I never saw myself delivering for DoorDash and Postmates, but I gave it a shot. In four months’ time, I paid off my entire debt of $1,200, saved $2,000 in the bank, and bought a few books off my Amazon wish list.
Relatively speaking, it was easy money.
Delivering for DoorDash is straightforward work (for the most part). Depending on your area and how efficient you are, you can be looking at $20/hour.
That might not sound like much, but it adds up, and it’s money waiting for the taking. If you’re looking for a new side hustle, enjoy driving, and don’t mind the delivering food stigma, here’s my complete guide on getting started:
Deciding What App To Choose
The three big companies — DoorDash, Postmates and Uber Eats — each have their pros and cons. Each has a different pay scale and is more or less difficult to use.
Delivering For DoorDash
- Pros:
- The easiest for starting out. Sign up through the app, they’ll send you a credit card and you’re good to go.
- Money varies, some days it can be $20/hour, others you’ll be waiting in a parking lot reading a book or scrolling through Twitter.
- They do have promotions where you make more money during a limited period of time, but they’re usually set for weekends.
- A simple app and a straightforward business model.
- Cons:
- The app is simple, yes, but it constantly suffers from crashes. It’s so bad that there’s a website dedicated to telling you if the app is down or not. I’d expect a crash at least once a week, and pray it doesn’t happen when you’ve already picked up someone’s food and it’s getting cold in the front seat of your car.
- The money is hit or miss as well. Some days you’ll be showering in cash and others reserved for naps in your car.
Delivering For Postmates
- Pros:
- The best user interface out of the bunch. While DoorDash may be a simple app to use, the blinding red, bland UI looks like it was designed by chimps. Postmates’ app soothes me and has many sleek advantages to DoorDash.
- Postmates also pays more as customers are more inclined to tip better. (Still don’t know why, but it’s true in my experience.)
- The service is also a lot more consistent; you won’t have to wait on promotions like DoorDash.
- With Postmates the money is always solid.
- Cons:
- Some orders will send you far! Like holy-crap did I just cross the state-line kind of far.
- If you’re not careful, Postmates will send you 30-minutes to pick up someone’s two-piece chicken combo from Popeyes. Sorry not sorry dude, but another sucker is bringing you that chicken.
- You also have to call-in or manually place many orders through. With DoorDash you just walk in, pick up the food and go about your day, Postmates will have you call in the orders and pay with the credit card they provide. It’s not a glaring issue but eats into time, and time is money.
Delivering For Uber Eats
Full disclaimer, I don’t deliver for them but have heard enough through the grapevine to pass on some wisdom.
- Pros:
- Uber Eats seems to always have orders coming in so there won’t be any lulls when you’re delivering.
- They also offer incentives like DoorDash, but these are dependent on how many hours or deliveries you make. Deliver for three hours? Here’s an extra $30 champ.
- Cons:
- The pay sucks! The Uber Eats income fee is set around 25 percent. Drivers make chicken scratch compared to the other two, and that’s why I’ve avoided them like the plague.
What to Expect When Delivering for DoorDash (In 4 Steps)
You’re nervous, delivering food sounds a bit sketchy, and trying new things is miserable at first. Fear not! Delivering for one of these app-based companies is so easy I condensed it into four steps: app alert, drive to food, pick up food, and deliver food. Simple right? Sometimes yes, and other times, HELL no (I’d say it’s a 60/40 split in favor of being simple).
Here’s what to expect in four steps:
1. App Alert
Jump into your car, open up the app (or apps), and you’re ready to go. When an order is in your area a loud spastic notification will tell you to go pick it up. Don’t hit accept.
Each app will give you the chance to review the order — don’t squander this opportunity. Is your destination so far you might burn through a tank of gas to get there? Or is the pay so low you’d make more money opening a lemonade stand?
Ask these questions and don’t sell your soul for cheap, your time is precious. Even if you aren’t making money, it’s far more worth it to read a good book than make $5 bucks delivering a Quarter Pounder.
2. Drive to Food
Driving is my favorite part of this gig. One, because I love driving. Two, because I get to listen to a ton of music and podcasts. And a quick third being I get to learn where all the best restaurants are in my neighborhood. (How did I go so many years without eating Thai?)
Fire up your navigators and mellow out — become one with the road. It’s important not to stress yourself out while you’re driving because you’re about to do a whole lot of it.
Once you make it to your destination park it and head in.
PRO TIP: Once you start learning the restaurants in your neighborhood you could park on the side. Or leave your car running if you’re gutsy like me and race in for your food. Quick disclaimer, don’t try this in “bad” neighborhoods and use this tip at your discretion.
3. Pick Up Food
Oh, how easy this step sounds — except it’s the only one where you’re likely to run into issues. Here are a few of my favorite one-liners from this infamous step:
- “Sorry that order won’t be done for another 40 minutes.”
- “We’re actually out of non-dairy taro boba tea, but we have coffee!”
- “Yeah, we actually don’t sell pizza anymore.” [A pizza shop that went out of business due to COVID-19]
Most local businesses won’t give you a problem, it’s fast food that tends to give you the runaround. If you get to a restaurant and it seems like your order is going nowhere, cancel it. In case you haven’t gotten it yet, time is freaking money.
I’ve seen so many dashers (that’s delivery speak for drivers) who’ll wait out an order when it’s clear all hope is lost. If the order isn’t ready within 15 minutes, cut your losses. This is the most important rule when delivering for DoorDash.
Pro Tip: You’ll sometimes be prompted for two orders; take these opportunities every chance you get. Doubling up on orders is the easiest way to make $20/hour.
4. Delivering Food
The home-stretch! Food in the front seat, switch on the navigator and throw on some Joe Rogan. COVID-19 has made delivering as easy as hopping out your whip, dropping off the food, ringing the doorbell, and you’re out.
And with that, your first delivery is in the books; that’s $10-20 dollars in your pocket. The most I’ve made off a single order is $30 and ended up taking home $400 bucks for the weekend. Once you get into a routine, you’ll be on your way to big bucks (relatively speaking).
Photo by 金 运 on Unsplash
Banking your new found earnings is made easy on these apps as well. Money will be deposited every Monday or you can use the “fast cash” option to get paid immediately.
Pro Tip: If you run into an apartment while dashing don’t freak. Call up your customer and ask them how they’d like for you to drop off their food. Many times it’s as simple as leaving it at the front desk or meeting them outside.
Final Thoughts on Delivering For DoorDash
Delivering through app-based services in an excellent side hustle to add to your repertoire. Along with freelance writing, I make enough money to sustain myself from these two gigs alone.
Take it slow, bring headphones, a good book, Joe Rogan, and go make some.