DoorDash: How to Become a Delivery Driver

What is DoorDash?

DoorDash is a delivery service that enlists freelance drivers to pick up and deliver restaurant meals to patrons.

How it works

To deliver for DoorDash, you need to be 18 (or 19 in some states); a vehicle, which could be a car, bike or scooter; a Social Security number; a driver’s license or other form of I.D. and a smart phone.

If you want to sign up to drive, you simply download the app and fill out the short application. You don’t need experience nor a nice car. In fact. you can deliver with a bike or a scooter, if you want to.

It typically takes about two days to get approved to drive. If it’s taking longer, check your application status in the app to make sure that there’s not outstanding questions that need to be answered.

DoorDash Review:

DoorDash is one of a dozen big national delivery services that enlists freelancers to deliver food to nearby customers.

The advantage of this site (and many like it) is that you can work whenever you want and there are precious few requirements. You don’t need experience. You don’t need a nice or late model car. In fact, you don’t need a car at all.

You will need to pass a background check and you need to be at least 18 years old, or 19, if you’re in Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, or West Virginia.

If you want to work, you flip on your app. When you have something else to do, you click it off. Your hours are completely up to you.

But the flip side to that scheduling freedom is that you have little control over anything else. Whether you get work; how much work you get; and how much you get paid is all up to DoorDash. Here’s why

Dashing

When you flip on the app, DoorDash will start sending you delivery orders. Each order says what you’re picking up, where and where it’s going. It also says how much the company is paying as a delivery fee and the amount the consumer is tipping. The delivery fee and the consumer’s tip is the compensation you get for completing that order.

Theoretically, you can accept or reject any offer. DoorDash doesn’t officially require Dashers to accept anything. However, the site does track your acceptance rate. And it says that “consistently declining offers…creates a negative experience for other Dashers, customers and the restaurants.” In other words, the company won’t say not to do that, but it prefers that you don’t do that. And there’s an implication that if you do decline orders, something bad will happen. But DoorDash won’t say what or whether that’s true.

Legally speaking…

Why the double-speak? Because DoorDash is walking a legal tightrope. The company needs to make the case that you are working for yourself and control what orders you accept or decline. As a self-employed delivery person, you get to decide whether a delivery is worth your time. Minimum wage laws do not apply.

DoorDash maintains that it is merely a conduit between you — the self employed delivery business person — and the restaurant/customer, who want to enjoy delivery services, without hiring a dedicated delivery driver.

However, if DoorDash compelled you to take any order it sent you, it could teeter into the realm of being an “employer,” which would force the company to pay you at least minimum wage for every hour you work.

(The determination of who is an employee and who isn’t is complicated. It’s all based on who has the most control in the relationship. This quiz can help you see how it’s decided.)

Dasher ratings

What DoorDash can say is that you need to maintain at least a minimum rating in order to continue delivering through the service. This minimum rating is comprised of a customer rating of no less than 4.2 (out of 5); and a 90% or above “completion rate.” The completion rate reflects the percentage of gigs that you complete after accepting them. There are two other elements in the rating formula — the “acceptance rate” and the “on-time/early” rate. Neither has a specific value that’s required.

However, in its examples, DoorDash shows 90% to 100% acceptance rates and provides a vast array of information about how to boost your acceptance rate, even though there’s no official minimum acceptance rate.

What you earn

Not surprisingly, Dashers maintain that the company pressures them to accept pretty much any offer — even when the pay is not worth their time. The site says its delivery fee is calculated based on the distance between the pick-up and delivery, as well as whether the delivery is being made during high-demand hours. However, the delivery fee is often modest — $2 to $5.

What makes deliveries worthwhile are tips. And, where tips were generous during the Covid years, they’ve become less so, making it tougher for Dashers to earn more than minimum wage. This has sparked a raft of complaints among drivers, who believe that DoorDash needs to hike its delivery fees to make the job worthwhile.

However, you do see the total pay for the delivery before you accept it.

Other details of driving for DoorDash

The site 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, since you may need to help set up. So expect that there’s little opportunity to do more than one per hour.

Getting paid

Dashers have several ways to get paid. The standard option is to get paid once a week via direct deposit. However,  Dashers working in the U.S., can get paid instantly by signing up for DasherDirect, which is a pre-paid Visa card that is loaded with your pay within hours of marking a delivery complete.

For anyone who occasionally runs short of cash, this fast-paying option is worth setting up in advance.

Recommendations

Food delivery can be a decent side hustle, if you’re willing to pick and choose between the offers presented. Although DoorDash discourages it, we’d suggest that you decline offers that aren’t worth your time. You can sign up with DoorDash here.

You have the right to work for the company’s competitors — even while you’re delivering for DoorDash. We’d suggest that you do. Sign up for all the site’s competitors, including GrubHub, and Uber Eats. And only take the offers that are worthwhile.

You may also want to check out package delivery with Amazon Flex. The site pays by the delivery block, promising a set amount of pay for delivery of a set amount of packages. Drivers for Flex typically earn between $18 and $25 per hour.

What their drivers say:(from Indeed)

Things will start out great. You’ll make good money. But then they start giving you low $ orders. If you don’t do them, that hurts your acceptance rate, which means more low $ orders. The service is absolutely pathetic.

Door dash at one time was a good place for income. Unfortunately they have made so many changes in the last 2 years that it has become horrible. You typically never make more than 15 hourly anymore, even if you are a top dasher and get their supposed top orders. Don’t get me wrong you can make more than this at certain times. But if you’re trying to make a full income off of this you will not end up making a good hourly rate. Don’t forget the wear and tear, maintenance, and gas for your vehicle.

You used to be able to make decisions about where you were willing to work and who you were willing to work with, but a lot of that functionality was removed, and you have to pretty much take everything, even when it costs you money to complete a delivery.

Not worth it

It’s almost impossible to make minimum wage doing this. The app cares more about forcing drivers to accept every order than anything else, including actually doing what customers pay them to do.

You can work and schedule the hours you want but with Doordash offering $3 per delivery and tips it’s not worth the wear and tear on your car. Pay needs to be raised.

Overall great gig job for a few extra bucks. Flexible, easy, fun, some good days some not so good. Unfortunately you do have to spend a lot on gas and car maintenance.

Be Prepared to lose money. Not worth time or gas. Over saturated with drivers. Poor pay. Terrible company. Don’t bother. They don’t care about you or your car.

Tips make it worthwhile

Overall, I recommend this to anyone as a side hustle. Doordash base pay is honestly trash without promotions but the tips always make it worth it if you get someone willing to give you a good tip. You can always deny an order before taking it so you know if someone tipped well or not before you accept the order

The best part about this job is working only when you want, but the pay is not worth it unless you get a good tip.

*Updated 12/4/2024