What to Do About an Uber Eats Order Taking Too Long…

There’s a certain pain you get when you make an order while starving and have to wait hours to get it delivered or even worse, have it canceled (perhaps, the restaurant was discovered to be closed).

It’s palpable and unfortunately, happens a lot.

But what are your options in a scenario like this? Can you get a refund? And what can you do to prevent similar situations?

Stick around.

Why Do Some Orders Get So Much Delayed?

If you’re like me, you’d always love to know the “whys” behind every situation.

Perhaps you could avoid a next time if possible.

So why do some Uber Eats orders randomly take forever to be delivered?

Well, shocker, this is not just an Uber Eats thing but applies to most companies in the space. In fact, for the past few months, I have written similar topics on Deliveroo, DoorDash, and a few other companies.

This tells us something…it happens indefinitely across companies.

And this is because the factors that affect this are wild and sort of uncontrollable.

Now, other personal, unique factors across companies are also important to keep in mind.

Let’s talk about them properly, as well as some tips I’d be sharing along.

Restaurant

I always like to put this first, because usually, they contribute the most, especially when your order has already been accepted by a driver.

For instance, just recently, I found out that Uber Eats would still allow a customer to make an order even if a restaurant is closed.

According to them, a driver needs to go to the restaurant and discover for himself that the restaurant is closed before letting them know.

Why couldn’t there just be a feature that lets the restaurant display their availability live?

Now, imagine paying for an order that is expected to arrive in 30 minutes, just to wait and get told that the restaurant was closed.

Ludicrous.

A Restaurant can also affect your order delivery time if they have a higher demand for orders that they can handle at a particular time.

Happens a lot, especially during peak times.

MC Donalds, TacoBells, Starbucks, and some other restaurants that force drivers to go through the drive-thru are usually the culprits here.

That’s why I always advise ordering during nonpeak hours if you care about your food arriving early or have always faced late deliveries at your location.

But then, some restaurants would always be slow with deliveries. You can’t just do any about it.

If I were you, though, I’d try a different restaurant after a series of late deliveries.

Editors note: Non-peak hours are usually around mid-morning (9:30 AM to 11:00 AM.), after lunch (Between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM), and late at night (Post 9:00 PM or later) It may also vary by location.

Drivers

Have you ever been delayed by Uber Eats taking forever to find a driver?

Happens a lot especially when you don’t tip.

Well, that could be the beginning of your order being delivered late. That alone takes time and could end up getting your order canceled after a while.

Editor tip: We have written a solution for this if you mind

Your order could also take time for situations uncontrollable. Things like sudden traffic, bad weather conditions, road closures, etc.

We’ve also seen drivers fond of canceling an order when a restaurant takes time.

For situations like this, you’re going to be waiting for a paint to dry to get your delivered.

…because Uber Eats would need to find another driver (which costs time), have him come back to the restaurant, and wait (the time the other driver avoided), before getting your order delivered.

What to Do When an Uber Eats Order Takes Too Long…

Unless your order has been delivered, you don’t have much to do other than wait or much better, contact the driver.

You can’t also technically cancel the delivery at this point.

So contact your driver. He’s expected to keep in touch with you. Ask him about the state of the delivery, and what’s resulting in the late delivery, and hear what he has to say.

Whether it’s a delay from the restaurant, sudden traffic, or a breakdown, etc, at least he should be able to give you an idea of what’s happening and probably give you an actual estimated arrival time.

“You can handle every situation better if you know the “why” behind and when it ends”

One of my favorite quotes from anonymous

On the app, you also have the option to check the current status of your delivery.

On Uber eats, there are 5 statuses…

1. Order Placed – the status you get when you’re done financing the order
2. Preparing Your Order- the status you get when the Restaurant has started preparing your food
3. Order Ready for Pickup – the status you get when an order has been prepared by the restaurant
4. Delivery Partner Assigned – the status you get when a DoorDash driver has picked up your order
5. Order Picked Up – shows when your order gets picked up by the Driver
6. On the Way – the en route status of your driver to your location
7. Arriving Soon
8. Delivered

You could also track the current location of your order by navigating to the orders section of the app and tapping on the current order.

You’ll be able to find a map as long as your order has been picked up.

Now, depending on how late your delivery was, you can be eligible for a refund.

Yes, it’s usually more of a compensation but it does happen.