Common Doordash Driver Questions

What Is DoorDash, Exactly? How Does It Work?

(Disclosure – We independently research our content to provide free advice for you. We may get compensation if you sign up with services, or purchase products through our affiliate links.)

If you’ve ever wanted to pick up food from your favorite restaurant but found yourself frustrated that they didn’t deliver, apps like DoorDash are a match made in heaven for you. Available on iOS and Android, DoorDash is a third-party delivery service that connects its users with restaurants in and around their area.

The app is designed to determine both delivery time and delivery distance for its fleet of drivers. Doordash developers continually work to more accurately predict how long each of the restaurants it works with will take to prepare food and how long it will take the driver to arrive at their address.

It also uses these predictive services to determine the maximum delivery radius for a particular restaurant; this varies by location, however.

DoorDash distinguishes itself from other delivery services like Caviar and Amazon Flex in a few ways.

First and foremost, it’s not solely open to people who own a car. Cyclists are also able to sign up for the delivery service. It also features Group Ordering, which allows multiple DoorDash users to collaborate with one another on a single order, splitting the check and keeping all their orders to a single delivery driver.

If you want to try ordering through Doordash, use our promo code and get a few bucks off your first delivery by clicking the button below.

 

 

How Does DoorDash Make Money?

Like most delivery services, DoorDash adds a small premium to each delivery order. Though it varies by restaurant, city, and delivery distance, this fee is usually somewhere between $3 and $7. It also has a few sources of revenue aside from this service fee.

Participating restaurants must generally pay a commission (usually around 20%) on orders delivered by DoorDash’s drivers. Though this may seem somewhat steep, it’s worth remembering that this is business those restaurants might not otherwise enjoy.

 

Aside from commission, DoorDash also charges restaurants for marketing and advertising through the app. Like on yelp, a business owner can choose to pay a fee to move itself to the top of the list of restaurants.

How Much Do DoorDash Drivers Make?

The short answer is that ‘it depends.’ When DoorDash first launched, Dashers, as delivery-people are known, were paid a flat rate per order, plus whatever they received as a tip. More recently, DoorDash has changed to a more flexible, scaling payment model.

For each delivery, a Dasher makes a certain amount, plus their tip, along with what’s known as a “pay boost.” This boost accounts for various factors, including delivery distance, order size, and traffic.

Rates are also subject to the city in which you operate – as you might expect, larger cities mean better pay. Generally speaking, this averages out to an hourly rate of between $14 and $20. Hourly rates can be higher in certain markets during busy hours. Click here to see the rates in your Doordash market.

That said, it’s also important to consider additional costs that might crop up for you as a Dasher. First, it’s important to remember that you’re a contractor, not a full-time employee – that means taxes are entirely your responsibility, and ignoring them can be quite costly.

Other costs you’ll want to consider are gas and insurance.

Does The DoorDash Delivery Fee Go To The Driver?

Generally, no. The delivery fee is part of DoorDash’s revenue stream. As already described, Dashers receive a pay boost, though Door Dash is somewhat mum on the specifics of where the money is drawn from.

How Do I Become a DoorDash Driver?

To work with DoorDash, you need to be eighteen years of age or older, own an iPhone or Android device, and be willing to volunteer your social security number and submit to a background check.

Unlike many other delivery services, DoorDash does not require its employees to own a car, and no vehicle inspection is required.

What’s Required To Become A DoorDash Driver?

Depending on where a Dasher is located, they may be able to use a motorcycle, bicycle, or scooter. In some scenarios, they may even be able to deliver on foot. DoorDash provides more information about the different vehicle types in each market on their website.

Note that you will be required to have an auto insurance policy, and DoorDash also provides its own commercial auto insurance policy covering up to $1,000,000 in bodily injury or property damage from accidents while on active delivery.

How Do I Start Delivering For DoorDash?

To sign up to become a DoorDash driver, simply click the button below to start your application.

 

How Do I Complete A Delivery Through DoorDash?

Generally speaking, there are two ways to deliver through the DoorDash app. The first is known as scheduled delivery. Though the interface is slightly different depending on your operating system, the basic steps remain the same between both iOS and Android.

First, open up your menu, and click on “Schedule.” On this page, you can see all available dashes and can sign up for whichever happen to catch your attention.

 

Once you’ve signed up for a Dash, you’ll see it at the bottom of your app’s homepage.

You can also Dash without using the Schedule. Open up the DoorDash map, and press “Dash Now.” Before hitting “Dash,” be sure to look at your map; if the area you’re in is gray or yellow, DoorDash does not require more dashers. If, on the other hand, it’s pink or red, that means more dashers are required.

 

Note that during breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there will almost always be work available for you. You can learn more by watching this video.

 

How Do I Get Paid Through DoorDash?

Configuring your payment information in DoorDash is relatively simple. From your smartphone, launch the Dasher app and navigate to the Earnings tab.

In the top right corner of your screen, you’ll see a red bank symbol – click on it, and fill out the following information:

• The name on the bank account you want to use
• Your Social Security Number
• Your bank’s routing number – you can generally find this by contacting your branch.
• Your bank’s account number. This can be found on a check, or through online banking.

From here, just tap Submit Bank Details. Verify that the information you’ve entered is correct, and you should be good to go.

 

Once you’ve made 25 deliveries and worked with DoorDash for two weeks, you’ll have access to a service known as Fast Pay. This allows you to cash out your earnings daily for a withdrawal fee of $1.99. To configure Fast Pay, navigate to the Earnings section of your app, and click on “Use Fast Pay.”

This will immediately transfer your earnings to the debit card you’ve configured with your account.

How Does the DoorDash Rating System Work?

DoorDash rates its employees (known as Dashers) based on three categories, each averaged from your 100 most recent deliveries. Each DoorDash market has a different minimum score for each of these ratings. Check on the DoorDash website to determine what the minimum is where you work.

Customer Rating is essentially what it sounds like. When a customer receives an order through DoorDash, they rate both the driver and the restaurant separately, giving each a score between one and five stars. The rating is only applied once it has been received, so a Dasher may see their overall score change long after they’ve completed a delivery.

If your Customer Rating drops too low, you may be removed as a Dasher.

Acceptance Rate measures how often you accept delivery opportunities you receive. When a delivery is assigned to you by DoorDash, it’s because you’re the best choice for the job. Consistently declining such orders leads to a low Acceptance Rate.

As with customer rating, if this gets too low, it can potentially impact your access to the platform.

Completion Rate is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the number of deliveries you have completed, divided by the number of deliveries you’ve accepted. Canceled orders count as completed deliveries for the purposes of this statistic.

Not surprisingly, it’s somewhat difficult to lower your completion rate. The only way to really do it is by removing yourself from a delivery after accepting it. It’s generally expected that you’ll cancel a delivery every now and then, so you needn’t stress too much if you need to ditch a job because of an emergency.

Acceptance Rate and Completion Rate are fairly easy to control. Accept the majority of the deliveries that come your way, and don’t cancel jobs once you’ve picked them up. Customer Rating can be a bit trickier.

To keep your customers happy and get your rating up, the most important thing is communication. Be friendly and personable, and always serve people with a smile. You might also consider texting your customers when you’re on the way – keep them up-to-date about where you are and what you’re doing.

Avoid accepting orders that are already late, and where possible, avoid contacting customers to ask for directions or further instructions on where to deliver their food. But most importantly, understand that sometimes, you’re going to get a low rating. Some people will be unpleasant to you through no fault of your own.

Don’t stress about that – as long as you’re pleasant, quick, and capable, you’ll be just fine.