DoorDash Drivers Hate Picking Up Food From These 10 Chains

When you're in the mood for takeout, you probably use a food delivery app to make your order, right? For many, the days of picking up the telephone and speaking to someone to place a food order are long gone. But while it feels like magic — you open the app, pay the money, and the food arrives without any need for a conversation — there are still real people involved with getting your favorite takeout to your door. And reader, we're sorry to say, they don't always like doing it. For many DoorDash drivers, for example, their shift can be made better or worse depending on the restaurant chains that customers are ordering from. 

We combed through Reddit to find out the companies that drivers say are truly the worst to pick up food from, due to issues like rude employees, long wait times, and weird smells (yep, that comes up more than once). You can find the results of that investigation below, but just a heads up: It might make you rethink your favorite takeout order.

If you've ever had a delivery gone wrong from Wingstop, you're far from alone. The chain is considered by many customers as one of the worst places to order takeout from, due to issues like cold and stale food, long wait times, and incorrect orders. And it turns out, the Wingstop delivery experience isn't all that great for DoorDash drivers, either. In fact, many say that Wingstop is their least favorite chain to pick up food from.

According to multiple users in the r/doordash_drivers subreddit, Wingstop consistently makes drivers wait excessive amounts of time to pick up orders. On top of this, they often ask delivery workers to fill the drinks for each order themselves, which, again, causes delays. The long wait times often cause customers to get irritated, and that means that drivers lose out on tips. 

With all of this in mind, it's no surprise that some DoorDash drivers have even decided to instigate their own no-WingStop policy. "This is probably the only place I unassign when I see it," wrote one Reddit user.

There are a lot of things that people love about Popeyes. The chicken sandwiches are high up on the list for many fans, and plenty can't get enough of the fries, either. But one of the things that seriously lets this chain down? Yep, you know it. It's the process of getting those popular food items from A to B. Many customers hate receiving delivery from Popeyes (again, due to issues like incorrect orders and bad food), while plenty of DoorDash drivers hate actually delivering it.

Again, the chain comes up multiple times on Reddit threads that focus on the very worst restaurants to pick up from in the U.S. as a DoorDash driver. According to delivery workers, the chain often runs out of food, the wait times are long, and the communication from servers is lacking. ​​"Last time I [got] sent there I stood around waiting for 10 mins before they told me my order was already done and was sitting on the counter," one driver wrote in r/doordash_drivers. "Like thanks. I could have been gone by now."

McDonald's is, of course, one of the biggest fast food chains in the U.S. In fact, every year, it serves up its famous burgers and fries to almost 90% of the American population. But if you're a DoorDash driver, your feelings about McDonald's might be a little more, well, negative than the average customer.

According to many delivery workers, McDonald's is one of the worst chains to pick up food from across the country. This is usually because the food is not ready when the driver arrives — especially if it's a late-night order. "Sitting in a drive-thru for 40 minutes to wait for someone else's single McChicken is one of the most aggravating things I've ever experienced," said a Reddit user in a r/doordash_drivers thread.

Some also say that they have experienced customers complaining about incorrect orders to them (instead of the McDonald's workers who actually made the order), while others say the food stinks out their vehicle, and it's simply not worth the low pay. "McDonald's is the one that I can't stand the most," another user wrote. "The food reeks to high heaven, most of the orders pay the bare minimum... (because it's cheap af), and on top of that, I'm waiting on employees that don't bother to look at their front counter for anything."

For some people, nothing beats Five Guys. The endless burger toppings, the generous portions of extra fries, and the grilled cheese keep many people coming back for more. For plenty of people, though, Five Guys is a nightmare. And by plenty of people, yes, we do mean countless DoorDash drivers who often take to Reddit to complain about the chain.

In fact, for many delivery drivers, Five Guys is one of the worst places to pick up from. For most, this is because the restaurant doesn't actually start cooking the fries until the driver is in the building, which, inevitably, leads to delays. If you've got time, some say the wait is at least worth the free peanuts, but others say it's the worst if you've picked up another order beforehand, which also ends up getting delayed (and potentially cold).

"I've never once had a good experience at this restaurant," said one unnamed Redditor in the r/doordash_drivers sub. "The food is amazing, but why do they always take so f**king long to make the food? It's like they wait to make the food until I get there. Which kinda defeats the purpose of ordering to go. If you're a new Dasher, avoid [this] hell hole at all costs."

According to many fast food fans, the best KFC is fresh KFC. And when we say fresh, we mean straight from the frier and into your hands kind of fresh. The chicken is crispier, the fries are tastier, and it's just generally a much better experience. If you've been making the mistake of ordering KFC for delivery instead of eating in, let this be your sign to rethink next time a craving hits. Not only will it likely taste better if you dine in, but you'll save a DoorDash driver from a soul-crushing delivery experience, too. 

Okay, maybe soul-crushing is a little over the top, but seriously, many DoorDash drivers do not like picking up food from KFC, and for good reason. Some say they have had bad experiences with rude managers at KFC. But for most, the issue is the wait time, which can sometimes be exacerbated by staffing issues or late-night orders. "Yes I want to jump over the counter and put all the old chicken into the buckets myself and leave," wrote a Reddit user. "It's ridiculous."

Papa John's hasn't been having a great time of it recently. In 2025, its sales dropped significantly, and it is currently in the middle of closing hundreds of restaurants. This poor performance also seems to be reflected in the food quality. In 2025, one of our taste testers declared Papa John's cheesy bread as the worst on the market, and in 2026, another of our reviewers said its pepperoni pizza was also the worst out of all the chain pizza restaurants.

Unfortunately for Papa John's, it can't look to the DoorDash driver community for much support either. You guessed it: Many delivery drivers seriously dislike picking up food from the chain. Again, the key issue for most is the wait times, while some say they have experienced rude behavior from Papa John's employees. But arguably even worse than this, multiple DoorDash drivers believe that Papa John's is keeping their tips from them.

"Probably the place I've most often seen mentioned for keeping tips is Papa John's. I feel like it's one of those things where there is smoke, there's fire," wrote a driver on Reddit. "Or put another way, too many people have made the claim for it not to be at least partially true." Another user said: "That motherf**ker Papa John stole a f**king $10 tip after I waited over half a god damned hour, so I'd say [they're the worst]."

For many DoorDash drivers, the worst orders come from chicken chains. "KFC, Wingstop, Popeyes ... Basically if their main business is chicken-related they suck," wrote a Reddit user in the r/doordash_drivers subreddit. While they didn't mention Chick-fil-A, specifically, as one of the worst, plenty of other DoorDash drivers in the same thread have.

Again, the biggest issues seem to be long waiting times, but others say the parking lots are a bit of a nightmare to navigate (this gripe is shared with many customers, who despise the one-way systems and ill-placed parking spaces). "The [two] Chick-fil-A's I frequently end up at are mad houses with lines out onto the main streets," someone wrote. "I always park in a neighboring lot because the Chick-fil-A lot is so tight, it's hard to get in and out of. And they treat dashers like garbage."

For some, the worst issue is the unique smell of Chick-fil-A. "I can't stand the smell of the food, the orders are never ready," wrote another unnamed Redditor. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat there again, just based on the smell."

Like many fast food chains, Taco Bell has been on the receiving end of a significant amount of negative commentary. Let's be honest, it kind of comes with the territory at this point. People say it's overpriced, the wait times are too long, and the food isn't as good as it used to be. And reader, as you've worked out already, many DoorDash drivers are also in the Taco Bell hate club.

Surprise, surprise, one of the biggest issues for many people is the wait time they're faced with when they arrive at the restaurant. Others have criticized the service they have received from workers, noting that there seems to be a lack of organization and communication. "Every single time I go there, it's a hassle," said a Redditor in the r/doordash_drivers sub. Others say they feel ignored by workers, and for some, it's gotten so bad that they have stopped accepting Taco Bell orders completely.

Next time you get a Wendy's craving, and you're tempted to pick up your phone and make an order for that Baconator or Frosty through DoorDash, remember this: Many drivers really, really don't like picking up food from the chain. Why? Well, you can probably guess, because it's nothing that we haven't already covered with the other chains on this list.

DoorDashers say the service is often slow, which inevitably makes them late to deliver the order to the customer. In fact, some drivers say that things can get so slow that the order actually ends up getting canceled because it's taking too long. Others say they have experienced rudeness from Wendy's servers, while some despise the smell. In fact, one person even compared it to "burning human feces." Yep, seriously.

"I have [three] places I almost always auto decline: Wingstop, Sonic, Wendy's," wrote a dasher on Reddit. "90% of my experiences doing any kinda of dash at these places have always been unpleasant."

Pizza Hut is another chain that has been going through a rough time recently. In February 2026, for example, it was revealed that around 250 of its U.S. locations would be permanently closing. And while many people will likely miss those restaurants, the truth is that some DoorDash drivers will probably be feeling more than a little relieved.

The chain has come under fire in multiple DoorDash driver threads on Reddit. Again, many people say the wait times are particularly long at this chain. "Wait times are always through the roof," one user wrote. "So long DoorDash asks me if I want to [unassign]."

For others, the issue is that some Pizza Hut locations won't allow them to deliver multiple orders at once (to maintain freshness, apparently). And some say that Pizza Hut customers don't have the best reputation for tipping, while others speculate that the chain itself is withholding the tips. "They are well known for skimming tips if the order comes through their system," claimed one Redditor in the r/doordash_drivers sub.