If it's not busy you won't get many drivers working
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If you're wanting to get your hands on some delicious food when it's relatively quiet you might run into some problems. Simply, it's just not beneficial for a DoorDash driver to work when it isn't hitting lunch or dinner time. Even though the app is always available it's really not that available when nobody else in your area needs a food run. This is a pretty disappointing one and might just mean you have to go out yourself to get that food hit. The poor drivers just don't make enough when the demand is low.
They won't hang around your favorite restaurant if it's not busy
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It might be your favorite food joint but that doesn't always mean that everyone in your area agrees. If this is the case you will struggle getting a DoorDash driver to stay in that area and pick up your order. If something like this happens then your order could be waiting a long time to finally get accepted. You might even have to resort to picking somewhere else for your takeout that night. Ultimately, when there's no orders to pick up at that restaurant, the DoorDash drivers don't get paid anything at all.
If the pick-up location has a drive thru they don't want it
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We all know that DoorDash drivers don't have to go through the drive thru to pick up an order but if they are going to a restaurant with one this creates issues. When a restaurant has a drive thru it makes it super busy which in turn increases the wait time for food. When you are being paid per order there's really no time to waste waiting for your order to be made. DoorDash drivers will always prefer something smaller that has less demand from people other than for food pick ups, this is the best way to make the most cash.
When the restaurant takes too long sometimes they'll just cancel your order
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You think that luck is on your side and your order has been accepted so your food won't be long. Although, the sad reality is that this is not always the case. If a food order is taking too long to be prepared a DoorDash driver might decide it is more beneficial to cancel your order all together. This takes you back to point one on your journey to get your desired food. A reason why this could happen is because the bad review is less impacting than wasting time waiting for one order and missing out on other ones.
If you live outside a hot spot you wont get the DoorDash pros
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Hot spots are areas that allow DoorDash drivers to pick up and order and have the more chance to be able to get another one straight away. However, if you live too far out it won't be beneficial to drive out to your house and then drive back into the hot spot. After all, the extra gas required without any extra orders to collect on the way back would just be a waste of time and money. The best place to live is near a good amount of food joints that have a high demand. Maybe think about this when you next look at a place to rent or buy!
If your order is declined by one driver the other one probably doesn't want it
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If your order is declined by a driver this simply means that it doesn't hold a lot of money-making benefits to it. This could be due to the size of the order or how far you live away from the place you are ordering from. Even though your order might sound great to you, the DoorDash driver probably doesn't hold the same excitement. It's best knowing that if your order is being declined you might just want to jump on another delivery app to order your food from. Using multiple food apps is the best way to get it picked up.
Not everything they earn goes through legitimate tax declaration
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Due to the nature of the DoorDash stint, the drivers have the freedom to put down exactly how much they earn when filling out their tax returns. Having this freedom means that many drivers might opt to put a lower amount of earnings to make some more money from the job they do. It's important to remember this when you're looking at the money they earn from the order you've put through the app. This isn't all drivers though and many do get caught from doing this as it's against the law and not good practice.
They expect a good tip if they give you updates
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Your DoorDash driver texting you more than the hot girl you dated last week? That's probably because they are trying to get a good tip. By giving you real time updates about your order this creates more of a customer experience when waiting for your delivery. It also allows you to chat with the DoorDash driver and give specific requirements. They are probably doing this to get a tip though and it is something to be aware about when you're questioning why your DoorDash driver is being so friendly to you.
If you leave a bad review your place will be avoided
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Had an awful delivery experience with DoorDash and went straight to the app to complain? That's not always the best idea. When you complain this complaint directly affects the driver that has delivered the order. So next time your house comes up as a delivery option the driver and all of their close colleagues will probably avoid delivering to you to avoid a nasty review. It's a hard one to avoid if your food comes to you looking like it's been half eaten and of course sometimes just can't be avoided.
They receive bonuses directly from Door dash
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You may think that a DoorDash employee really isn't getting paid a lot for the deliveries they are making. However, DoorDash will put on cash bonuses if they need more drivers in the area at specific times. These cash bonuses can be anything from a hundred dollars to two hundred dollars depending on what is needed. The only issues for the drivers is if too many people take these up there's not enough deliveries to make enough work for the drivers to actually make any other money.
They have to complete 95% of their orders to be allowed to cash out
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It's a good thing to know that if a DoorDash driver doesn't complete 95% of their orders then they can't take any of the money that they have made. This means that the chances of your driver cancelling when your order is taking a long time to prepare is much lower due to the risk they won't be able to get their hands on their earnings. It also means that drivers will avoid jobs for restaurants that are notoriously known for longer wait times so they do not run the risk of losing a lot of time waiting.
A grocery order is a delivery they'll avoid
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If a trip to Walmart isn't sounding too enticing then there's always door dash to sort those needs out. However it's not always going to be easy to be able to get a door dash driver to pick up a Walmart order. This is because if they arrive at the store and there are a lot of bags then they may have to do more than one trip. This extra trip makes no extra money and therefore means that they are losing out on what they could be making on another job. It's good to be aware of this when you're ordering your food and groceries.
They don't check orders when they are picked up
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Due to the limited amount of time that a DoorDash driver has to pick up the order and get it to you they don't always get a chance to check the order. This does mean that there are so many complaints that come in regarding the wrong order being picked up from the food stores. It also means that it's super important to check your order when it comes to your door. The good news is though you can always put a complaint in if you don't have all your order and will sometimes get your money back for it.
There's rumors they'll start being paid an hourly rate soon
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On a not so busy day, DoorDash drivers can find it really difficult to make a wage that is worth doing the job that they do. This being said DoorDash have decided to make an hourly wage for their delivery drivers. It's not going to be something that every driver will want and they may make it so they can choose to have this. However, the extra fiancial security does mean that there is no urgency for your food to be delivered on a really speedy time apart from if you're going to give a nice tip to your driver.
There's not much intervention for bad drivers
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We've all had a really bad experience with a driver bringing our much loved foods to our door. Unfortunately with DoorDash this experience can end up being repeated to many different customers. This is simply because the reviews a driver gets doesn't always create any repercussions for the driver. This stops fake complaints affecting a drivers livelihood although it still means that ones that are fully legitimate can get lost in the system and then the driver continues to give bad service to customers.
DoorDash drivers are actively cheating on DoorDash
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You might question why a delivery driver is just not picking up your order. Surprisingly, this could be because they have multiple different food delivery apps in use at the same time. This isn't always a good thing when the driver chooses to pick up multiple orders of different apps. It also means that the chances of getting your order picked by a driver is lowered due to competing with the demand from another app. So when you are next checking how busy it is be sure to check all apps at the same time.
Some drivers make more money by videoing their drops
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You may have already seen it in places like TikTok when delivery drivers decide to video their shifts for viewers to enjoy. This has been a big hit on the social media website and can bring drivers a lot of extra money into their bank account. By simply talking about the money that they make and the drops that they have to do they can add so much extra cash to their job. This type of video can also be found on sites such as YouTube with longer videos explaining the pros and cons of doing the job that they do.
Delivery drivers can set their own price on the app
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Due to the heightened demand of food delivery today drivers now have the autonomy to make their own prices of what they are going to accept. This can be added on to the app but also can be manually done by the driver themselves. This does mean that if there's not much profit in your order then there's probably not a lot of chance that you will be picked by a DoorDash driver or rider. This kind of scenario is worse in busy, built-up areas where the demand is higher. Big orders always have a better chance of success.
If you live outside a congested area you have more luck
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Traffic takes time and time cost money for a driver. This is why if the roads around you are very populated and are prone to congestion then drivers will definitely avoid any drops to your place. It's always important to check the traffic before placing an order because you might just be disappointed when nobody accepts. If DoorDash does introduce an hourly wage then this type of problem will be stopped and you'll be able to always enjoy your delicious goods at any time. But for now you might just have to get it yourself.
DoorDash drivers will park in awkward spots and break driving laws to make the drop quicker
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You've probably seen it before when you're trying to get into the local food joint but there's a car stuck straight in the middle of the entrance. The reason for this is usually a delivery driver and the only reason they do this is to save time on the food order they have. It could also be to save money and not have to pay for any local parking fees. So when they say they didn't realize it was not a space they're probably just saying that to get you to go on your way and leave them to do their job.
If they are on their way home they'll pick up your order on the way
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Even though it's really important to live in a hotspot for drivers it doesn't always mean that the DoorDash driver lives in one themselves. Because of this, when they have finished their long shift the chances are they'll probably pick up your order and bring it back on their way home. This means that they don't have to spend any money going back to the hotspot for demand and can finish their shift on a good extra order that didn't bring them out their way at all. It's a great benefit to you and the driver.
If your order is small they don't want it
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If you're wanting a lunch for one to be delivered by DoorDash then you're really probably not going to be in look. The big reason for this is because small orders really don't pay and that's because they don't have much profit riding on them. The bigger the order the more likely a delivery driver will pick up your food. This is especially when there's a lot of demand in times such as lunchtime. So maybe next time you want that McDonald's lunch it's probably best to get a group of buddies and order it together.
They might try and do multiple orders in one drop
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If you've ever wondered why your order is a little bit extra cold when it arrives to you it's probably because the driver has done multiple drops before they've got to your house. This is a really easy way for a driver to make the best profit that they can make on a job. It is not something that's easily done directly on the app so drivers will use multiple food order apps to be able to do this trick. It's frustrating but sometimes it's the only way for the drivers to make a good wage at the end of the day.
The DoorDash app is known to have issues
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If you want a reliable app to be able to buy your food order from then maybe DoorDash isn't always the best one to choose. This is simply because the app consists of a lot of issues that can make food ordering pretty hard which sucks. Customers being aware of this issue is really something that a DoorDash driver fears because this means that customers will go somewhere else for their takeout. That's why any good DoorDash driver will push the app and say how good it is and that it never fails to work.
If they don't have a good rating they can't cash out
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A DoorDash driver must have a rating of over 4.7 to be able to cash out and get their money for the jobs that they have done. This means that your reviews are really important to a driver and that's why they must ensure they give decent customer service. So when you're looking at putting a review on a driver if the customer service was good then it's always best to give them a good star rating. However, if they weren't so good you can also consider how bad the service actually was and whether you think they don't deserve their pay.
There's a big bonus for referring more drivers
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If you start to see a lot more drivers in one specific area it's probably because a driver has referred a lot of their best pals to the service. With some great referral bonuses it's no surprise that they want to get all of their buddies involved in what's to offer with DoorDash. The driver doesn't even have to have much of a rating to be able to refer their friends so if one of them is bad then they may be referring people with the same mentality. This is pretty scary when your area gets populated by non committed drivers.
A driver might use a bike to save money
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Using a bike to save money seems like a brilliant idea as it really does cut down the cost of fuel when a delivery driver is doing their jobs. However when you see a DoorDash driver arrive with your food and they've driven a bike all the way from the city with it, it's never a good sign. This usually means that the food is probably cold and not the warm, freshly-prepared takeout you were excited to have. There's unfortunately no option to choose what your driver uses to pick up your food so you never know till it arrives.
They might dash cam their order to stop any claims of no delivery
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Some customers who use DoorDash have been known to say that they have not received their order when actually they are talking into their food. This can be pretty detrimental to a delivery driver as it can affect their star rating and mean they can get less jobs. This is why many drivers have now chosen to have a dash cam in their cars to show when they arrive at a certain place in order to stop any false claims. This is something to think about if you are one of them customers because you could be caught out.
DoorDash doesn't have a good reputation
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A quick search online will show you that DoorDash really doesn't have that good of a reputation. This is due to the customer experience when receiving their food from the drivers and the time that a lot of food outlets take to prepare it all. It also doesn't help when the wages are so low that only certain deliveries are chosen. This makes DoorDash pretty inaccessible for many people if they don't have a large family or friends to order their take out with. It's something to be aware of when choosing the app to order your food.
The basic pay is not enough to make many trips worth it
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With the inconsistent wages that all the different orders can wager, it's often quite hard for a delivery driver to actually make a decent living when they are working for DoorDash. This means that they have to reject many orders due to the amount of money that they'll receive from doing it. Many drivers have decided to opt to different apps that they feel they'll make a better wage on and this makes it harder for customers to get their food, due to less drivers being on the roads. It's important to remember how much the driver is making on your food order.
Thieves have pretended to be DoorDash drivers

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There have also been safety concerns due to people pretending to be DoorDash drivers. the reason for this is so that they can gain entry to a building, use it as an excuse to get inside and then once they are in, seize the opportunity to steal. Some instances of this have been caught on camera. It is more common because there is no need for a uniform to be a DoorDash driver.
Tip Baiting is common

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Tip baiting is where a customer pretends that they will give the driver a generous tip, so that the driver prioritizes their order, accepts it and then delivers it quick. But, once they have delivered it the customer then removes or alters the number of the tip. It is a completely unfair practice which drivers have to deal with on a daily basis and it seriously affects their work.
They will NOT want to stop to chat

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You may often find that the food is left at your doorstep. As soon as they have called the door the driver will be making their way back to the car. They do not want to stand around and engage in conversation, purely because they have pressure to do as much work in their time on shift as they can in order to make a liveable wage. There is very little interaction with DoorDash.
Sometimes they are caught speeding

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For reasons we have mentioned, drivers want to do as many trips as possible. The more trips they do, the more they get paid. You can probably imagine that when you have an incentive to be as fast as possible, it's common for corners to get skipped. Many DashDoor drivers have been found to be speeding. Some have even found themselves with fines or even temporary suspensions because of it!
There's a subscription service called DashPass

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For those people who are regular users of DoorDash there is an option to opt into the delivery service. It is called DoorDash and the customer gets lots of benefits including special prices. Because they are paying for a service, their orders have to be prioritized by drivers, even if they do not have the capability to make as much money, they may be a short delivery for example.
It was created by four students

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DoorDash was created back in 2013 by four students named Andy Fang, Stanley Tang, Tony Xu and Evan Moore. The students formed the idea at Stanford, and they started out as small organisation which took off into the successful and profitable business that it is today. Now the headquarters is situated in San Francisco, California and the company operated all over the US.
The company works by charging restaurants a commission on orders

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You may be wondering how the company actually makes the money and what pay is like. DoorDash make their money by charging commission on an order. So the restaurant will pay more to have their orders collected by a delivery service. This is still beneficial for the restaurant who are opening up to customers who would not be coming into the restaurant and who would not pick up their food. Therefore they also get more customers because of Doordash.
Mistakes happen all the time!

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When a company pays per delivery, of course it means that quantity of deliveries are going to be prioritized over the quality of their delivery. For example, DoorDash don't score highly on customer service, because drivers don't have time. In fact, they also score badly due to mistakes being made all of the time because drivers want the job done as quickly as possible, which often leads to mistakes.
There have been cases of unauthorized charges

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DoorDash have also come under fire when there were many customers receiving unauthorized charges, meaning that these charges were either random or they were not the correct amount for what had been ordered. Of course, when this was noticed and flagged up customers became worried about the trustworthiness and legitimacy of the company! In fact, they experienced a temporary dip in customers.
Workers sometimes make multiple trips at once, so cold food is common!

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When there's multiple food orders and drop offs within the same area it makes much more sense for the driver to take out the orders at the same time and do the deliveries on the same run. But imagine you're number 5 on the drop off. Your food is going to be cold and this does happen a lot with DoorDash orders. You never know of your food will be hot and fresh, or whether it has sat around for some time.
The no-tip shelf is real

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At DoorDash there really is a no tip shelf where all of the no tipping orders lie. Of course, drivers want to take the orders where they can make some more money. And so often drivers will decline the no tip orders. They stay on a shelf and gather because nobody wants to deliver them. If you use DoorDash and don't tip you may never even get your food. Or it may be stone cold b the time it does arrive.
DoorDash has suffered from hackers and leaks

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Hacks and leaks are something that have happened on numerous occasions. Due to the way the company operates through several different connecting sites, rather than an accumulated site, it opens up the potential for data leaks. Hacking has been a considerable problem for the company and steps have had to be taken to try and overcome it as it's lost the company a lot of money.
The average delivery can vary from $2-$10

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Whilst DoorDash is great for flexible work or work that can be picked up as often or as little as the driver likes, in terms of consistency it's very unreliable. A driver typically makes around $2 to $10 dollars per delivery. Of course, this depends on the length of the drive and the size of the order. But generally, wages are fairly low and they change all of the time.
DoorDash get paid more than UberEats

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It has become common knowledge since a comparison study took place, that Doordash drivers on average are paid better rates that UberEats drivers. This has now made the company more popular to work for so drivers for DoorDash are at a greater demand. One man in particular had tried and tested both companies and confirmed that DoorDash paid better on the whole.
In 2019 there was a data leak scandal

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Due to the structure of DoorDash, it makes it much more susceptible to date leaks and privacy issues. In 2019 there was a scandal where many of the workers had their private and personal information, including things such as credit card information leaked for the database. There was a huge scandal as workers and customers could not ensure their personal data safety.
Work is inconsistent

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The delivery driving industry can be super fickle. At one point it may be very busy and the drivers will not get much time for their own personal life. But there are times where the work completely dries up which can lead to it being very inconsistent. This is hard for people who are depending on the wages of DashDoor. They never know form one month to the next how much they will be able to make.
One negative interaction can affect their wage

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Just one single negative interaction with a customer can affect their entire wages from this point on. It may mean that they cannot get the cash or the jobs. Some drivers have found themselves penalized by customers for unfair reasons or prejudice. This negative reviews which wasn't even deserved can then affect their future livelihood and earnings.
Sometimes drivers don't get breaks

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DoorDash drivers are completely in control of how much they work and what jobs they accept. But it's not that simple. For some people it may be there only source of income and so there's a huge amount of pressure to be able to make enough money so that they can live and provide. This leads to some drivers accepting every job they possibly can and having no breaks at all!
Accidents happen due to the rush that drivers face

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The more jobs a driver completes, the more money they get. And when a driver is trying to make a living out of DoorDash it can be tempting to accept as many jobs as possible. Of course this leaves them short on time and they may end up driving around in a rush...which inevitably does and has happened to many accidents. Many DoorDash drivers have been involved in some kind of accident.
The security may not be thorough

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One of the problems about DoorDash is that they are trying to recruit as many people as they can. The more drivers they have, the more the business expands and it will become more and more of a lead delivery service. But when it comes to the actual process of hiring, it's not so thorough and it can mean that some delivery workers may not be suitable for the job!