On the surface, food delivery apps promise convenience and instant gratification, connecting hungry customers to their favorite meals with just a few taps. But as recent incidents across the country reveal, the rapid growth of these platforms is stirring up a storm of frustration, safety concerns, and operational headaches for everyone involved—from celebrity customers to local restaurant owners, and even everyday drivers on the road.
In Central Florida, two women found themselves behind bars after separate road rage incidents that escalated from minor driving disputes to full-blown altercations, all in the context of food delivery and the high-pressure world of gig work. According to Fox 35 Orlando, Antoinette Evans, a 24-year-old Orlando delivery driver, was charged with vehicle burglary, two counts of battery, and one count of shooting or throwing a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle after a heated confrontation near the Mall at Millenia. Evans told police she was leaving a business on Millenia Boulevard when another driver cut her off multiple times, leading to a crash. She claimed that after the crash, she approached the other vehicle only to be kicked at through the window, so she struck back at the woman's leg to defend herself. The situation escalated until Evans allegedly hit and held down the other driver until police arrived.
The other driver, however, painted a different picture. She told police that Evans had been the aggressor, cutting her off, following her, and even throwing a soda bottle into her car while both vehicles were moving. Investigators found the empty soda bottle on the floorboard, and a witness corroborated the account, stating that Evans dragged the woman out of her car and punched her repeatedly. Evans now faces felony charges, and police say she also received several traffic citations related to the incident.
Meanwhile, in Marion County, 26-year-old Kaylee Agee was arrested after a parking lot dispute at a Dollar General turned dangerous. According to the Ocala Police Department, Agee, with her own child in the car, intentionally rammed a parked vehicle that had two children inside. Witnesses reported that the altercation began as a verbal argument but quickly escalated when Agee reversed across the lot and crashed into the other vehicle. Agee faces charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, child abuse, and criminal mischief. In both cases, law enforcement credited witness accounts for helping corroborate details and urged the public to report violent road rage incidents immediately.
While these incidents are extreme, they underscore a broader trend: the mounting pressure and emotional volatility that can accompany food delivery in the modern era. It isn’t just the drivers and other motorists feeling the strain—customers and restaurants are feeling it too, sometimes with high-profile fallout.
Just days before these Florida arrests, San Antonio-born actor Jared Padalecki, best known for his roles in Gilmore Girls and Supernatural, took to social media to blast H-E-B’s delivery app, Favor. As reported by MySA, Padalecki, recovering from a broken leg in Austin, ordered sushi through the app but received only half his meal. When his driver tried to retrieve the missing items, Favor management reportedly instructed him not to complete the delivery, despite Padalecki having already paid and tipped in full. Padalecki vented his frustration in a widely shared post, writing, “He called his @favor bosses (he was on speakerphone, and the hostess at the restaurant heard every word of the conversation and recounted it to me) and they told him to NOT deliver the remainder of my order to me, even though I had already paid and tipped in full… he protested, but the 'customer service' at @favor told him to leave it alone (even though the food was there… and paid for… and I was still anxiously and hungrily waiting for it…).”
The actor’s outburst, which included a blunt call for fans to delete the app, quickly gained traction online, with thousands sharing similar tales of delivery disasters. Padalecki summed up his experience with biting clarity: “My attempts and calling and texting and messaging you privately only prove that you really don’t give a sh*t about your customers.” Favor, founded in Austin in 2013 and acquired by H-E-B in 2018, did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.
But it’s not just customers and drivers locked in this tense dance. Restaurants themselves are increasingly caught in the crossfire, struggling to keep up with the unpredictable surges and high expectations fueled by third-party delivery platforms. On New Year’s Eve 2025, Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco experienced this firsthand when a torrential downpour outside drove hundreds of hungry patrons to their phones. According to SFGATE, the pizzeria’s two locations received a staggering 500 DoorDash orders in just three and a half hours. Co-owner Eric Ehler described the scene as “one of the busiest days of the year,” but also a logistical nightmare as staff scrambled to keep up with the relentless pace.
“There are places out there who would have killed to have this kind of business, but if you’re not set up for volume and scaling, then it could really hurt your business,” Ehler explained. He noted that his team can typically prepare about five to six pizzas every 15 minutes if everything runs smoothly, but the flood of orders—sometimes up to 50 at a time—overwhelmed even their best efforts. The stress was compounded by increasingly hostile interactions with some DoorDash couriers, or Dashers. Ehler recounted one Dasher becoming “increasingly verbally threatening,” hurling expletives and making the kitchen staff feel unsafe.
The challenges aren’t unique to Outta Sight. Andrew Chun, a manager at Kuma Sushi, echoed Ehler’s frustrations, telling SFGATE that DoorDash makes it “extremely hard because it’s hard for us to say no. They don’t give us the option to.” Chun described Dashers arriving early, juggling multiple orders, and sometimes showing impatience or outright anger when kitchens fall behind. “Those are the attitudes that are not acceptable,” Chun said. “Their energy affects my energy and then affects the kitchen’s energy.”
DoorDash, for its part, told SFGATE that it takes reports of inappropriate behavior seriously and can remove Dashers for serious policy violations. A spokesperson acknowledged, “Merchants are at the heart of DoorDash” and said the company is working with Outta Sight Pizza to address their concerns. Still, restaurateurs like Ehler and Chun remain skeptical, feeling that the platforms prioritize order volume over the well-being of small businesses and their staff.
Despite the headaches, many restaurant owners feel they have little choice but to participate in these platforms, especially in expensive cities where every order counts. “I’m just trying to humanize the experience that we are at the mercy of these big companies, which sucks, and I want customers to know it,” Ehler said. “I want other people in the restaurant industry to feel like we’re not complaining alone.”
As food delivery apps continue to reshape how Americans eat, the stories emerging from Florida, Texas, and California highlight a system under strain—one where convenience comes with hidden costs for customers, businesses, and workers alike. The stakes, as recent events show, are sometimes higher than anyone bargained for.