Study finds 1 in 4 food delivery drivers take a bite out of your order

The outcry began Friday when the New Food Economy reported Grubhub had registered more than 23,000 domains in restaurants' names without their consent in what the New Food Economy cast as an attempt to generate greater commission revenue and prevent restaurants from building their own online presences. (Dreamstime/TNS) less The outcry began Friday when the New Food Economy reported Grubhub had registered more than 23,000 domains in restaurants' names without their consent in what the New Food Economy cast as an attempt to generate ... more Photo: Dreamstime, TNS Photo: Dreamstime, TNS Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Study finds 1 in 4 food delivery drivers take a bite out of your order 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

One in four delivery food drivers admitted to taking food from a customer's order before dropping off the meal at its destination, according to a recent US Foods study.

Twenty-eight percent of deliverers said they had taken food from an order, while 72 percent said they did not, the study showed. Meanwhile, more than 50 percent of deliverers polled said they had been tempted "by the smell of the food" they deliver, the study revealed.

The US Foods study in May polled 1,518 American adults between the ages of 18 to 77 who said they used food delivery apps, such as Grubhub, Door Dash, UberEats and Postmates.

The food company and food service distributor also polled an additional 497 adults who said they have worked as a food delivery driver for at least one food app.

Less than one quarter of those who used a delivery app said they suspected a deliverer of eating their food, while 85 percent said restaurants should use tamper-evident labels to address the issue.

SNAP KITCHEN DELIVERS: Snap Kitchen expands meal delivery service

The top complaint by customers who ordered using delivery food apps is that food did not arrive warm or fresh, the study showed.

About 60 percent of deliverers said they were "consistently irritated" by a weak or no tip. Sixty-six percent of customers said that delivery and service fees affected how much they tip drivers, while 53 percent said the weather affected on how much they tip.

Deliverers also complained about the customer not answering their phone, food not being ready at the restaurant when they arrive and a customer who took too long to meet the driver.

Forty minutes is the longest customers will accept as an estimated delivery time. One out of four customers will accept a delivery time of more than an hour.

The average person has at least two food delivery apps and uses them more than three times a month, the study showed. The most popular app used was UberEats, followed by Grubhub.

Michelle Iracheta is a digital reporter in Houston. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | michelle.iracheta@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.