Suede Sanders of Arlington, Texas, told Newsweek he was furious to see a “pile of bone marrow” in the place of his highly anticipated Lemon Pepper and Louisiana Rub wings.
“I cannot make this up,” Sanders ranted in a TikTok video on August 17, posting under the username @thesuedeshow. Footage of him rummaging through the pitiful remnants of his delivery has racked up nearly 300,000 views.
“Here I am ordering some Wingstop,” he went on, pulling out a carton that once held French fries. It was entirely empty, save for a handwritten note.
“Now I know you notice the fries [are] gone,” he said. “My drink to the top and everything intact. But again, my fries [are] gone, and a damn note in it.”
Next he opened up the box of chicken wings—only to see stripped-down bones with all the meat gnawed off.
“The wings is damn ate, y’all,” Sanders yelled.
The note left by his driver read, “I’m sorry I 8 cho food. I’m broke and hungry. Consider it like ur payin it 4ward. I’m quitting this lame a** job N E way. Be blessed.”
It was signed, “Your DoorDash guy.”
“What am I supposed to do with this, y’all?” demanded the customer.
Sanders told Newsweek that he contacted DoorDash, which gave him a refund and credit for the order.
“I can’t lie, I was so set on those wings that the [incident] ruined my mood for the wings at that moment,” he said.
As much as Americans rely on food delivery, nine in 10 people report having received the wrong order from a restaurant or grocery store, according to a survey from Circuit, a route-planning app for delivery drivers. More than half of Americans surveyed—54 percent—have suspected their delivery driver of consuming parts of their food or beverage prior to delivery.
TikTokers React
While thousands of viewers were entertained by the driver’s brazenness, others said the customer’s story sounded all too familiar.
“This has happened to me and I never got my money back,” said one viewer, adding, “They didn’t leave me a note. Just an empty box…even took my drink.”
Another user commented, “At least you got a note. I ordered a 50pc family meal, and only got fries and carrots. Chicken missing.”
“Honestly this is why I never order delivery,” said a third user. “I always order direct from the restaurant and pick it up myself.”
Other Food Deliveries Gone Wrong
In August, an Ohio man claimed to discover a bag of marijuana at the bottom of his DoorDash delivery. The driver reportedly returned to ask for the bag back, but the customer said he called police and filed a complaint with DoorDash.
A McDonald’s customer in England said she received her burger with a handwritten label saying it contained “ketamine” in June, although the meal turned out to be free of drugs.
Meanwhile, last year, an Uber Eats delivery driver was fired after footage surfaced of him siphoning off part of a customer’s order with his bare hands.
Newsweek reached out to DoorDash for comment.
Update: 09/02/22 6:05 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Suede Sanders.
