DoorDash Dasher Pros & Cons (2024)

[@YourDriverMike]

⚡Watch a DoorDash shift here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJiQkIh_iMiVobs ➡Learn more about DashLink here: kzbin.info9mNmLxhTjxE?feature=share ➡Gold vs Silver Dashing (my experience): kzbin.info/www/bejne/i53ceWx9oNlpmNE

[@josealcantar9671]

"Independent" when you get deactivated for any piece of sheet reason

[@ebonitalks]

My biggest pro ~ Being able to work on my own schedule. My biggest con ~ Being able to work on my own schedule. 😂😂 Truth

[@gio2062]

You not wrong 😂

[@LawPope]

True dat

[@YourDriverMike]

Similar to what I do here on KZbin lol being self employed is GREAT but sometimes you really feel the fact that you're the only one that's peddling or the 'bike' goes nowhere haha for my situation I am looking to build out my team further to help with workflow. You also don't want to overwork which isn't healthy as well!

[@clarktownsend8991]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@theessentials450]

the only downside is cold weather.

[@joanneglispie9394]

I am a platinum dasher and 90% of my orders are shop & deliver. I had to drop the shop & deliver option today Bear I am sick and tired of the people placing these ridiculously large orders and NOT TIPPING! This customer broke me today with the multiple packs of water, gallons of milk, whatever huge items she could think of and not tip. I’m going back to restaurant deliveries for a while.

[@FourHorsemenApocalypse]

not tipping seems like the norm

[@mng519]

Go back to restaurant deliveries PERMANANTLY! You'll thank yourself and me later! Best thing I ever did!!!

[@stevewoodyt]

Try shipt for shopping. Target is actively ruining it but there are still some customers left who appreciate what we are doing.

[@nocturnus6]

My red card expired so I can't do shop and deliver right now. Even a week before my card expired I wasn't getting any shop and deliver, which is highly unusual. Is it because DD knew my card was expiring soon? I ordered a red card that should be here next week. I don't miss the shopping, and I'm making about the same amount of money without them. I will go back to shopping when I get the new red card, but it sure is nice to get a break and see how much I make without S&D. If I see an order has a case of water or any other heavy items, I reassign the order through chat so it doesn't affect my completion rate. I just wanted to add, I'm surprised that 90% of your orders are shop and deliver. That seems odd. What's going on there? Maybe you are prioritized for shop and deliver. I am prioritized and I really don't see a lot of them, maybe a few per day.

[@YourDriverMike]

I hear you, when S&D first really hit Pittsburgh I got nothing but S&D like 80% of my requests. Thankfully I have Dasher Preferences now and turned them off. When I turned it back on a few days ago? Nonstop S&D deliver again. Now not all are bad but some I just know the shop time won't be worth it. The short Dollar General ones I can do

[@MichaelRoyal]

I enjoy DD. Made $70 in 2 hrs this morning. Don't make that much all the time, but happens enough to make it worth it for me. Currently 4117 orders delivered.

[@YourDriverMike]

Great job on the 4k+ plus orders!

[@Notlimitgg]

Lol

[@stephenjohnson5589]

I love being self employed as a gig worker. It’s my favorite type of work.

[@YourDriverMike]

It's a pretty cool earnings option!

[@mng519]

$114.75 in 3 hours tonight!! Multi-apping!........Why in the world do the commercials show the dasher giving the customer the insulated bag to keep?! I'd be like "Now how the heck am I gonna insulate the next delivery?!

[@YourDriverMike]

That's DoorDash's OWN b-roll (cut away footage) lol I'm thinking guys let's not do that? haha like I get they want to keep the branding but that can definitely confuse some Dashers. That b-roll is going to be used in many places (it's for media outlets and probably used by their own marketing team). It's completely okay to show a generic food bag being handed over

[@rolandosalas5130]

You not supposed to give the customer your bag honestly tbe bad sucks keeps it warm for the drive unless you just cut your ac off its better but the steam causes the food to get soggy i never use that bag especially pizza makes tbe pizza nasty and gross

[@stephenjohnson5589]

I’ve had jobs when my paycheck was late or short changed (wage theft). These gig apps pay out weekly and with the exception of the occasional holiday they are paid on time. That’s a great peace of mind.

[@YourDriverMike]

May be surprised to hear I used to work for a start up company when I first moved to San Diego, the company went under and wasn't able to pay us for the last like 4 weeks. Crazy situation that caused me to be late on rent one month. CEO never did pay us back (labor dept shut it down)

[@Budsandsuds75]

The freedom of not worrying about levels is key for new drivers.

[@YourDriverMike]

Levels like Dasher Rewards? When do you think Dashers should attempt DR or is it not worth it?

[@Budsandsuds75]

@@YourDriverMike I was a platinum dasher twice in less of two months experience so far with DoorDash. The app makes you think that the only way to get good orders is doing crappy orders. That’s not true in my experience. Yes I don’t make the hourly rate on off hours but when it’s dinner rush. I wait by the most popular pizza place that’s busy and I get offers that are as good or better than platinum level drivers My theory is that there are so many good offers that are sent to everyone doordashing that platinum drivers accepted all the banner offers and leave the really good offers for the low er ar people still close.

[@stephenjohnson5589]

I had a DoorDash customer contact me asking where the order was that I delivered. He claimed I didn’t deliver but I had proof that I did. I never heard from him again after I showed the proof.

[@YourDriverMike]

Sometimes they may be expecting a drop off in a certain place versus what we expect so "drop off at garage" but the Dasher leaves it at the front door instead etc. Then of course there's the false 'order never arrived'

[@stephenjohnson5589]

I’m making my income goals and since I included more groceries orders I’m doing even better than I was over the past few years.

[@YourDriverMike]

Excellent!

[@nataliealford6277]

Beginner: Because I am still a "schedule" only, the only times available is 12a - 4a. There's nothing open in that time frame here. I am in a tiny town, so it DOES depend on your city size too. Only made $12 in three days. :( Signed up for Spark, 3 mo min wait list here. Next town over is 1hr 45 min away. *sigh* just gonna find a PT job instead.

[@Nizzey215]

You have to schedule 6 days out that means go all the way to the right on your schedule and the last two days on the right you won't be able to schedule( unless you're gold or platinum) but the third day to the right you'll be able to start scheduling supposedly for the whole time allotted in your area. So that means you'll actually be scheduled for a day you will do in 6 days. And if you're not in any program the scheduling starts at 12:00 a.m. at night. So that means you'll have to set your alarm for 12:00 a.m. to get the best shot at scheduling 6 days out. If you reply to this post I'll answer your questions.

[@nocturnus6]

@@Nizzey215 I have to schedule at midnight now that we have the rewards program. So far it's not a problem, I can schedule the hours I want 5 days out at midnight. I noticed that scheduling is not a sure thing in the larger towns around me. If an zone is a hot area, it's harder to schedule. There's one area in particular that is known to have great orders, it wasn't even listed last night at midnight, so every hour had been taken. I am moving near Houston Texas at some point, and I'm wondering if I will need at least Silver Tier so I can schedule early.

[@nataliealford6277]

@@Nizzey215 there's zero times 6 days out currently. got an email from DD saying that my area is currently saturated with drivers. Would have appreciated this email before i signed up. At least Spark will tell you there's a wait list.

[@zaneps151]

Really the biggest con is that your car will only last a handful of years before you have to get a different one

[@fufuraar]

If you are worrying about the car won't last you 2-4+ years, than this type of work is not for you. Cars will depreciate no matter if you drive it or not. Better to go make money with it and save up. When the day come and the car has no more life left, you have the money saved to buy another car. Rinse and repeat.

[@zaneps151]

@@fufuraar unless you have next to no bills and don’t have a family to take care of, there is no way you’ll save up enough money to buy a reliable car that doesn’t already have a lot of miles on it that’ll last even less than the previous car unless you get extremely lucky This kind of work isn’t meant for a long term career and that’s just a fact

[@fufuraar]

@@zaneps151 Well to be fair, you were talking about car and that what my comment was about and it is still valid. Whether an individual can live off of gig work is based on their situation and how they manage their finances and what they are working on to move forward. Let be real here. Sure doing gig work is not a career but so is many 9-5 jobs that people take and depend on as well. By the time you see growth, you will be old enough wanting to retire but can't or be near your expiration. Some doing gig work as a supplement or full-time does it for the extra income or does it for the flexible schedule to work on other things that they can build upon. If you have trouble with bills and family to support, you shouldn't be in gig work by itself. You will need to do gig work + something else and use whatever time you have available to work on improving yourself for better life.

[@YourDriverMike]

Yes I get it, in that case I'd reserve your gig driving to 10 hours a week or less. Look for shorter high margin shifts and really target the absolute highest times/apps to drive. Minimize commuting miles (always a best practice) and this will add a lot less miles per year

[@fufuraar]

@@YourDriverMike My area there is no specific time and either will be hit or miss. 10 hours a week or less won't work for me. I do this full time now (at least 10 hrs a day) as I quit my job that I hated for years. I used to commute 100 miles total to and from work for 10+ hours (9 work hrs + commuting). I like the flexibility that this give me to work on something during the daytime to hopefully better my future. I don't have a family to support anymore and just rent, two dogs, car note and some bills. If it does not work out, oh well... at least I tried.

[@JamesDavisMakes]

Might be worth highlighting in a future video: I just got invites from both Walmart Spark and Amazon Flex, literally both on Wednesday. My markets being San Francisco and Los Angeles. I've been on their waitlists for god almost a year now. Spark specifically sent me a text mentioning that they're ramping up recruitment for the holidays, "seasonal increase in offer volume." This text was deemed spam by my phone and I almost missed it 😅 So yeah, hopefully means more folks will get signed up soon!

[@trevornater]

I got the same texts in Dallas

[@YourDriverMike]

Appreciate you sharing James and for being a Team VIP! Getting off the Flex waitlist is pretty solid they're one of the most backed up apps. Both however are tricky with profit margins so make sure to watch some of my videos about what to expect because both have challenges. Still good to have options though

[@JamesDavisMakes]

@@YourDriverMike Of course! Honestly after watching all your coverage on them, I think I'm more excited getting off the wishlists than actually doing Spark and Flex haha If I end up recording a First Shift I'll send it your way!

[@gailstclair198]

Ever since my market place went to the silver, gold, platinum program about one year ago. DD has been AWFUL in my area. I will have a 2 hour scheduled block and MAYBE get 2 offers. I multiapp and hope for $50 in a 2-3 hr shift.

[@YourDriverMike]

Which market? I will say it is more challenging than 2018/2019 when it was easy money with high Peak Pay. Then another boom during the pandemic with tons and tons of deliveries because of closures

[@gailstclair198]

Santa Rosa CA. Rarely see peak pay (if there is, it’s late at night); I bought a catering bag over a year ago and have never had a catering offer. I have almost 4000 deliveries. I’ll never get platinum because I don’t get enough offers. I started late December 2021. I miss the “old days”. Haha.

[@GoFastJames]

I found that at first the program levels made a difference, then a week ago I went back to cherry picking to single digits and it seems we still can get many good offers. That would been platinum offers and so on. Down side is you have to figure out what your ok with taking, go too high end up sitting around doing nothing. I found that doing per hr works the best, and not just me. Best to find an area that pays the best hr rate. And if you know the times you find your self waiting in line or getting far orders so on, its way better to do per hr.

[@DavidMontgomery-q1n]

1 thing that I have say. I am a platinum dasher. I received Several offers today for under $5 that said platinum status offer. Yes, there were several that were supposedly less than 1.5 miles away if there wouldn’t have been mapping issues that tell you to turn and and you can’t because turn is no longer there or for road construction. Not only that, I was sent an order that paid $2 no tip. Is that really what platinum drivers should be getting ever. Still got to dash to make the money though

[@YourDriverMike]

Exactly why I didn't love Silver and Gold, I got high paying offers but you must maintain that AR so when they send you $4.50 for 1.2 miles like well I guess it's high paying I guess I'll take it

[@nocturnus6]

@@YourDriverMike $4.50 for 1.2 miles is a good order in this area. I'd take those all day. I would hit platinum pretty quick if I was in your area.

[@timothybrown3150]

No one should crank for $2 I just started this week but have done ok. That's crazy sending out $2 offers to anyone at any level in my humble opinion..🤔

[@mlmMorabito]

I drive 15 hrs a week average 200 to 300$

[@FourHorsemenApocalypse]

thats terrible

[@YourDriverMike]

On the lower end $200 for 15 hours is $13.33/hr, $300 is $20/hr. I'd encourage you to aim for minimum $16-$17/hr gross, that's before taxes so in actuality after taxes and expenses it's like $12-$14/hr (estimating). Point being we want $17-$20+/hr gross (before taxes and expenses) ideally $20-$25/hr gross.

[@mlmMorabito]

@@YourDriverMike i wish that's what i was making a year ago i was making that but it's a small market and dd oversaturated this market earlier this year ..lots of idiots will take anything

[@bruknorx]

I dash out in the east suburbs of PGH out of Monroeville. More often than not, I'm taking food into the Greensburg zone or way out by murrysville past export. Sure it a 12 dollar order or more, but that dead time and dead miles driving back...ugh. Kills me

[@fufuraar]

Dashing around my area is not great but it is also not that bad. I am able to maintain $1.2-$1.4/mile and $20-$22/hr. Some days I may get lucky and make $24+/hr. Have been Top Dasher and Platinum since my honeymoon stage and only lost it like couple to few times but I get back to Platinum by end of my shift or I keep going until I do Lol, at about 2800 deliveries so far. I try to maintain Platinum as possible because I want to Dash whenever I want and not have to schedule.

[@YourDriverMike]

I like the hourly so you're getting high paying offers, would like the dollars per mile up a little at least $1.50 but I'm thinking your market is more spread out so more driving?

[@fufuraar]

@@YourDriverMike Not really high paying offers. I usually take offers that many don't take but they are not too bad, ie. $8-13 for 5-10 miles and etc. I may get lucky with 2-3 great offers but since I know I may not get it, I don't want to waste my time and rather just do $10 for 7 miles type, knock them out and get it over with. Yes, I am one of those delivery drivers that'll take ridiculous offers here and there just to help my AR and let the algo know I am here to drive and hoping to get better offers after few bad ones. I am not going to ruin my chance to do this whenever I want without scheduling by declining $5 for 5 miles type of offer. :/ Yesterday I thought I may end my night shift with less than $150, goal between $150-$200, since it started off not encouraging. I ended my night with $263.04 10 half hours and $1.3/miles. I usually do my goal + extra for gas. You just need the mental capacity to do it and may work out in the end.

[@b1ggun432]

i make 200$ a day on average as a platnum status dasher i try to stay in between 75-85% acceptance rate cuz when u think about it sometimes when u accept a crapy offer they may add on another delivery more to make it better from what ive noticed but 30% of the time i decline the lower or just the really bad ones that take me out of the zone

[@ChinitFxt]

I do 6 hours on Saturday and Sunday I make an $200+

[@eddievannewkirk4458]

seems like way too many junk orders like 2-5 dollars for $1 per mile and that's including tip, customers should also be able to get rated by drivers based on tip, proper delivery instructions, how easy the place is to find etc. It could just be for dashers to view before excepting their offer and might be an incentive for customers to make it easier for their drivers and possibly get them to tip better. If door dash lets them know their rating may affect their wait times or something.

[@boomn216]

I got a new phone number and now I can't dash anymore so they deactivated me. Miss doing it.

[@LorenaC78]

I’ve hated doordashing ever since the new levels program came into effect. I was doing OK when I was on silver level, getting well paid deliveries but then my acceptance rate fell to 40% because I refuse to do deliveries such as $2.75 for nine miles. Occasionally I’ll attempt to DoorDash in my area (Tampa Bay) at 40% acceptance rate and it feels like I get a lot of the crappy ones other people decline.

[@nocturnus6]

Seems you should get some good orders if you just wait it out, just keep declining. It works out that way in this area. Of course, each area is different. This is a small town. Dashing kinda sucks here for a lot of reasons, so it discourages most people. I bet the platinum drivers are getting the same crappy orders you are getting. Almost sounds like there's a lack of good orders in your area. But anyway, the rewards program has made things worse for a lot of dashers. It's not something you can rely on anymore.

[@LorenaC78]

@@nocturnus6 the problem is, the more I decline the crappy orders, the more I’ll see I’ll see my acceptance rate go down and getting it back up to 50% is a struggle. Quality of orders in my area was much better when I had silver level but now it’s really bad. I’m not prepared to take the $2.75 for nine miles type of orders just to get my acceptance rate back up so I’m considering not doing DoorDash any more. I totally agree with you that this new system has made Doordashing so much worse.

[@nocturnus6]

@@LorenaC78 Sounds like acceptance rate really matters there. I wonder how anyone manages to keep gold or platinum in that market, trying to stay at that level must be awful. Getting to the higher tiers must be quite a task. Just sounds like a really bad zone. Have you talked to any gold or platinum dashers in your area? I'd like to know what kind of orders they are getting. Also, have you tried earn by time? That might be the better choice there.

[@LorenaC78]

@@nocturnus6yes it seems like a bad area but it’s surprising because it’s a very middle class area and you’d think people would tip well. The area in question is Palm Harbor. I haven’t met anyone who’s at the higher tiers but you’re right in that getting to the higher tiers and staying there is pretty hard. I’ve never wanted to try earn by time as it’s usually offered at $12-$13 per hour and on a good day I can make an average of $20 per hour on earn per delivery.

[@nocturnus6]

@@LorenaC78 Middle class people are often times living at their means, so they are always trying to pinch pennies. Maybe you could try earn by time just to get your acceptance rate up to gold or platinum, that way you can see if the higher tier levels are worth it. If those don't work, then I guess it's a bust. Sounds like your are able to dash now and schedule, so it must not be saturated with dashers, which is good of course.

[@sportsrule193]

Do you prioritize dollar per mile or money per hour? Like I can make close 20 per hour on EBT but the two bigger shifts I’ve done have been barely over $1 per mile. Just trying to get AR up

[@lolaking01]

How do you see the miles? My app doesn’t show them :/

[@jameslapicola8370]

I am in LV and tipping, where you think it would be common has become mostly extinct. Unbelievable what these cheap customers have become. Is anyone else experiencing this?

[@ranelgallardo7031]

Well if you have a W2 job + DoorDashing you don’t have to worry about too much taxes right

[@ericberry6557]

What is this warehouse location going to be with dash link and what is the retailer going to be

[@YourDriverMike]

The warehouse location varies by market, just depends on where they decide to make it within your city. Retail deliveries are either Shop & Deliver or just pickup/deliver. I've done some at Sephora here in Pittsburgh

[@ericberry6557]

@@YourDriverMike I'm wonder what are the warehouse gonna be. Is this gonna be amazon outsourcing

[@rgboyte]

Wow !😮

[@Lemondrop1990]

When you want is misleading though...considering you need to be platinum to do as such.

[@jerseys89finest]

Is everyone would've jus said yes to the prop 22 or ab5 stuff. Whatever is called. Everyone would've been independent and got extra checks end of every week that the companies had to pay. No one in Cali is an employee

[@ZKK01]

I was top dasher and platinium for years but after the new tier programme my area is required %80AR.. i couldnt. I didnt accept too many very bad offers.. $1.000⬇️$250🔽$0 this week.. DD couldnt keep me in.. no profit, no promotions.. i dont like anymore..

[@chrisparker8683]

Not true being Platinum does not necessarily prioritize for hire offers I have been Platinum for several months now and still get two three and $4 offers on a daily basis

[@MissingGimmiesGolf]

Should I get the dasher red card? Is it really worth having that?

[@MissingGimmiesGolf]

I do DD and GH so should I get both driver cards?

[@salimtalib9037]

Hey Mike, thank you for all of your info sharing. Do know of a phone number that I can call to directly speak to a “HUMAN BEING” at DoorDash?🙂

[@3svtcobra]

U can decline all u want but u didn’t mention they punish u by pausing your dash after every decline after declining certain amount of orders 😂

[@stephenjohnson5589]

$500 to $600 a week

[@datmixednut1254]

All those taxes to be a slave to earn high school 😂 and your vehicle suffers