DoorDash Driver Review: What It’s Like To Be A Dasher

My wife and I have a daughter in gymnastics. And if you know anything about gymnastics, you know it’s expensive and a major time commitment. I’m talking 4 hour practices, 4 days per week (crazy, I know). Couple that with the fact the gym is nearly an hour from the house and it’s the perfect storm.

So, to make better use of her time and to help offset the gymnastics bill, my wife decided to give DoorDash a try while hanging around during practice. She made $40 in a couple hours, got flustered, and never tried it again. But $20 per hour piqued my interest, so I signed up to be a Dasher.

In this article, I’ll review my experience driving for DoorDash, and explain why I believe it to be an awesome way to earn extra cash. Especially if you’ve got nothing but time to kill.

• What is a Dasher?
• How to become a Dasher
• How it works
• How much can you earn?
• Dasher stats and rating
• What I like about Dashing
• What I don’t like about Dashing
• Bottom line

What is a Dasher?

You’re probably familiar with DoorDash, the logistics platform that connects merchants and consumers for delivery of food, grocery, and household products. DoorDash’s marketplace allows consumers to purchase products from restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, etc… online for delivery to their front door.

DoorDash’s services benefit 4 parties:

1. Merchants: who sell more product, and offer at-home delivery without having to hire additional staff.
2. Consumers: who are able to order online and receive products not traditionally delivered to the home.
3. DoorDash: who takes a percentage of each transaction for facilitating the sale.
4. Dashers: DoorDash drivers who get paid to pick up and deliver products to the customer.

The Dasher is the delivery driver upon whom the entire process hinges. Without the Dasher, there is no DoorDash. Because nobody is going to pay to have Chipotle delivered to their house if it’s never actually delivered to their house.

The Dasher is the individual who receives the order, drives to the restaurant or store, picks up the items, and delivers it to the customer. While ordering takeout from DoorDash might seem magical because food somehow shows up at your front door, there is manpower involved. Much of which is on the Dasher.

How to become a Dasher

Becoming a Dasher is simple. You need to be 18 years old, have access to a vehicle, possess a driver’s license and Social Security number, and consent to a background check. You can sign-up online and be approved within hours.

The biggest caveat to becoming a Dasher is where you live. Because DoorDash isn’t available in every city and town across the US. For example, I live in the Cincinnati area where DoorDash is popular. I could dash every day if I wanted. But in my hometown of rural West Virginia, DoorDash isn’t an option.

So if you want to become a Dasher and earn extra money, you’ll need to live in a more populous, metro area.

How it works

Once approved as a Dasher, you then need to download the DoorDash Dasher app. The app is where you’ll receive orders, track earnings and payments, view your Dasher ratings, etc… The app will show if your area is busy in real-time, and if you’re able to dash.

Simply pull up the app on your mobile device, select the area you’d like to dash in, and start dashing.

Review the order

Orders will start popping up on your screen where you’re able to accept, decline, or ignore the order (let it expire). Typically, you have around 60 to 90 seconds to review an order before it expires.

Before accepting the order, you’re able to see:

1. How much the order pays
2. The restaurant or store you’ll be picking up from
3. Number of miles from the pickup location to the delivery address
4. Estimated duration in minutes to travel from the pickup location to the delivery address
5. A map showing the route from the store to the delivery location
6. If the order requires shopping (i.e. the Dasher pulls items off the shelf inside the store)
7. What time you need to deliver the order by

If you want to take the order, simply accept it and the app routes you to the pickup location.

Pick up the order

Upon arrival at the pickup location, you’ll use the app to indicate you’ve arrived. After doing so, the app will show you the order details, including:

1. Pick-up instructions (i.e. go inside and locate mobile order shelf, or pick-up in drive-thru)
2. First name on the order (or a customer number)
3. Items ordered and quantity of each
4. If drinks or desserts are included

If picking up from a restaurant, simply walk into the store and inform the individual at the counter that you’re there to pick-up a DoorDash order. The individual will ask you who the order is for, where you’ll state the customer’s name and/or number. A few minutes later, someone will bring you the order and you’re on your way.

Once you have the order, you’ll press a button in the app to indicate you’ve picked up the order and are in route. Updates are provided to the customer throughout the delivery in real-time.

You’re also able to converse with the customer via text or call. For example, you may inform the customer if the restaurant is running late in preparing the order.

Deliver the order

After acknowledging the order has been picked up, the app will route you to the delivery address. Simply drive to the address and deliver the order. The app is intuitive, and will estimate your arrival time. Remember, you need to deliver the order by the specified time in order to maintain a high on-time delivery rating (more on this later).

After arriving at the location, the app will prompt you to complete the delivery steps. After clicking the prompt, delivery instructions will be presented to you (i.e. leave on the front porch, hand it to me, or please don’t knock baby is sleeping).

If it’s a contactless delivery, the app will prompt you to take a picture of the order on the porch (or wherever it instructed you to place it). Snap a photo, click complete delivery, and receive your payment.

The total amount paid will pop up on screen as soon as you’ve clicked complete delivery. The app breaks down how much you were tipped and the DoorDash flat payment. Earnings are deposited into your bank account weekly.

Rinse and repeat for as long as your area is busy.

How much can you earn?

In my experience, Dashers can expect to earn around $16 to $18 per hour. Of course, this varies based on geographic location and time of day, but this is the amount I earn on average.

When I dash, my goal is to earn $30 then go home. I can typically accomplish this within 2 hours by delivering 3 to 4 orders. Sometimes I earn right at $30, but other times I earn closer to $50. In reality, I can earn as much as I like depending on how long I want to dash. Assuming it stays fairly busy in my area.

It’s important to note, the majority of a Dasher’s pay is based on tip. If you frequently order food via DoorDash and are a good tipper, your Dasher thanks you. DoorDash itself pays very little to Dashers, usually $1 to $3 per order. Their flat fee varies based on how busy it is.

For example, DoorDash may incentivize Dashers on Super Bowl Sunday by offering $3 per order because fewer Dashers are available to work, and lots of people are ordering takeout.

If you’re looking for an easy side hustle to earn an extra $300+ per month, driving for DoorDash is a fantastic option.

Dasher stats and rating

As a Dasher, you’ll want to frequently review your Ratings within the Dasher app. The app tracks and displays the following info:

1. Customer Rating: customers rate (optional) their Dasher experience based on a 1 to 5 star rating.
2. Acceptance Rate: percentage of orders you’ve accepted, calculated as orders accepted divided by total orders received.
3. Completion Rate: percentage of orders completed out of those accepted.
4. On time or early: percentage of orders delivered on time or early.
5. Lifetime Deliveries: total number of dashes completed.

To remain eligible as a Dasher, drivers must maintain a Customer Rating of 4.2 or higher. If you receive a bad rating and believe it to be no fault of your own, you can dispute the rating with DoorDash.

Your Acceptance Rate, Completion Rate, and On time percentage play a role in determining the orders you receive. If you maintain high ratings, you’ll earn the title of Top Dasher, which means you’ll be granted first option on premium/high paying orders. So it pays to do a good job.

What I like about Dashing

What I like about being a Dasher is that it’s super easy. It’s not overly stressful or awkward picking up and delivering food, in spite of what you may think. I was a little nervous for the first few, but after delivering a couple I became more comfortable. You can earn a decent amount within a short period of time, and each order is like its own little mission.

Actually, I find it kind of exciting to watch the orders come in and strategize on whether I should take it or leave it for something more lucrative. I also find myself calculating dollars per mile in my head, which I now won’t take anything that pays less than $1 per mile.

Then there’s the coveted order that’s in route to your home, and takes you most of the way there. Or as my dad likes to say, no dead-heading. I love catching that last order for the night which is already headed in the direction I want to go. Voila!

But my favorite thing about dashing is taking my 12 year old son with me. He earns 15% commission for tagging along and helping out. And it’s a great opportunity to talk and bond as father and son. It sure beats sitting around the house watching YouTube or doing nothing.

So if you’ve got nothing to do on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon, it can be quite enjoyable driving for DoorDash. Grab your son or daughter, earn an extra buck or two, and become a Dasher.

Or if you’re a college student needing to make some quick cash, drive for DoorDash. I wish I’d of had the same opportunity when I was younger!

What I don’t like about Dashing

Honestly, there’s not a lot I don’t like about being a Dasher. Most times, how much you earn is based on time of day, day of week, number of Dashers on the road, and plain old luck.

There are times when I’ve had to wait at a restaurant for 15 minutes because the food wasn’t ready. Had I passed on that order in lieu of another one, I could’ve earned more money. But you can’t know that before accepting the order.

I’ve also accepted an order and arrived at the restaurant, only to be told they couldn’t prepare it because they were out of an ingredient. Even so, DoorDash still paid me a guaranteed amount, though it was lower than the original order. So it wasted a bit of my time, but these instances are few and far between.

Then there are those who order through DoorDash with the sole purpose of trying to get a free meal. For instance, a customer may indicate they’d like the Dasher to hand them their food. But when I arrive with it, they text me and say to leave it at my door.

When that happens, the app makes the Dasher attempt to contact the customer, stay onsite for 5 minutes, then snap a photo of the order on the porch. However, at the same time, the customer is literally texting me and asking me to leave.

In instances like these, it’s probably the customer trying to game the system for a free meal from DoorDash, and claiming the Dasher messed up the order. Personally, I’ve never been negatively impacted or reprimanded by DoorDash, but other Dashers haven’t been so lucky.

Bottom line

Driving for DoorDash can be an excellent way to earn extra cash, especially if you have spare time and live in a busy area. With flexible hours and straightforward requirements, becoming a Dasher is simple. The app provides all the necessary information for each delivery, allowing you to review orders, pick them up with ease, and deliver them to customers.

While there are some challenges, such as occasional wait times and customers attempting to exploit the system, the overall experience is enjoyable. Not only does DoorDash provide an opportunity to make money, but it also offers a chance to bond with loved ones.

If you’re looking for a side hustle that offers flexibility and decent earnings, driving for DoorDash is definitely worth considering.