12 Things You Should Know Before
Driving For DoorDash + 1 Major Warning!!
I do NOT want to sound negative about driving for DoorDash and I DO recommend giving it a shot, however I also want you to be totally informed of the pros and cons and I have 1 major warning at the end of this post.
If you haven’t already, read my pros list ” Is DoorDash Worth It ? “. PLEASE do, so that you could get a well rounded picture of what you would be signing up for.
*Disclaimer- This post contains Google Ads which I may earn a tiny commission from.
12 Things You Should Know Before Driving For DoorDash
1 Car Expenses
Keep in mind that not only will you be paying for your own gas, but you will also have more frequent oil changes. You could save substaintialy if you change your own oil vs. getting it professionally done.
There is a lot of wear and tear on brakes and your car in general to consider. This is one reason I say in ” Is DoorDash Worth It “ that DoorDash is worth it and great as a temporary solution but not long term.
2 Choose Your Own Hours Deception
Schedule flexibility doesn’t mean you’ll have work and be earning money the whole time.
So sure, you could technically schedule yourself any hours that you are available, however you might not have constant or even enough work to make your time worth it.
You might be sitting in parking lots waiting for an assignment on your phone. If it’s slow enough, DoorDash could end your session on their end, as well, without giving you the option to stick it through.
The best times to deliver tend to be for lunch and dinner (dinner more so). 11am-2pm and 4:30pm-9pm will be your prime hours and usually Thursday-Sunday dinner time I am never waiting on an assignment.
3 Last Minute Blocking
Schedule your desired hours at least a day in advance or there is no guarantee that you could use the “Dash Now” feature.
If they already have enough drivers you won’t be able to just jump in and start delivering if you decide on a whim that you want some extra cash.
Orders get assigned with priority going to those who schedule ahead of time. If there are already enough drivers for the time slot, there wouldn’t be an option for you to join in.
Tip: If the app shows that there are no available time slots the day before and is completely blank, restart your phone and you might find it’s corrected and a ton of slots are truly available.
4 Change Needed On Hand
This will vary greatly depending on what type of area you are delivering in. Keep change on hand in case you have meter parking or need a quarter for an Aldi’s shopping cart. Meter Parking cuts into your earnings which stinks, but throwing some change in is better than getting a ticket!
5 Combined Hidden Restaurants
I think they call them Ghost kitchens (I could be wrong). I had no idea this was even a thing! I found out the hard way that several restaurants you would never expect are two in one with no signage on the building saying this. It causes a lot of confusion sometimes, which means a waste of time and money, as GPS is sending you to a business with a completely different name on the building.
Mr Beast Burger was my first experience. I have lived in this area for 18 years and had no idea that we even had a Mr Beast Burger and even more would not expect it inside a Plaza Azteca Mexican Restaurant! The popular chain Chili’s has a Wing restaurant working out of it. A pizza place also sold Chinese Food…What?!?
If you can’t find a restaurant, call them!
6 Losing Cell Service While Driving For DoorDash
Losing GPS directions could leave you totally lost and feeling stranded in an unfamiliar area. Keep driving and eventually it will come back on line, it’s usually just a temporary weak spot. Take a mental note the next time you are in that area or avoid deliveries to that area if its bad enough…either way DON’T panic!
7 Losing Service In Stores While Shopping
Ok, this could be very stressful and frustrating while it’s happening. There are certain stores that you might get horrible cell service in. Dollar Generals for some reason are notorious for this!
You need your phone to shop and scan each item however if you don’t have service your app will just lock up, turning into much longer time being wasted.
When I’m in a store like this, I will do all the shopping and putting items in my cart without scanning. I will then try to find a spot in the store that DOES have signal to scan everything in.
There is one location that allows DoorDash drivers to take the cart outside into the parking lot in order to scan everything because that’s literally the only way you can. That particular location I will never shop at again.
8 Ability To Bring Kids With You
This is a catch 22. Yes, this perk is in my pros list as well, however, I will warn you that bringing kids WILL slow you down depending on their age with carseats, sudden hunger, and potty needs especially. I only recommended doing this if you really really need to bring them. The slower you go on orders the less you will get assigned to during those peak hours and you will earn less, so keep that in mind.
9 Dud Deliveries
Some deliveries are in no way worth the amount paid out.
Very first thing to look at is mileage. If you are getting less than a dollar per mile I wouldn’t accept the offer. Over $2 per mile is preferred.
Then look at where you would be delivering to, 3 miles in one direction could be a much different driving experience than 3 miles in the opposite direction. Will you have to go on the highway? Is there road work that you are going to be stuck in? Be aware of these things and take note to alternative routes.
10 The App Map Before Accepting
When you are offered an assignment, a little map shows up with pin point pick up and delivery location. This is a zoomed out view and could appear that the locations are much closer than they truly are.
If your distance to travel is more than a few miles, even if the pay is high, I would recommend pulling over to take a closer look before accepting the offer.
I once got sent to one of the worst of the worst locations in our state. I would normally not feel safe even in daylight however it was night and became even more dangerous (literally we were seconds away from a hit-and-run murder!). I went there because I didn’t take a good look at the map.
11 App Glitches and Freezes
Even if you have good cell service, when this happens you could try closing out of the app and then reentering. If the problem still persists then restart your phone. It’s a pain in the butt when you are in a hurry but just stay calm, restart, and usually it clears itself up.
12 Poor Driver Support
Yes, you could contact driver support in the app to msg back and forth, and yes you could call them directly however it’s a crap shoot if you are going to get actual help for your issue or a scripted line with not a lot of useful meaning.
1 MAJOR VERY BIG WARNING
TO ANYONE CONSIDERING
DRIVING FOR DOORDASH
You are at the total mercy of technology. Not only cell service and app glitching and freezes, but also DoorDash is known for suddenly locking out accounts. So while its great that you are able to make money fairly easily ( and I still do recommend it as a side hustle) DO NOT RELY ON THIS AS A SOURCE OF INCOME.
In my pros post Is DoorDash Worth It ?, I mentioned that I “was” delivering, as in past tense. Well, everything had been going great. I was making a full time income on it, and truly enjoying it even given the cons listed above.
This last Sunday, I went into my app to schedule to drive the next day. It randomly prompted me to verify my ID by taking a selfie. I followed the facial recognition prompts “Look straight, slightly to the left, slightly to the right”. No big deal! I am me and have nothing to hide, right?
Well, a screen popped up sating that it could not verify my ID with my selfie and I had to wait 24-48 hours for an email. In the meantime, I was completely locked out of being able to deliver.
The following days, I contacted driver support multiple times via app msg as well as by phone, with absolutely no help in resolving. The best I got was that I was directed to file an appeal and wait ANOTHER 10 days. So just like that, in an instant, my full-time income was taken away unexpectedly.
I was devastated. It was so extremely unfair, and completely out of my control. Now, I stress this warning so strongly, because we are blessed with my husband’s income, but what if this was my sole source? It could be catastrophic to a family.
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