A Y combinator-backed company, DoorDash is . Ive never worked a day in finance before in much of my life. And for us, we found that to be true as now were starting to deliver convenience items from places like CVS, Walgreens, 711 as were delivering grocery items from places like Smart and Final are Meyer, High V, and other places, that seems to be true, but we have a lot of work to do. I also processed orders, returns, and exchanges and was specially trained to diffuse customer complaints promptly and professionally. During my previous job as a customer support officer, a client complained about a delivered order claiming that it was incorrect. But also work with everyone else who created this labor system over the the last seven decades, eight decades in the US, and change it in a way that actually gives them also the protections that they deserve. You must live in San Francisco to work in Technology, I think youre gonna see more of that spread, youre gonna see a greater distribution of all the things that I think we each want, convenience, for example, or access to different types of jobs in more places. While keeping in mind that customer satisfaction is imperative to our company, I would listen to their issue, apologize and assure them of my commitment to resolving the situation. Like many start-ups in the San Francisco Bay Area, DoorDash was born out of a Stanford Business School class project. This list does not include technical or factual questions. And maybe what some outsiders have written about us or thought about us. They dont necessarily sell through DoorDash. Obviously, if you have more time to deliver something less perishable. And thats really I think the spirit of how DoorDash operates. Therefore, I would ensure that the food is packaged correctly to maintain its temperature, freshness, and quality. In this View From The Top interview conducted by Joy Huang, MBA 21, the cofounder and CEO of DoorDash explains why problem solving means focusing on the smallest details, like working out logistics issues by making deliveries yourself. When Mr. Xu and his now wife were dating long distance, he bought 12 plane tickets at the beginning of the year to ensure they would see each other once a month. Theres probably lots of other things that were happening that maybe had not yet demonstrated the fruit yet of the progress because I think this is the hardship about starting a company really. Tony Xu: Yeah, well, I think the first lesson that we learned is, whats ultimately the almost overly simplified problem that youre trying to solve and, if you can ask yourself that question very crisply, I think thats a very clarifying way to really test ideas very quickly. And thats what Im most proud of when I look back at 2020, it wasnt necessarily what happened with an IPO. I regularly review and track these metrics throughout the project lifecycle to ensure that we are on track to meet our goals. I never hesitate to take calculated risks and try new approaches. Tony Xu: Sure. They want to see influential behaviors, such as using data to establish trust in your decision rather than supporting an idea based on opinions or feelings. Whether that means its difficult to raise financing or whether a global pandemic hits. Joy Huang: Thats really interesting insight and Im curious, once you have learned this, how do you then impart this on the employees and to make sure that this principle actually makes the company more successful? I think that was important. Other merger efforts have flopped. I dont think the journey to solving some of the problems we want to solve of, you know, transforming every brick and mortar business, for example, is going to happen overnight. And were trying to get to the lowest level branch and to really understand and were really looking for the disconfirming evidence to try to see whether or not were just confirming our own bias or actually were on the right path to seeing what the right problems are. But they use the dashers on our network and the software that weve created to facilitate their own on-demand or same-day deliveries. And so this is what I mean when I say you cant influence that. On this, Mr. Xu pointed to DoorDashs past. For now, DoorDash is focused on making the food part work. doordash critical thinking interview. What does it mean to be a world-class head of engineering or head of sales? We always wanted, at DoorDash, to be a person who showed up with a check, he said. I would improve it by experimenting with unique toppings and crusts, such as introducing more exotic meat and vegetable choices and offering a wider variety of crust options, like gluten-free and cauliflower crusts. I think none of us really had a background in logistics or delivery. I stay informed of industry trends and advancements, take on challenging tasks and projects, seek feedback and coaching from my seniors, and engage in training and development programs. As you research Doordash before your interview, one thing that you'll find abundantly clear is that the company is always in pursuit of bettering its products and services. So thats still a big part of the journey for us right now. Food delivery requires timeliness, accuracy, and attention to detail. And over time youre trying to build a repeatable system in which you can take that product to more and more segments of the population. Therefore, I can confidently claim that I am conversant with the best customer service practices and remain composed under trying circumstances. And so I think there are ways in which you can look at rates of progress, but I think its first and foremost recognizing what is it that youre actually trying to get better at? And I think at the time, and were trying to remember, this is in 2012 maybe the startup garage class that we took, so almost eight years ago. To be more specific, analytics case studies test your ability to. Thanks for having me. And then over time, its about learning how do you build systems? Interview process at DoorDash Overall experience Poor Excellent Easy Difficult Interview process length About a day or two 65% About a week 22% About two weeks 7% More than one month 3% About a month 3% Most reported steps They have no interview 58% Background check 49% Other 12% Phone call/screening 12% On-site interview 7% Least reported steps Im curious, how did that shape the type of business that you then want to create? When it enters a new market, DoorDash adds restaurants that have not signed up for delivery as a way to show restaurant owners the value it can bring, Mr. Xu said. The food delivery company DoorDash on Friday offered the public its first full look at the company's business and finances. One of the things that we found effective is really writing things down. Tony Xu: Yeah, I think its always focusing on the inputs not the outcomes. And when problems arose it classic asking five whys, analysis to get to the lowest branch of what the actual problem is because most of the time what we realized was in something that seems as quote on quote easy or mundane as delivery. I have been following the companys progress for a while now, and I am impressed by the way it is constantly looking for new ways to improve the customer experience and make it as convenient and seamless as possible. DoorDash Faces Its Latest Challenge: Wooing Wall Street, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/technology/doordash-ipo.html. And Id like to expand on the second point a bit too, because like you mentioned, the four of you drove as drivers for FedEx and Dominos to learn about how delivery works. Are you improving on the skills? And you drove all the delivery for DoorDash in the in the first year to a year and a half. And so, I think a lot of this obviously starts from preparations that you made a long time ago, such as building great people up, allowing them to make many decisions prior to when a big moment like this happens. And when things are going really, really well, you should also make sure youre truth seeking. For my mom, it meant working three jobs a day for the first 12 years of her journey here and so, I didnt see them that often and so, most of my time was pretty unstructured and I think as a result that unstructured time was what was able to obviously, I wasnt thinking about becoming an entrepreneur when I was five years old, nor did I ever think what would happen from my unstructured time, but I think some of the benefits really came, Im from trialing a bunch of new things. That they can create their own digital channels. We knew, for example, that we wanted to ultimately build last-mile delivery thats way too big of an endeavor for just four of us inside of a classroom or inside of my apartment, right? I think we used to maybe think, ooh, well, you must live in a certain city in order to access certain things you must live in New York City to access delivery. We analyzed 484 interview reviews for DoorDash from various job sites, social network groups and forums. And so thats why we needed capital. And, at the company, we tend to like to say, bring your data and your insights, but not necessarily your opinions. If a resolution is not possible, I would apologize for the inconvenience and take note to help improve the customer service experience in the future. Tony Xu: Yeah, and I think over time you find that there are certain patterns that you can actually build products for or build tools to automate, but I think if you started that way itd be really, really difficult, because most likely youd be automating something that doesnt even exist. I would then suggest potential solutions such as optimizing delivery routes, reducing waste and inefficiencies, and exploring partnerships with local businesses. It's a big banner which has the 12 values organized into 4 themes -. Tony Xu: Yeah, I mean, I really dont think this is a story you can tell, back then looking forward, its only a story, maybe you can connect the dots looking backwards. Once a year, he and Mr. Tang, now DoorDashs chief product officer, race each other in a sprint. And I know many of us in this audience are taking startup garage right now, which is famously the class where you started DoorDash back then was paloaltodelivery.com. Joy Huang: Thats really valuable advice. Joy Huang: And what is your go-to food delivery order? 10 frequent non-technical questions at DoorDash: Tell me about yourself Hear career advice from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella or learn how to build your startup team. Joy Huang: Be careful what you wish for, Tony. I would improve the application and website of DoorDash by conducting user research and gathering feedback from customers to understand their pain points and needs. Set of 4 questions : Critical Thinking - Why doordash - Why this job - If you are starting a new business in another city which one would you acquire 1st - Customer, Dashers, Restaurants 2nd - Behavioral - Why Dooordash - When have you been scrappy - Instances of working with cross teams Employees do not have experience to conduct interviews, not . Some customers really seem to care about a certain type of salad for example, versus what others may just consider to be a mundane meal. To compete with other companies offering takeout, DoorDash expanded its selection of restaurants it delivered from by adding ones that had not signed up to be part of its listings. We're committed to growing and empowering a more diverse and inclusive community. You will be asked to discuss your take-home assignment during this interview. Joy Huang: Thank you both for the questions. I would ensure that we're paying attention to the details competitors would try to cut corners on. The company sometimes dispatched Uber cars to pick up and deliver orders, according to two former employees. Typically, an experienced engineer takes the role of interviewer, assessing the candidate's strengths and weaknesses. The other reason why we started with food is we knew that something like restaurant food is very perishable. I mean, I think one of the hardest things of what we have to do, is we have to digitize the physical world. Interview questions and answers were updated by William Swansen on September 28th, 2021 It was how we responded during a difficult time for everyone. My parents came here with maybe $200 in the bank, and it was, you know, were gonna make it or not situation; there wasnt really much of an in-between road, but I think when you have nothing to lose you also have a lot of upside as a result. Anyone can read what you share. justafluke__ 2 mo. Why do you think that's important? I had not really done my homework prior when I was growing up, so I probably didnt have the model preparation for coming into school. Adding real-time order tracking and notifications for customers. Busy people. I think its a maniacal focus on making sure that we can work the inputs to each one of these branches. For me, its why I worked at a really young age; it was to save up enough money to buy Nintendo to buy the games that came within Nintendo. And, Tony, I know you say a lot that you really started DoorDash out of a passion to help small business owners like your mom. I possess an array of talents that may bring a refreshed perspective and worthwhile contributions to the team at DoorDash. Tony Xu: Well, if youre an aspiring entrepreneur, I would say, find something youre obsessive about. Because the journey to building anything of meaning, I believe, will take years, maybe decades.. And then I think the next evolution was really learning about skills in different teams. Mr. Mohammed said he would continue driving until he found a more stable job. Moreover, it provides competitive compensation, benefits, and opportunities for professional development for its employees. And so when we started doing deliveries, we started noticing that wow, some restaurants are really, really fast and efficient and other restaurants take a little bit longer. 45% of respondents listed an on-the-spot job offer in their top three . Find Your Dream Job: Interview Techniques and Resume Writing Thats easier than more time pressure and greater perishability. Drivers who sued over their tips. Joy Huang: Welcome to View From The Top, the podcast. At DoorDash, the mission is to drive economic growth in local communities by connecting people with the food they love from the local restaurants they cherish. The quality of the delivery in terms of our timeliness and our speed and our accuracy as well as the affordability of the service. Its always been about how do we grow and empower local economies? So thats the first thing. But thats at least what I found in our journey thus far. We have two products that will continue to grow both in terms of directions and magnitude. I think we have maybe 30 seconds left. In such a situation, I would first gather the required data to understand the root cause. Combo with drink? But these are skills that I had to go and try to learn from those who were the best to kind of form my own view of what that meant. It advertised heavily and gave salespeople aggressive goals to sign up more restaurants, drivers and customers. So just teach us how to improve our audit mechanisms in our measurement methods and so I dont think theres a silver bullet here. I do customer service actually every day because, sometimes its really hard just looking at the data to get to the digging. You should also know some of the languages' nuances, such as how memory management works, or the most commonly used . Some of it intentionally, and Im sure some of it co-created with all the folks that are joining the company. Critical Thinking for Better Judgment and Decision-Making . I would apologize to them for the inconvenience and provide them with an estimated time of arrival while offering them to check our application regularly for updates. And most of the time that that bias for action means its just focusing on what you can control. Its a very important part of what we do. DoorDash had been widely criticized for its old pay model, in which customer tips effectively went to DoorDash rather than to the worker in many cases. DoorDash had many ups and downs and we still do. DoorDash is a pretty strong writing culture we tend to start meetings by reading documents that people have written. It offers customers the convenience of ordering food from local restaurants through its intuitive website or mobile application. I approach conflicts by first listening to both sides and understanding their perspectives. This employer has claimed their Employer Profile and is engaged in the Glassdoor community. I wish to work for DoorDash because I believe that the companys innovative technology and approach to food delivery are truly revolutionizing the industry. Its not like that you kind of have to solve it there and then and so we thought that if we can tackle the hardest problem first, that other categories, at least from a pure last-mile logistics perspective, would be easier to do. For me, my parents journey really is the classic immigrant story and you know many folks, I think, can appreciate coming into this country without much. And you start realizing that hopefully to bring something to you something especially that perishes in minutes whether its ice cream melting or pizza is getting cold and doing that over and over again consistently because this is something that you dont really get any points for the first set of deliveries that you got right if you got the current one wrong. Theres a lot of work thats left to go. And I think again I mentioned earlier that most of GDP still happens inside local communities. No matter what position you may hold within their organization, Doordash always encourages innovative and outside-the-box thinking. Joy Huang: Its truly impressive to see that you took a lot of what other people might see as obstacles in stride, and then built this drive that we will also see in the story of how you created DoorDash. I would also plan the delivery route in advance to avoid any delays. Obviously, you have minutes to get this right and if you get a wrong you kind of have to solve it then in there, you cant, wait to, give you your password the next day or something. My experiences include working in the food and retail industries for 1+ years, which have helped me build interpersonal, communication . Tony Xu, MBA 13, says that immigrating from China at the age of five and moving around as a young kid taught him one of the keys to success how to adapt to new environments. Joy Huang: I love your choice of wording, which is you can choose optimism and I think that sometimes we tend to forget that because of the outside validation that we inevitably crave that we forget that it is actually something we can consciously have and then just focus on doing what is right to move forward. Based on this information, I would prioritize and implement new features and improvements, such as:if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'projectpractical_com-banner-1','ezslot_5',629,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-projectpractical_com-banner-1-0'); I would also regularly test and evaluate the performance of these changes and improvements and use data and analytics to optimize the application and website for the best customer experience. Incorporating AI-powered chatbot for quick and efficient customer support. But cities have been one of the most enduring, I guess organizations that have ever made it through the history of time, far more enduring than businesses have. I know Tony, many of us have been following DoorDash for a while, and seeing the wildly successful IPO that you recently had congratulations on that, by the way. We werent looking necessarily at outcome metrics per se. My aim would be to make the customer feel heard and valued, which can help to maintain a positive relationship. So operating at the lowest level of detail is pretty much trying to find your way to the right problem and it almost never is at the surface. (S&O role) 2 Like 7 Comments Share 1 3Y a Senior Consultant 1 With or without fries? As DoorDash grows, he said, theres going to be more tension.. Tony Xu: I dont know what probably went through my head, obviously, I wasnt thinking that clearly when that comment came out, because in some ways he absolutely was right. Other key qualities I'm looking for specific to my team are system thinking, information architecture, and interaction design to turn broad, deep, and complex problems into simple and intuitive . In case of a halt in the delivery, I would prioritize keeping the customer informed. 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