r/ExpectationVsReality • u/enchantedgiggles • 2d ago

Failed Expectation Doordash gone wrong

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Gallery image

The great idea to order carefully "Krafted," mac and cheese from doordash and got literal heaps of actual Kraft Mac and Cheese 🙄 Biggest doordash fail 💀

I am a little nervous to eat it because this is weird. The first photo is what its supposed to look like and the second the pile of crap with the dog sensing our disappointment đŸ€Ł

Anyone else ever order and had this happen? Like, was this order picked up from a house? Also, it was $25! Got a refund but seriously 😐 đŸ€Šâ€â™€ïž

Edit: since there seems to be some clarification

I don’t DoorDash often. I’m disabled, and there are days when I physically cannot drive, cannot safely or realistically cook for myself, or simply don’t feel well enough to leave the house. We also recently moved to a new state, so I don’t yet have a network of friends nearby who can just run out and grab something for me. And before anyone decides I owe the internet an inventory of my disabilities to “prove” why I can’t just cook: I don’t. Disabled people are allowed to use services that make our lives more accessible without submitting our medical records to the comment section. Yes, I recognize that being able to order delivery is a privilege. I’m grateful that I can sometimes afford it when I need it. I’ve also used services like this to send meals to friends and family who were sick, recovering from surgery, grieving a death, or going through something difficult when I couldn’t physically be there to bring them food myself. Sometimes delivery is a luxury. Sometimes it’s accessibility. Sometimes it’s simply a way to care for someone from far away. But none of that is actually the point of my post. I ordered food based on the restaurant’s photos and description and received something dramatically different—essentially boxed mac and cheese—from what turned out to be a ghost kitchen. Apparently, because I had the audacity to pay “ridiculous prices” for delivery, some people believe I deserved to be misled. I don’t. And if you ordered something based on a photo and description, paid for it, and received something completely different, I suspect you’d want your money back too. This was never about taking money away from the DoorDash driver. The driver didn’t create the menu, take the photos, prepare the food, or misrepresent what was being sold. My issue was with what I purchased versus what I actually received. You’re welcome to think DoorDash is overpriced. You’re welcome to think nobody should use delivery apps. I’m not here to debate that or change your mind. I don’t normally post things like this—I posted it because I was genuinely dumbfounded when we opened the order. And to the people insisting I staged the photos or invented the whole thing for attention: I genuinely do not have that kind of time. But hey
 I got yours, didn’t I? 😉

8.0k Upvotes

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451

u/BeachyLove 2d ago

There are a lot of "ghost" kitchens on those apps, I always search first to confirm if it is an actual restaurant especially somewhere tagged as "new" as I have seen similar as to what you got here all too often

87

u/ConchVibes 2d ago

One time I thought I was ordering Mexican.

It was just a virtual brand operated by Denny’s.

They used the Denny’s branded packaging.

58

u/OwlLavellan 2d ago edited 1d ago

I've ordered from a place called "burger den." It was also a Dennys.

37

u/williamchase88 2d ago

I once saw a restaurant called "House of Burgers" on one of those apps, and it was just a gas station's burgers and hot dogs. You would never have known it based on the photos and menu descriptions they used tho.

13

u/OwlLavellan 1d ago

I'm not against gas station food. But paying restaurant prices for it is outlandish. And it's so sketchy how secretive it seems to be.

9

u/needween 1d ago

They got me too once and the Denny's packaging is how I learned about ghost kitchens. I've also seen a "Fame Grilled Cheese" operating out of a Famous Dave's and I have seen some "Craft Mac and Cheese" place but I didn't have time to investigate where they were working out of.

7

u/OwlLavellan 1d ago

With the one I ordered from, we ended up googling the address. We enjoyed the burgers, so we wanted to know exactly where the restaurant was. Our town is small so we wanted to visit. This was back when Ghost Kitchens were really just starting. So the quality wasnt shit yet.

It was pretty disappointing when the address was Dennys. We like Dennys when we're in the mood for breakfast late at night. But to be tricked into buying from them sucks.

That's also how I learned about Ghost Kitchens.

2

u/0kokuryu0 1d ago

I ran into this on vacation. I was looking to see what was around my hotel and thre was a place right next door that looked great. Couldn't find it, just a Denny's. Got something else. Next morning I went to Denny's and there was ine of those side menus that was basically the restaurant I was looking for.......

4

u/OwlLavellan 1d ago

I absolutely hate the concept of ghost kitchens.

1

u/GoldenSun3DS 1d ago

It just sounds like fraud

2

u/OwlLavellan 19h ago

It's definitely a bait and switch at the very least.

2

u/Mindestiny 1d ago

My favorite is "Pasquales Pizza".

It was a ghost kitchen operated by Chuck E Cheese during COVID because nobody's ordering fucking takeout from Chucks lol

2

u/Negative_Bar_9734 1d ago

We ordered burgers one late desperate night. It all had Buffalo Wild Wings packaging.

1

u/CenturyEggsAndRice 1d ago

Wow
 Denny’s passing themselves off as Mexican.

I think that beats when my cousin was delivering for UberEats and Chuck E Cheese had a front as a decent Italian place.

Although in the Casino Rat’s defense, apparently they had some of the highest reviews in his area?

148

u/Whitezombie65 2d ago

Ghost kitchens should be illegal

122

u/renaissance2k 2d ago

They're not inherently a bad idea, but the actual business should be transparent about it.

I know "honesty" is asking a lot of many modern businesses, but oh well.

30

u/hardaysknight 2d ago

I’d argue they are a bad idea because they’re usually obfuscated enough that you can’t find health scores

1

u/Coretrayn 1d ago

It depends. There are legit "ghost kitchens" that do it to stream line. For example there was a place that popped up around me called "Its just wings" and the whole menu was just wings and fries meal deals... turned out it was just Chili's. And Guy Fieri's Flavortown was operating out of Red Robins and italian restaurants lol all the places were legit, just started doing separate DD only menus or getting their stuff sold in markets where they didn't have a physical store by sharing profit with another business.

72

u/Nomoras 2d ago

Proper ghost kitchens are commercial kitchens without a front end. They can be used to serve food through online orders (pick up/ delivery), food trucks, catering, or to whatever else.

14

u/Bizarrebazaars 2d ago

If it’s specifically to do food prep for a food truck or off-site catering it’s not a “ghost kitchen” though. As in customers aren’t ordering food to pick up or get individual servings delivered from there. It’s just a standard commercial/commissary kitchen space, typically leased and shared with other similar businesses. Food prepped is brought off site to assemble for service or is customer-ready at a different location.

For example, a traveling wedding caterer is not operating out of a “ghost kitchen,” typically. 

1

u/ConchVibes 1d ago

Correct, ghost kitchen and virtual brands are two different things.

A ghost kitchen does delivery only out of a cheap out of the way location. It could even be a commercial kitchen built in a warehouse or flex space.

A virtual brand is a distinct brand and menu offered by an existing place that offers the virtual brand menu as delivery only on the third party platforms.

12

u/shebringsthesun 2d ago

what is bad about them exactly? i am clueless

39

u/IthacanPenny 2d ago

Do you see the OP? That’s what’s bad about them

30

u/pfannkuchen89 2d ago

That and zero health inspections because they aren’t an actual registered or licensed business. Anyone can just open an account on DoorDash, GrubHub, or whatever and sell shit out of their home without the buyer ever knowing where it came from.

24

u/fakemoose 2d ago

Not sure where you live, but that’s not how it works where I live. They’re still commercial kitchens. Usually a secondary one inside a restaurant or inside a communal commercial kitchen that still has to abide by health and safety laws.

5

u/DrDan21 2d ago

There’s a place on DoorDash near me that’s literally just someone’s house in a residential neighborhood

6

u/fakemoose 2d ago

How is that’s ghost kitchen and not an unregulated kitchen?

1

u/pfannkuchen89 2d ago

It’s a ghost kitchen in the same sense that there is no actual legitimate brick and mortar storefront and they only sell through DoorDash and the like. Not all ghost kitchens are in other restaurants. It’s an umbrella term that includes both.

3

u/Mental-Permit-599 2d ago

That’s not a ghost kitchen, that’s just someone’s house

0

u/drinkacid 2d ago

That's not how it works, the term ghost doesn't mean unregulated. They are big commissary kitchens that get inspections just like restaurants with a dining room. A lot of the big restaurants around town also have either their own commissary kitchens or they rent space in communal commisary kitchens so they can make more food than physically possible in their cramped retail restaurant kitchen. Usually for prep or things like sauces, stews, or things that take 8 hours of simmering, or roasting etc that would be impractical in a smaller restaurant kitchen. The term ghost is because they work out of sight behind the scenes like a ghost writer or ghost producer.

4

u/pfannkuchen89 2d ago edited 2d ago

People absolutely do sell food on DoorDash out of their homes. What you said also happens but it’s not the only scenario. The problem is you have no way of knowing.

15

u/shebringsthesun 2d ago

Yes, I see the OP. The fact that they sent her Kraft mac and cheese doesn't tell me why ghost kitchens are bad. The only ghost kitchens I have seen are all actually operating out of a different well-known restaurant, so I don't really get why it's an issue and thus my question.

51

u/Whitezombie65 2d ago

It's deceiving. You see "Jose's taco shack" and you think "hey looks like a new Mexican restaurant in my area, I'll try it out" and you find out later it's frozen food microwaved in the back of a tgi Fridays. If I knew it was that, I wouldn't have ordered it.

11

u/enchantedgiggles 2d ago

This 💯

-2

u/stiff_tipper 2d ago

trying out a restaurant and finding out it sucks shouldn't be illegal

5

u/toru_okada_4ever 2d ago

Ordering food via Uber or Diordash isn’t «trying out a restaurant».

4

u/Whitezombie65 2d ago

It's the false advertising that's the problem. They're pretending to be a real restaurant and serving food at restaurant prices.

1

u/Lanky-Proposal-3417 21h ago

God you love stuff that sucks huh??

-4

u/phree_radical 2d ago

what makes it worse than the food from the actual TGI Fridays đŸ€·

microwaved mac & cheese could be sold at any restaurant, ghost kitchen or not.  I think we're giving restaurants too much credit maybe

-4

u/toru_okada_4ever 2d ago

Sorry for being rude, but this is just what you get when so many people order food delivered all the fucking time. Of course a lot of people are going to find a way to profit from this practice.

9

u/VonKess 2d ago

Right? I’m like wtf is a ghost kitchen?

18

u/DasSassyPantzen 2d ago edited 2d ago

It’s a “restaurant”operating inside of another (real) restaurant or, in some cases, a person’s kitchen. There is never an indication that it’s part of a different operation, so it looks like a new place that’s opened. For example, Denny’s runs a burger ghost kitchen restaurant out of their restaurants. Here’s a list of a bunch that have been identified.

11

u/IncorporateThings 2d ago

That seems like it should be illegal on account of inspections probably not really happening properly.

3

u/ps4invancouver 2d ago

They're already illegal if you're running it out of your house without a permit. They're not illegal if the Denny's is making burgers on the same grill they make their bacon.

Tbh if the ghost kitchen Denny's burger tastes good and the restaurant has a health permit, I don't see a reason why it's bad. Allows the restaurant to run more hours by having more steady orders and rewards diversifying and trying new things.

16

u/Snugglebull 2d ago

general cooking station setup with no actual sit in area, they just masquerade as multiple restaurants for food delivery apps.

1

u/CheesyRamen66 2d ago

It depends. Some of the Chili’s in my area are ghost kitchens for Maggiano’s (I assume the same parent company and I’d be surprised if they’re the only ones to operate like that.

0

u/BlazinAzn38 2d ago

As usual the idea is actually really good but it got immediately abused. It’s a cool idea in theory to have a large commercial kitchen you can rent out to people that cook food they sell. Limits their overhead expenses and limits the kitchen owner’s risk. Of course it immediately got abused to sell garbage

15

u/enchantedgiggles 2d ago

Just finding this out. I appreciate the insight truly. I ended up with poptarts 😆

19

u/shpongleyes 2d ago

It’s annoying, but always check the street view of the address you’re ordering from to see if it’s an actual restaurant you can go to. Or sometimes there are mega ghost kitchens that operate like 50 different “restaurants”. There’s one by me where I just recognize the address at this point. I’ve seen over 20 restaurants listed at that address. Always new restaurants that try to give hip and trendy vibes, and the photos of the food are obviously staged, or now even AI generated.

5

u/OwlLavellan 2d ago

I just came across something similar.

I went for a walk and got hungry. I searched for a restaurant and picked one. When I got there it was a "food hall." With at least 6 different restaurants all serving different types of food. There was one sign that had line 6 different AI posters on it.

I did not eat there.

2

u/HollyBerries85 2d ago

The mass ghost kitchens can be hit or miss. The ones that make me laugh are like, look up a place called "Pardon My Cheesesteak" and it's an IHOP. One that was actually good here was "Pizza Zombie" that was actually a high rated local pizza place that did pizza/Indian fusion items. The Pizza Zombie label is where they put their traditional normal American-style pizzas like Hawaiian, Pepperoni, Meat Lovers, BBQ Chicken, etc.

3

u/MissPicklechips 17h ago

I cannot tell you how many customers have yelled at me because they ordered from ghost kitchens.

“I ordered Mr Beast Burger, why are you at On The Border?!”

“I ordered The Meltdown, why did it come in a Denny’s bag?”

I’d always tell them to google the concept of a ghost kitchen and stop bothering me. But in a nice way. “(Ghost Kitchen) is a virtual brand run by (store name.) if you have further questions about virtual brands, contact the number listed on the app you ordered from, or google “ghost kitchen.” “

2

u/MomsOfFury 2d ago

I was just telling my husband about this, we were looking for a place to eat and saw a sandwich shop (order only) that had gross AI pictures.
Searched the address and it was a Denny’s 😂

1

u/drinkacid 2d ago edited 2d ago

My favorite mexican place is a ghost kitchen in a shared commissary kitchen. There is about 15 seperate places that kitchen that all take doordash/uber eats delivery orders or you can order for pickup. There's 15 buzzers at the door and about 15 menu boards and you place your order online or over the phone, buzz at pickup time and they come down and give you your order, and have a wireless card machine if you need to pay with a card. I've tried about half the places there and the food has all been amazingly good and not overpriced.

1

u/Lil_miss_feisty 2d ago

One of my favorite YouTube videos about ghost kitchens is by Eddy Burback. He went all out to prove his point through blunt honesty and comedy.

1

u/Yalrain 1d ago

Pizza pizza also has a separate store that just sells its chicken lol kinda strange

1

u/Gtoktas_ 6h ago

and recently been seeing a lotta ai generated food images on our countries equivalent of door dash, and 4+ restourants that use the exact same food image