt photo from the driver–the “item” was a selfie light, not her $169 laptop.
In disbelief, she contacted the delivery company, who then told her to take it to Best Buy to return it there.
“Sorry, we literally can’t do anything with this,” Natalia says the Best Buy workers told her friend. “That’s DoorDash’s problem.”
The company refused to take accountability, the TikToker says, despite her friend talking to multiple customer service representatives.
“Anyway, don’t order anything on DoorDash,” Natalia urges. “I guess, except for food. But they even steal food, so I don’t know.”
She concludes by finding it incredulous that the app requires photo proof, and yet when the photo showed there was no laptop anywhere to be found, “DoorDash still refuses to give her back her money.”
Did DoorDash ever make it right?
In a follow-up post, Natalia shares an update on what she dubbed the “DoorDash Gate 2025.” She reveals how, because of her viral TikTok–it’s currently sitting at a healthy 1.4 million views–the official DoorDash TikTok account sent her a direct message about the situation.
“She got a refund back and $250 of DoorDash credits for her inconvenience,” Natalia says.
Do delivery drivers eat your food?
DoorDash customers know all the well the risk that comes with placing your trust in strangers to bring the items you ordered as expected. But it doesn’t always go smoothly. For example, in one viral TikTok, a man allegedly caught a driver “taste testing” a customer’s meal. This phenomenon doesn’t seem uncommon, either. NPR reported how 1 in 4 food delivery drivers admit to eating customers’ food. This is why establishments–and customers–have pushed to have tamper-evident labels and packaging, like stickers.
@quadzillas Another day, another DoorDash scam ? #doordash #viral #fypシ #fyp #trending ♬ original sound – Natalia the Buff Engineer
The Mary Sue reached out to Natalia and to DoorDash via email.
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