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Dogfooding is a good idea in general, but it seems like a horrible idea for Doordash specifically: - In car-oriented areas, it's very unlikely that a standard
by snoog 5y ago
Dogfooding is a good idea in general, but it seems like a horrible idea for Doordash specifically:
- In car-oriented areas, it's very unlikely that a standard car insurance policy would permit commercial use like this. If employees end up in a crash, and it is discovered that they were performing a delivery their claim may be denied. This seems like a compliance and liability nightmare.
- In urban areas where bikes are preferred, employees may or may not have one, but it's very possible they won't have one that is appropriate for delivery. Also, woe on Doordash when the first $500k+ TC SWE gets doored and puts in a worker's comp claim.
The actual deliverers are contractors, so it is reasonable to expect them to provide their own equipment: a car with proper commercial insurance, or a bike that can be locked outside safely. That's part of being a contractor. It is not reasonable whatsoever to expect FTEs to use their own equipment to perform job duties.
The only company that I can think of forced dogfooding of the "provider" side being worse at (besides obvious jokes like MindGeek) is Airbnb.
But that's not all: it doesn't accurately simulate the contractor experience at all! There's no pressure! They have no incentive to actually ride fast (and, from my experience from encountering delivery riders as an NYC cyclist, in the wrong direction, at night, with no lights...) since there's no actual correlation between my delivery performance and my TC. It's just SWEs cosplaying as delivery people for a day.
- manicdee 5y agoPerhaps Doordash should treat their employees as employees, providing the appropriate insurances and training to perform their work safely.