DoorDash is Like a Drug Dealer
DoorDash is like a drug dealer. Drug dealers get you hooked with a free offer. So does DoorDash. Both are evil and unreliable and they don’t answer when you call. Drug dealers and DoorDash make good money off exploiting others. Consumers. Dashers. Restaurants.
As the father of a former Dasher, I thought it would be a good way for him to earn money in college. I was wrong. In Harrisonburg, there are 1,000 dashers (96% JMU students) and only 100 people ordering food. If you only get to deliver one or two meals a night you’re not really making any money.
DoorDash is the drug kingpin who makes all the cash and the low-level street pushers (aka Dashers) never make enough to get by. (A Dasher makes less than $18 an hour. An Uber Eats driver by comparison makes $23+.) But unlike a drug dealer who may be caught and face the consequences, DoorDash is seemingly untouchable.
As the owner of restaurants who offer DoorDash to customers, I feel icky. What innocently started as a way for us to get our food out to more folks, has us regretting that decision. We’ve fallen into the DoorDash trap. We work hard to make and package food. DoorDash takes fees and commissions that have steadily increased over the past seven years. We take about a 30%-35% loss on every order.
If you raise your prices to cover the difference, DoorDash demotes you or takes you off the front page. Want to call and chat to your rep? Nope. You can’t. You fill out a form to get an issue ticket to discuss your concern and that your Merchant Experience Partner will contact you within 48 hours. Maybe.
Over the past four weeks, we’ve been living an online nightmare. Hackers broke into the DoorDash account, switched the owner and bank info. This means Texas Inn hasn’t been paid by the delivery service since 8/13. But there’s a guy in Hawaii named Pablo getting some fat checks.
20 emails. 10 phone conferences. 7 issue tickets. It’s like trying to get money back from a drug dealer. Good luck with that. Oh yeah, the kingpins at DoorDash owe us over $30,000.
My advice, get a new dealer. Ditch the DoorDash and go eat in person. You’ll save a few bucks and you’ll get to talk to real live human beings and you’ll enjoy your food knowing that the dasher didn’t eat some bag fries on the way over. You can pretend it’s 2019 all over again.
#BoldBrandsWin
MONDAY:
ZOE JOINS THE WRITE SIDE
This week we welcomed Zoe Norris, our newest copywriting intern and a senior in Marketing and Economics at VCU. Zoe jumped right into the fray on Monday, dodging and deflecting awkward icebreakers like a seasoned pro. We’re thrilled to have her creative chops and youthful energy on board (and hoping to siphon some for ourselves). Welcome aboard, Zoe—you’re stuck with us now!
TUESDAY:
CARTER MOVES IN, GASTONIA MOVES UP
Madison+Main client Carter Bank is planting roots in Gastonia with a new loan production office led by three hometown banking pros. It’s the latest step in Carter’s North Carolina expansion—bringing relationship-driven banking to more communities and helping local businesses grow stronger.
WEDNESDAY:
WORD WIZ TURNS A YEAR WISER
It’s time to celebrate our fearless leader of wordsmiths (or at least his upcoming birthday)! Derek Fair, Senior Copywriting Manager at Madison+Main, adds yet another page to his riveting life story this weekend. Join us in raising a toast to the man who consistently crafts killer copy while keeping our clients sane. Happy Birthday, Derek—master of words, legend of facial hair!
THURSDAY:
WE WILL NEVER FORGET
I used to set my alarm at 6:10 am everyday. I had a ritual. Start the coffee pot and turn on the TV to watch the news. Twenty-four years ago, I worked at the Los Angeles Times and lived right next door to LAX. As I watched the horrible events unfold on Good Morning America, I noticed there was an eerie quiet and calm in the neighborhood. Few were awake, but no one was jogging or walking their dogs. The skies were empty. Normally you could see a dozen planes stacked up across the LA basin, but not on this Tuesday morning. 2,977 Americans died in that attack. It changed us. It changed the country. We will never forget.
FRIDAY:
DAVE’S ON THE (AIR)WAVES
This morning, I joined Rich Herrera bright and early on Richmond’s Morning News to chat about fun stuff to do in RVA this weekend. Because of all the real news and updates, I jumped on at 7:35 instead of our regular time slot at 9:05. ICYMI, here’s the link.
A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE EVENTS
Widespread Panic at Allianz Theater
Date: Friday, September 12, 2025 (Also Sat, Sept. 13)
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: $82 and up
Location: 350 Tredegar Street
One of the nation’s biggest jam bands, uniquely Southern flavored out of Athens, GA, and featuring Richmond’s very own Dave Schools as its longtime bassist, returns for a two-night stand down by the rivah.
43rd Street Festival of the Arts
Date: Saturday, September 13, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Tickets: FREE
Location: Forest Hill Ave & W. 43rd St
This annual juried show will feature 75 regional craftsmen and artisans with all donations benefiting CARITAS. Enjoy food trucks, live music, and fun for the whole family on a beautiful fall day!
Virginia Distilled at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture
Date: Saturday, September 13, 2025
Time: 6 to 9 p.m.
Tickets: $50 for VMHC members ($55 for non-members)
Location: VMHC (428 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd.)
Try samples from up to 15 different craft distilleries (from the more than 80 in Virginia) including local faves like Reservoir and Virago Spirits, with music by Weldon Hill Trio as well as food trucks on hand.
“Only drug dealers and software companies call their customers ‘users.'” – Edward Tufte