The Real Reason Some Restaurants Lie to Delivery Drivers | Adam and Joe's Gourmet Eatery

There’s a big difference between a system being overwhelmed… and a business choosing not to take accountability.

Recently I ended up in a dispute with a local restaurant near me, Adam and Joe’s Gourmet Eatery, and the interaction really revealed how two different restaurants handle the same situation and how character reveals the difference in how disputes should be handled. 

So in this video, We are talking about:

• The Dispute I had with Adam and Joe’s Gourmet Eatery

• What they said vs How it ACTUALLY is

• Everything in between!

Disclaimer: The content of this video does not contain and is never intended to be legal, business, financial, tax, or health advice of any kind. This video is for entertainment, educational, and informational purposes only. It is advised that you conduct your own research and consult with qualified professionals before applying anything you find online.

I also want to be clear that everything we are going to go over is very market dependent, and what applies to me and my market may not apply to you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi4cIRIfeW4

DrivenWyld/YouTube

My Story

Recently, I have been receiving decent orders while on the back end of deliveries and one of the orders I received was for Adam and Joe’s Gourmet Eatery. This location is very popular and has been experiencing some challenges due to the construction taking place in their general parking lot. 

Although, I guess the more appropriate term for now is demolition until the Target is finished and the memories of the movie theater that was there are officially destroyed but that isn’t the point. 

I usually try to steer away from this parking lot because it is just tedious to find a spot sometimes and walk around everything but sometimes you can get away with just parking in front and hopping in quickly, but against my better judgement I took the order and took a chance on them being relatively quick. 

And with about 7 minutes until I deliver the order, it kind of just made sense that I maximize the total wait time and just make my way over there. After I delivered it, it took me 8 minutes to get the location, totaling 15 minutes thus far. 

I enter the establishment and let them know I am there, and they said it will be a few minutes. Whenever I hear that, I usually make a run to the bathroom and handle any business I need to take care of in there, maximizing the use of the downtime.

After all, the order was for just 1 sandwich, so how long can it be? 

I come out and check on the order again, watching each of them decide subtly “who is going to tell him?” 15 more minutes passed since I arrived and as another worker who had already said it was going to be a few minutes. 

That worker then decides to take more… condescending approach. 

“Hey, here is how the system works…” then proceeds to explain why it will take another 15 minutes from there to make a sandwich. 

As if I wasn’t watching everything the whole time, checking time frames and making sure that I am not wasting my time, and attempting to justify why it takes 45 minutes to make a sandwich. 

Now I call them out on this and note how it has been on their screen for a while and they just repeat themselves. “That’s why I am explaining it.”

As if I didn’t make a series of posts going over the differences between systemic issues and negligence already so this argument would be moot. 

When I pushed one more time, they told me to leave. I proceeded to walk out and say “Oh I’m leaving, but hey, you earned yourself a review.” 

And I won’t lie — there is a certain level of satisfaction in knowing that when someone treats your time like it doesn’t matter, there are real consequences for that behavior.

Not because you’re trying to “win” or prove a point — but because accountability actually exists.

And when people realize that their actions don’t just disappear… that’s usually when things start to change, or at least they are supposed to.

Taking the Fight to Yelp and Google

Before pulling out of the lot, I made sure that I made a review on each of them, breaking down the timeframes in which I was involved. Expecting to move on without issue, but then things escalated the next day. 

Jennifer Siegel decided to respond to me on Yelp in a way that didn’t address the actual timeline or details I laid out, which is where the problem starts.

She pointed out that I was an Uber driver and claimed that I “can’t read a room.”

But instead of addressing the timeline or the actual sequence of events I laid out — which I was able to track down to the minute using my mileage tracking — the response shifted toward labeling me rather than explaining what happened.

Which reveals a real root problem within their business and the people who operate it accordingly. 

Because once the conversation moves away from the facts… it becomes a lot easier to avoid accountability and thus revealing the integrity and character of the operators.

You want to defend your position? That’s fair.

But when the response turns into attacking the person instead of addressing the facts — that’s when it stops being a disagreement and starts becoming a credibility issue.

And this is exactly why I always stress this — having documentation matters more than people think.

Because in situations like this, it’s not just about how you feel… it’s about what you can actually prove.

I was able to track exactly when I accepted the order, when I arrived, and how long I was waiting — down to the minute.

And when you have that level of detail, it completely changes the conversation.

You’re no longer arguing based on memory — you’re pointing to actual data.

That’s also why I personally use MileIQ.

Not just for mileage tracking and taxes — but because it gives you a clear timeline of your day that you can actually refer back to when something like this happens.

Whether it’s for disputes, tracking your efficiency, or just protecting your time — having that kind of record in the background is a game changer.

And the reality is — the driver who can prove what happened will always be in a stronger position than the one who can only remember it.

She took a VERY different approach on the Google review, making it clear that I didn’t want to wait. Which is true, I didn’t want to wait the extra 15 minutes after you had the order for 30 and the order was simply a sandwich. 

That is just a wise business decision to not allow people who choose to treat drivers differently to affect your income by waiting 30 minutes for them to make a sandwich. 

It’s a bit of a callous response — but at least it acknowledges the situation instead of attacking the person.

The Major Problem with this Narrative

The approach that they took to reframe the narrative as if it is a systemic issue was just simply the wrong approach and really undermines the intelligence of the driver standing there in front of them. 

Like they aren’t seeing what is happening in front of them. When what you’re being told doesn’t line up with what you’re seeing in real time, that’s where frustration starts to build.

I made a point earlier about how I made a few posts talking about delivery times and systemic issues with wait times that should be addressed in the platforms that we work on.

While it is safe to say they couldn’t have known that I made that video, that kind of makes it worse. 

It shows that they value the time and the intelligence of the driver so poorly, it creates the impression that accountability isn’t the priority in that moment.

So what are drivers going to do? They are going to blacklist this location, make posts about it on Yelp, Google, Reddit, etc, and any gig workers they know will also know about it. 

Some may be more emotional than others but then they wonder why it takes so long for them to get gig workers over there at some point, or they only work with gig workers who are willing to steal their food and then have more problems later. 

They will end up with customers who get tired of ordering from them at some point, and then they decide to order at a different sandwich place, or maybe someplace different altogether and during a time where they are dealing with a ton of construction and parking is questionable, this type of volume is important. 

The reality is — treating drivers this way isn’t just frustrating… It's a bad business strategy for the long term.

Reframing and Lying to Drivers

Now you might argue that many restaurants do this all the time, and you would be right. McDonald’s pulled this with me just the other day. 

When I arrived, they claimed they had an order before mine that took a while, and I was well aware of how many people were there and how long each of them were taking. Even the guy standing next to him was like “uhh, what?”

Honestly, lying about why there is a delay is fundamentally worse than just saying, “look this is taking longer than we expected, it will be out in a moment.” I don’t even need a reason, just tell me there will be a delay.

I remember picking it up for a sushi restaurant near here and the place was packed, and the owner there was just honest the moment I walked in and just gave it to me straight. 

“Look, I know you are here for an order but we are prioritizing in house orders right now, you are looking at more than an hour of wait.” 

Okay, thank you for telling me. Have a good night. 

No drama, no post online, just a clear as day explanation: “we cannot help online orders for a bit.”

I will 1000 times take someone giving me the truth than them claiming that than the perpetual “it will be out in 10 minutes” bit. 

Tacocraft near here used to do that all the time, and ever since they fixed their strategy for online orders, I receive more orders from them, I am friendly with the staff and I have minimal issues overall. 

Why Restaurants Do This (Psychology Section)

So why does this happen?

Because this isn’t just about one restaurant — this is a pattern.

A lot of restaurants operate under pressure from multiple directions:

• In-house customers are physically present, so they get prioritized

• Online orders feel “less urgent” because the customer isn’t standing there

• And drivers? They’re often treated as expendable because there’s always another one

But here’s where the problem starts:

When a system gets overwhelmed, businesses have two choices:

• Be honest and reset expectations

• Or deflect, delay, and hope no one pushes back

And too many choose the second option.

Not because they’re malicious — but because it’s easier in the moment.

The problem is, drivers aren’t blind.

We see the order flow.

We track the time.

We know when something isn’t lining up.

And when businesses choose to explain instead of acknowledge — that’s when it stops being a delay… and starts becoming a trust issue.

And overtime, that hurts the restaurant more than they think it does.

The Missed Opportunity for Restaurants

You know what most drivers tend to get asked more often than they should? “What are some good eating spots near here?” 

I always found this conversation weird because drivers don’t eat at all the places they pick up from, but I see how people would follow up with places they end up at all the time. 

Which also means that is an opportunity to get some free “word of mouth” referrals. Do you think I am going to refer customers to the restaurants treating me like garbage or the ones treating me like a person?

It happens more often than you think. I’ve been asked this from family, friends, clients and customers I work with, cops, people I just end up in conversations with randomly, the list goes on. 

It really goes to show that people will remember how you treat them more than what you do or sell.

Using Review Boards and Content as a Tool

Now some might say using content and review boards is not a reasonable response to this and while you are free to do what you want, but I am a firm believer that if you are afraid of being spoken about or if you don’t want something being made public, then you are doing something wrong. 

That said, I do believe in having some rules and boundaries so you don’t take it too far or tip into illegal areas. 

• Only refer to your own experiences: Focus only on how you were treated or other things you have personally gone through. Don’t bash ambiance or food quality unless you actually had their food or have a real opinion on the ambiance. 

• Make sure to have some good reviews as well: If you want to maintain credibility try to have a few good ones too. If you are only bashing restaurants, then you will only be seen as an annoying driver or a Karen customer, not a credible source of information.

• Extreme cases only: I mentioned how McDonald’s lied to me, and I’ve other experiences as well, but I never made a review on them. It isn’t extreme enough, and waiting 10 minutes isn’t enough to define it as “extreme”. 

• No threats, just actions: Don’t say you are going to leave a bad review unless they actually earned it, reviews are meant to expose character not force action from them. Reviews are like weapons, you don’t make a point about them unless you plan to use them.

• Details matter: Remember I made points about specific details about the visit itself. One way I like to do that is referring to the details from the app I am working on and the MileIQ app as well. 

• Do not allow for mob mentality: I make posts and reviews about people and businesses I have personally experienced, not just make a post about them for the purposes of encouraging people making fake reviews because you are hurt. It’s your opinion, not your followers. 

Remember reviews are for other people to be aware of how this business operates, not how you are hurt. Yes it matters that you were hurt, but we aren’t perpetuating a cycle. 

Moving Forward

For now, Adam and Joe’s is on my blacklist. I personally am not involving myself with this establishment. The business owner also making that comment about me “reading the room” seems like this person's not someone who learns from their mistakes in a way that is proactive.

For some reason, I think they would double down rather than fix their systems. Everything rises and falls on leadership, and if this is how leadership chooses to put in writing, then they would be more of a long term risk in terms of time and expectations. 

Which is not that much of a loss for me, but I certainly hope they learn from their mistakes. There are a few other sandwich locations in this area, and I have seen many locations get shut down because they don’t learn from their mistakes, some of which followed my reviews. 

Regardless, the future of their business really comes down to how they choose to handle their mistakes. 

Final Thoughts

My overall opinion on this situation really comes down to how restaurants choose to treat drivers when wait times are unreasonable. 

Obviously, the platforms will adjust to this as well but again if these restaurants don’t learn soon, the wait times will become intolerable and they will lose business. 

As for drivers, remember something important: How you choose to let people treat you is how you will be treated long term. 

If you let people keep you on the back burner, you will lose more money. 

If you let people lie to you, you will keep being lied to. 

Don’t expect everyone to treat you like gold, but be ready to cut them off quickly, no one is going to look out for you more than you are. 

At the end of the day, this goes back to the same idea:

There’s a difference between a system being overwhelmed… and a business choosing not to take accountability.

And people will always remember which side you fall on.

If you would like to add some other perspective to why restaurants lie to gig workers, feel free to email me: drivenwyld@gmail.com and who knows? Maybe your email or perspective and be featured in a post as well!