‘We’re trying to help people out’: Jimmy John’s worker warns customers who order through DoorDash

A Jimmy John's employee is going viral on TikTok for teaching DoorDash enthusiasts how to save money. Joanna Kay Plotner (@joannakayplotner) uploaded a clip that's garnered over 578,000 views as of Friday.

In the clip, she informs a drive-thru customer that they should avoid using DoorDash when ordering food. Instead, she says they just place their requests directly through the store. This way, she says, they can avoid an upcharge.

Ditch the dash

"Did you order off of DoorDash?" she asks the customer after opening the window. "So we've been, we have orders but they're third-partying our orders and going through DoorDash and UberEats. So if you ever do that, just know it is cheaper through us," she tells the patron.

"I can see just now you came through us. We're trying to help people out because people are paying so much extra money, so," she explains to the customer. Next, she gets up to go and help fulfill the shopper's order.

@joannakayplotner #fyi order from @Jimmy John’s ???? directly!!! Not a third party! Doordash and ubereats are more expensive!! Save money, live better ???????? #morning #lunch #work #opening #fy #fypシ #fyp #tuesday #coffee ♬ original sound - Joanna Kay Plotner

"What's the name?" the Jimmy John's worker asks the customer. Following this, another employee arrives at the drive-thru window with their bag of food. Plotner's clip then cuts to her handing the customer a beverage. "Here's that sweetie you have a great day," she says.

Ordering direct = more cost-effective?

The Daily Dot has previously written about a DoorDash customer who was shocked by the price of their KFC order. After purchasing two meals, with all fees and gratuity included, they shelled out $70. Several commenters who replied to her video stated that if she ordered directly from KFC, she could've had her food delivered for cheaper. The Daily Dot checked KFC's website and confirmed that this was the case.

DoorDash has acknowledged on its own website that businesses are allowed to set prices for its food. The popular ordering application says that while it encourages eateries to maintain consistent pricing, this isn't always the case.

In an April 2023 article published by Restaurant Business Magazine, the outlet wrote that DoorDash is pushing against these upcharges. According to the piece, businesses that charge more in the DoorDash app will have their "placement in the app" affected. Conversely, "those that maintain consistent prices across channels will get a boost."

"Raising prices on third-party delivery menus has become a common practice as restaurants look to protect their margins on the costly service. Restaurants can pay up to 30% in commissions on delivery orders, which can severely cut into their profits on those orders," RBM writes.

Credit Suisse said that on average, restaurants upcharge their offerings by around 20%. This hasn't seemed to curtail folks from ordering via DoorDash, however. Between 2020 and 2024 the app has gained 17 million new users.

Vieers critique DoorDash

One commenter was also stunned at DoorDash's premium item upcharges. "Doordash does a markup of 20% per menu item.. it's wiiild," they penned.

Another person was shocked that folks would think food delivered via a third party would cost the same. "Did… did people not know ordering through another service costs more? You’re paying for a service, to make your order for you. Of course it’s more money than way," they said.

One person pointed out that in the case of some restaurants, customers are paying redundancy fees. "At dominoes we get Uber eats orders. But we still deliver them so what is the point you paid more to use the same service," they said.

But some mentioned that their local Jimmy John's chains won't deliver to them directly. "My local JJ doesn’t deliver to me even though I’m literally like 3 miles away," one said.

Another wrote, "Why is jimmy John’s doing this! Uber eats has delivered to my food the last couple times. And I live like 2 minutes from the store."

The Daily Dot has reached out to Jimmy John's and DoorDash via email and Plotner via TikTok comment.

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