What: DoorDash is a food delivery service that asks independent contractors to use their car, gas and time to get as little as $1 plus tip.
Expected pay: $5 – $12 per hour
Husl $core: $$
Where:
Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas / Ft. Worth, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Orange County, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose / Silicon Valley, SF East Bay, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C, San Antonio, and Nashville, as well as some cities in Canada
Requirements:
- Drivers must be 18 or older
- Drivers cannot have any major violations in the last 7 years,
- Must pass a criminal background check and an individualized assessment.
Review:
The big problem with delivery services — and Door Dash exemplifies the rule — is you have to deal with traffic, parking and pay for your own gas and car maintenance for a small amount of money.
This is particularly true since DoorDash revised its pay model. The new pay model is that you get $1 + “your effort” + tip. The only guarantee is you’ll earn at least $5 per delivery. The previous model was that drivers got $5, plus tip. If there are not a lot of deliveries in a tight geographic area — or you have to wait for the order to be filled — the chance of getting close to their promised “up to $20 per hour” is nil.
Moreover, the company sells you — doesn’t give you — the uniform and gear that they want you to wear. It’s $4 for a t-shirt; $12 for a pizza bag and $14 for a catering bag.
The site got a $$ rating (rather than our bottom rung of $) mainly because it has a second service called DoorDash Drive that guarantees somewhat better pay for bigger orders. But to qualify, you need to have at least two catering bags. These orders are likely to take more time, however. You may need to help set up. So expect that there’s little opportunity to do more than one per hour.
You may be better off working with Caviar, Grub Hub, Favor Delivery or Deliv.
What their drivers say:
(These reviews from Indeed.com are edited solely for grammar, clarity and space.)
“I have been dashing with Doordash since February 2017. When I started, it was a fair pay with their flat delivery fee of $5 paid for the driver plus tips. Now after almost 2 months with the new pay model and I am receiving way less money than before. Here’s an example of how the new pay model works;
You receive an order worth $7. That $7 is calculated as the total worth of the job completed. So, if customer tips you $2, Doordash will pay $5 in addition to make it total of $7. If customer tips you $6, Doordash will pay $1 in addition the tip to make it $7. What Doordash promises is $1+your effort+100% tips. It doesn’t matter whether you drive 1 block with no pickup waiting time or 10 miles with 1 hour waiting time, you’ll be paid by Doordash based on how much tip you received. The amount you see on the screen upon order acceptance is the total amount Doordash calculates the is job worth.”
“Can be good on a busy day or night, but some days are much much slower. One day I worked a half an hour and got 15 dollars which is awesome, but another day I worked for 4 hours and got 2 deliveries and only 12 dollars. Also you are NEVER compensated for the gas you use and are often found (depending on your location) having to pay for parking. You are NOT paid for the time you work so when restaurants are slow with deliveries, you are losing money.”
“When I first started dashing, it seemed great. They offered hourly minimums, incentives, and I was my own boss. But things changed quickly. When you run into problems due to the company’s negligence (app crashing, restaurant doesn’t accept cards, etc.), YOU will pay for it. They also took away hourly minimums with NO notice and replaced them with “peak hours” where you can make a minimum (significantly less) per hour if you meet a number of requirements. It has become more trouble than it’s worth, and I regret the time I gave it.”