Nearly 1 in 5 delivery drivers say customers have used them to make videos for TikTok challenges or other social media trends
Patrick T. FALLON / AFP
- Delivery drivers face many challenges on their routes.
- One growing hurdle is customers using drivers for content for TikTok challenges or other social media trends.
- In one recent study, 17.7% of delivery drivers, or nearly 1 in 5, reported having such an experience.
Delivery drivers deal with a lot of challenges while they're out getting packages to your doorstep: long hours, big workloads, safety concerns, confrontational customers, and even needing to pee in bottles.
Now, many of them have another thorn in their sides: customers using them to gain views and likes on social media.
Nearly 1 in 5 delivery drivers reported having been used by a customer for a challenge or trend on TikTok or other social media, according to a recent study from Circuit, which makes route planning software for delivery drivers.
The study used data from a survey of 848 delivery drivers in the US; of them, 409 worked in food delivery, while 439 delivered packages.
Requests for TikTok dances and other content for social media can set drivers back on their schedules while many are already struggling to complete their deliveries on time, especially as the surge in online shopping during the pandemic often meant more and more packages piled onto their workloads.
But drivers also risk being penalized with a lower review or a complaint for ignoring requests like those that customers leave in special delivery instructions for a package.
In the study, 14.3% of delivery drivers said they've experienced an "unrealistically high number of delivery requests" on the job and 12.7% reported "being unable to deliver all packages in time."
In February, VICE reported that Amazon delivery drivers are increasingly being asked to do TikTok dances on home surveillance cameras for customers to then post online. On one video of a driver dancing to the song "Teach Me How to Dougie, "Amazon's official TikTok account chimed in, saying, "Poppin' and lockin' while box droppin.'"
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Are you a delivery driver with a story to share? Email this reporter at sjackson@insider.com.
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