I want to believe that. I really do. But I'm not sure that I agree. Testing of an app/system can, and does, happen within a non-real-world environment. I think it's kind of hard to justify that "testing the app" also requires the tester to physically drive to a restaurant/location, pick something up, and then physically deliver it to an end consumer. If this is the only way for an engineer to appropriately test a system there was a massive failure somewhere else. If it's not the only way to test, then it's hard to justify having the engineer do a job that a different person is typically paid to do.
"Building strong relationships with the rest of your team" may be a bit of a stretch since you're not doing a delivery with the rest of your team... you do it by yourself.
I'm not accusing DoorDash of acting in bad faith here. I'm concerned that this decision could unexpectedly put a portion of their employees in murky territory
My company in South East Asia has been doing this for years now, we are in ride hailing and food delivery business among others.
Why is it important?
It drives empathy. Testing in non-production environment can tell that the feature is working as expected but it can't tell what the delivery person goes through or what the customer experience is like.
Our policy is not one trip but one day of doing this.
Overall it drivers a deeper appreciation towards deliver agents.
"Building strong relationships with the rest of your team" may be a bit of a stretch since you're not doing a delivery with the rest of your team... you do it by yourself.
I'm not accusing DoorDash of acting in bad faith here. I'm concerned that this decision could unexpectedly put a portion of their employees in murky territory