DoorDash delivery workers can rest assured that their work days will be more pleasant than before from now on.
The company behind the popular delivery app announced it is providing new features that would keep its delivery workers safe from harm, including from their very own customers.
DoorDash was found by Business of Apps to be the leader in online food delivery in the US, along with pioneering the platform-to-consumer model.
DoorDash New Customer-Related Safety Features
DoorDash mentioned in a blog post that it is adding a handful of safety features to further keep its delivery workers safe and secure at all times. According to the company, although it has made progress on keeping its Dashers safe and sound, there is still more work to be done on that front.
DoorDash previously had a national Dasher survey that revealed that almost every one of the people working for them prefers to be a delivery worker than a driver due to them believing that the former is safer than the latter.
The first of these features is the new SafeChat and Safety Reporting features, which allow delivery workers to avoid problematic or rude customers. The former feature works through the app's algorithm, which can detect inappropriate or offensive language in the app's chat.
If the algorithm's detection is triggered, the customer will receive a warning that will remind them of the potential consequences of their language. Meanwhile, the delivery worker who picked up their delivery order can choose to unassign themselves from the delivery without penalties if they so wish.
Safechat is active nationwide in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
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Meanwhile, Safety Reporting allows the company's delivery workers to report a customer if they made them feel unsafe during or after delivery. Delivery workers can then have the customer investigated and have them block future deliveries from them through its platform.
Last but not least is the app's new Porch Light Reminders, which alerts customers to have their porch or house lights on to better help the company's delivery workers find their way to them and make them feel safer when they make deliveries at night.
This new feature is now active in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
DoorDash Delivery Worker-Related Safety Features
DoorDash also added some safety features to check their delivery workers' safety. SafeDash Check-In, for example, allows DoorDash's app to check in on its delivery workers if the app detects a delay in the delivery of a product to see if they are okay.
Gizmodo mentioned in its article that delivery workers will receive a prompt that will require them to select either "I'm okay" or "I feel unsafe" within a 2-minute time window.Should the delivery worker be unresponsive or feel unsafe, an ADT safety agent will contact them, providing assistance and even calling 911 for them if necessary.
This feature will only be available in New York City and Washington, D.C., for now, with it becoming available nationwide sometime soon.
In addition to SafeDash Check-In, DoorDash also added a Real-Time Safety Alert Feature to alert delivery workers of any emergency or natural disaster nearby to keep them from harm.
The company partnered with samdesk, a global crisis detection platform, to help locate one. These incidents include active shootings, bomb threats, and building fires.
Once found, DoorDash will automatically suspend operations near the impacted area, which includes canceling active deliveries within the area of concern.
DoorDash will alert both the customer and its delivery worker about the cancelation if an emergency is detected near them.
The company will also proactively check in on its delivery workers near the crisis to confirm their status and whereabouts.
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