We’ve all been there.
It’s Saturday night, you just ordered from your favorite neighborhood Thai place, and you’re anxiously awaiting the Grubhub driver to deliver some delicious pad thai to your doorstep.
The problem? Your driver never shows up.
While delivery service may seem like a basic, streamlined process that is hard to screw up, there are many factors that go into delivery service.
There are many mistakes that can happen between the time you place your order and the time you get your food.
While most customers don’t have any problems, issues are bound to happen.
So, what do you do when things go wrong?
How do you file a complaint, and, more importantly, how do you obtain a refund so that you can try to order again?
Solving your Grubhub complaints can be an arduous process.
But before you go out and try a Grubhub alternative, give solving your problem a try.
Mostly, it comes down to how long you’re willing to wait on hold to speak with a Grubhub customer service representative.
This appears to be the only way to contact Grubhub to complain and obtain a refund.
In this article, we’ll outline everything you need to know on how to navigate Grubhub if something happened with your delivery order.
Table Of Contents
Common Grubhub Issues (And How To Fix Them)
Here are the most common issues customers have when they order from Grubhub and a quick guide on fixing them.
1. Missing Food/Wrong Order
It’s difficult to rectify a missing food situation or any problem with Grubhub because you can only get in touch with them by calling one of their customer service representatives, which usually means long wait times for not that much problem-solving.
In the case of missing food, you may be better off simply calling the restaurant as most likely it was the restaurant’s fault because they probably gave the wrong bag to the driver, and they may drive over themselves to fix this situation.
Restaurant owners are typically more willing to help solve problems because they know that it hurts the chances of you re-ordering from them again.
In the case of Grubhub, if you would like to file a complaint, dial the number (1)-877-585-1085, and explain the issue.
Then, see if they can either refund your order or send a new driver to deliver the missing food (while likely waiving the Grubhub delivery fee).
2. Food Was Delivered Late
If the food was delivered too late to the point where it affects the quality um the food itself, you can call the Grubhub customer service line and file a complaint.
If the food was only a few minutes late, though, and the quality of the food is fine, you might be better off saving a wait time.
3. Grubhub Is Down/Not Working
When your Grubhub is not working, it can be a big drag.
It can be difficult to track an order, or if you were in the middle of placing an order, it can be hard to figure out if the order went through or not.
If your Grubhub is down or not appearing to be operational, try troubleshooting your app.
The first step is to go to your permissions and settings and make sure that your permissions are enabled.
You can also try disabling/reconnecting your wifi.
If nothing else works, delete the app on your phone or computer and redownload the app to see if that changes anything.
If you still have issues connecting to your app, it may be the case that Grubhub itself is down.
Should this be the case, wait a few hours for them to fix the issue and then try opening the app again.
4. Unauthorized Credit Card Charges
Some customers report having an issue with the monthly Grubhub+ paid trial where they did not authorize the trial to continue into a paid phase and, as such, accrued unauthorized charges on their card.
If this happens, contact Grubhub representatives and explain the situation.
They should refund the last subscription, but they do advise you to speak with your bank to refund the rest of the unauthorized charges.
If you see a charge on your credit card statement from Grubhub but have not ordered Grubhub or did not sign up for Grubhub plus, it may be a fraudulent charge.
If you have a Grubhub account, it could be a situation where someone you know has your login.
Either way, you can call customer service to sort it out.
Does Grubhub Give Refunds?
Technically, yes.
There’s a clause in Grubhub’s Terms of Use, which does say that Grubhub does indeed offer refunds in specific situations.
However, their refund policy isn’t as clear-cut as many of us would like.
Grubhub does indeed refund orders that go wrong, whether the fault lies in the delivery or in how you placed the order.
However, Grubhub is the party that determines if the fault is a valid reason for a refund.
There is no information online on how exactly they determine fault or what parameters they have – it seems to be a case-by-case basis.
Since Grubhub is the party that determines fault, it feels a bit of a conflict of interest.
More concerningly, they write in their Terms of Use that they do not automatically grant refunds to those who request it.
While this policy certainly protects the company from unwarranted complaints, it also opens up customers to get burned.
Grubhub is also notorious for giving other refund options besides cash.
For many grievances, it seems as though Grubhub hands out coupons instead of money.
By looking at BBB, it’s clear that many of the complaints are taken care of by handing out more coupons.
How to File Grubhub Complaints
To file a customer complaint, you complete the same process that you would if you are acting for a refund.
You must call a customer service representative and resolve the issue on the phone.
You may also contact them through their live chat, which may help curb your frustrations as you deal with potentially long wait times.
Grubhub Phone Number vs. Live Chat
There are two ways to file a complaint or petition for a refund when you order through Grubhub: calling their customer service number or opening their live customer chat.
Depending on when you call, both seem like they might have long wait times if you call during a period of heavy business.
By calling on the phone, you can certainly put more pressure on the representative so they can hear if you’re upset or not.
However, with the live chat, you can carry on with your day if it takes a while to get a customer service representative online.
In some cases, customers have reported waiting as long as an hour to speak with a representative about an issue with their order.
Because of this, contacting a representative through live chat may be the least painful option that may yield the best results.
What to Expect After Filing a Complaint
After you speak to a customer service representative on the phone and agree on how Grubhub will best rectify your complaint, you can expect to receive an email from the Grubhub company outlining the next steps and confirming the conversation that just took place.
If they have decided to give you a refund, it should be deposited into your bank account within three to five business days.
If it’s not in your account within a week, you may have to reach back out to customer service to follow up.
There have been reports of Grubhub being slow or failing to follow through on their word at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are a few frequently asked questions most customers have when they run into issues with the Grubhub delivery service.
What happens if no one picks up my Grubhub order?
If there aren’t any drivers available, eventually, Grubhub will cancel the order and then contact you to let you know the order has been canceled.
Luckily, Grubhub is such a large company that they usually do have enough drivers, and it’s a rare occurrence that they need to cancel the order.
Why does Grubhub have so many BBB complaints against it?
It seems as though the customers complaining on BBB about Grubhub have legitimate problems, including unauthorized charges, no follow-through on refunds, and overall poor customer service experience.
It stands to reason that since these customers can’t air their grievances to Grubhub itself, they go to consumer review sites such as BBB.
Should I trust Grubhub?
For the most part, people have pretty fine experiences with Grubhub.
According to BBB, Grubhub has hundreds of complaints, most of them unresolved.
Is DoorDash better than Grubhub?
Yes and no. Grubhub is more available and is on more websites, so you have a greater variety of food and restaurants to choose from when you select Grubhub.
However, DoorDash is cheaper (with their DashPass), has a better interface, and seems to have better customer service.
Wrapping Up
As the world adapts to the Covid-19 pandemic, more and more people are ordering online for delivery and pickup instead of eating out in restaurants.
But as more and more people utilize third-party delivery apps, that opens up room for more and more errors.
Grubhub certainly revolutionized food delivery service.
However, an integral part of a successful company is its ability to fix problems when things go wrong.
When it comes to an issue with an order, your only option to file a complaint is to call the customer service line or open up an online chat with a customer service representative.
While both options offer potentially long wait times, chatting with a customer service representative online may be the better bet.
Not only does it make the wait time seem less long, but you also have the entire conversation recorded.
That means that if they guarantee you a refund, you have a concrete paper trail to back you up.
DoorDash definitely has better customer service than GrubHub. Unlike GH, DD immediately refunded my money when the restaurant cancelled my order. GH told me I’d have to wait 3-5 business days to get a refund. At any rate, I let the agent know that I didn’t blame her personally, but GH’s refusal to refund my money straight away is poor customer service. I also told her I’d been a steady client of GrubHub’s, but I’d be taking my business to DoorDash from then on.
GH is horrible trying to get a credit/refunds. They told me the same thing 5-7 business days and 15 days later and no refunds. I will not order anything else from GH, this makes absolutely no sense at all.
Hi Brett,
I hope you read this.
Last night I ordered sushi through GH. The order arrived on time but was missing the Vegas Crunch roll. Over the past two years I’ve used GH many many times. Most of the time the order is correct however there have been at least 5 times where the order wasn’t correct – last night was one of these. All I would ask for or want at this point is for GH to go back to the restaurant get the sushi roll that was missing and bring it to me without further charge. This sounds reasonable, right? Nope. I get on the GH chat session and the customer service person says all i can do is refund your part that didn’t arrive – $10.99
I asked for the customer service number and called it speaking to a rep who transferred me to a supervisor named Aldo and who only repeated the same cliches and GH jargon over and over again: “I’m sorry I’m not able to issue a re-delivery on this”, “I can only issue a refund which will take 3 to 5 business days”, etc. I was floored.
There has got to be something we can do. We’ve got to put GH out of business and let someone else take the leadership of food delivery. Someone who will make the order right, all the time, and keep working until the order is perfect.
If you, I, or anyone else went to a restaurant and ordered food and it wasn’t right the waiter would keep bringing it out until it was right. If I ordered a pizza from Dominos and something was missing, such as a small pizza, they would bring it out as fast as possible and not expect me to re-tip the driver. So, WHAT’S UP WITH GH?
P.S. I tried to email the Chief of Operations at GH, Eric Ferguson, but the only way to contact anyone is through their chat or customer service phone number. We need to start a website to put GH out of business. Not more of this half assed business service.
I totally agree with you, Jonathan. GrubHub’s service is terrible and their remedies to their ‘screw-ups’ benefit no one but themselves. We’ve ordered 3 times from their website and every single time there’s been an issue. It takes an act of congress to get through to speak with someone using their customer service phone number. The driver delivered someone else’s order to us on 1/4/22 and he actually called the restaurant and verified that my order was still there. He asked the restaurant what he was to do with the order he was attempting to deliver and they told him to just leave it with us or throw it away. He promised that he’d be returning with my order but that never happened. Neither the restaurant nor GrubHub would offer any remedy for their error and we were left with food that we never ordered. I agree that GrubHub needs to go away permanently but I promise you that we’ll never place an order through them ever again!!!
As an invalid woman 80 years of age I have had NO unresolved issues with GrubHub except with my last two orders: tonight January 11, 2022 and last week January 3. Both drivers refused to drop my order at my apartment door. The first driver took a picture of the supposed order on a bench that was not in my building, claiming he left it on a bench in my building although the picture shows that the was not taken anywhere in my building–I have the picture and text–a deliberate act of fraud. My apartment building staff will not deliver packages left at the front desk EVER. They will not leave their post to do so, why should they? In this age of COVID the policy at all delivery company’s, like most, should be NO CONTACT & DROP AT DOOR. My building has a lengthy white zone in front of the building leaving no excuse for drivers negligence. How can I report this to a higher power? It is absolutely wrong to be irresponsible and cruel to an invalid person.
I am a subway artist and every time a Grubhub driver comes in and place an order either they want us to read the order as they go and sit down or they say they cannot read English. I think it’s so unprofessional and I would like for Grubhub to fix this. I’m also a Uber driver and when I go in and place an order for my customer I make sure I read them the order instead of handling it unprofessional.
Everytime I order with Grubhub, there’s notes in the order that said what to dial and what floor to come to. The drivers do not even look at the notes and they leave my order outside the lobby because they don’t dial to get buzzed in. It’s very irritating because someone can take my order and I have to rush down to get it. What else do I need to do in order to have the drivers read the notes and bring the food to my door. I am paying for door to door service but I am not receiving that!
They put authorization holds on completely nonexistent orders, they don’t say sorry, they have complete lack of accountability, and it is just the worst experience I have had multiple times over. They have proven to be unethical and frankly, just fraudulent. They should cease to have a place in the market, period. It is unbelievable.