Food delivery service DoorDash is quick to hold restaurants accountable for their mistakes—but not without evidence. Dissatisfied customers have to provide proof that something was wrong with their order, be it a missing item, late delivery, or improperly prepared food, before the company will issue a refund (potentially on the restaurant’s dime, depending on the nature of the mistake).
But in the AI era, verifiable proof is harder to come by, and one customer’s viral post about tricking DoorDash into giving her a refund shows that despite the company’s best efforts, its anti-fraud measures aren’t foolproof.
On TikTok, a user named Starr (@mi5under5t00d) posted a montage of images showing how she used an AI-doctored image to get a full refund on her DoorDash order.
First, an actual picture of her order of chicken wings, including a piece with a bite taken out of it. Next, that same image, but edited with AI to make the bitten chicken wing appear raw. Finally, a screenshot from her DoorDash app, showing that the company issued her $39.24 of credit to use on future DoorDash orders.
“Shout out to ChatGPT,” reads text overlaid on the video.
Starr’s refund strategy went viral on TikTok, garnering 4.4 million views and thousands of comments—including one from DoorDash itself.
‘This gets people fired’: Social media responds
Though Starr seemed flippant about using AI to make her food look undercooked, social media wasn’t on her side.
“This gets people fired btw,” one commenter wrote. “Some people’s [lives] depend on DoorDash or Uber and [you’re] gonna get [them] fired over a few dollars? Selfish.”
“This is honestly a disgusting thing to do, why would you take advantage of small businesses?!” commented another.
DoorDash itself even chimed in with a comment that went viral in its own right. “Oop should’ve blocked us!” the company commented.
“Now why would I do that if my chicken was raw?” Starr replied.
In the video’s caption, Starr explained that she did have problems with her order, including two missing items and that her chicken was cold when it arrived—but the chicken being raw, a much more serious issue, was apparently her own invention.
DoorDash has policies in place to protect merchants from fraudulent claims like Starr’s, including flagging users who repeatedly request refunds and conducting manual review of those customers’ claims. But as AI images become more and more convincing, even manual review can fall through.
DoorDash’s love-hate relationship with AI
Though DoorDash’s comment may imply it’s anti-AI, the company uses AI throughout its business practice, including a newly announced suite of AI tools for merchants.
One of DoorDash’s more controversial AI uses is enhancing and editing images of food. As DoorDash explains on its Photo FAQs page, any photos on the app labeled “AI-enhanced” have been altered by AI to re-plate dishes, replace background elements, fill in missing portions of images, or change the perspective to make food more visible. DoorDash writes that these AI-generated changes are meant to “better showcase menu items and create a more consistent browsing experience.”
DoorDash has not responded to Fast Company’s request for comment.