44 Texts From Delivery Drivers People Actually Received That Might Make You Laugh

Delivery services like Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, and Instacart became popular in 2020. COVID-19 happened, and most of us couldn't leave the house to buy groceries. Yet, in 2025, the growth of these apps and services is still going strong. DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub saw an increase of 18% in delivery drivers during the last year.

Grocery delivery services are also expanding their customer base, as apps like Instacart and Shipt have 22% more customers than they had last year. This just shows that more and more people are using these services. Naturally, that means that they require more drivers and delivery workers, so, the "gig economy" is only going to get bigger.

You may think that working as a delivery person is all fun and quippy texts. But for some delivery workers, it can be downright dangerous. In a 2024 survey, respondents who were delivery "gig" workers in New York City said they had been injured on the job. 20.8% even claimed that customers were the ones inflicting the injuries.

Food delivery couriers in Scotland have had similar experiences. Last year, researchers from the University of Strathclyde polled 207 delivery workers, and a staggering 81% said they felt unsafe in their jobs. Sixty percent of workers claimed the mistreatment they were experiencing was racial or ethnic, and 55% had customers unload on them verbally.

Researchers from the University of Strathclyde also found that many delivery workers in the UK are migrants. For many of them, delivering food and groceries is their primary source of income, but it often comes with many challenges, both physical and emotional. Some even report being treated so poorly by customers and other businesses that they no longer feel like humans – more like machines.

Recently, The Guardian talked to a few of these workers, and their experiences seem almost tragic. A Brazilian woman named Marina works for a food delivery app and has a second job, too, to support her 12- and 18-year-old daughters. "I earn more cleaning toilets than I do from being a Deliveroo rider," the woman explained.

Another worker, Rayan from Pakistan, recounted being attacked by teenagers – twice. "[They] were just doing it for fun," he said. "We are invisible and exposed at the same time." Delivery workers in the UK report earning about £300 a week if they're on a pedal bike. Those who own a moped might earn £450.

Many delivery drivers in the U.S. also work for food delivery services as a second job. In 2023, DoorDash representatives said that 90% of their workers do deliveries for fewer than 10 hours per week. Uber claimed that 48% of their "earners" work less than 10 hours a week, and 71% work fewer than 20 hours.

Even those Americans who don't work for food delivery apps think that it's a good way to earn some extra money. A 2021 Pew Research Center poll showed that nine in 10 Americans have a positive view of "gig economy" jobs, but only 31% believe it's a good way to build a career. Only half of Americans think that a person can make a living working as a food delivery driver.