I tried driving for DoorDash — my first impressions
Driving for DoorDash is an easy way to make some decent money in your spare time, but you need to approach it in an intelligent way to make it worth your while.
This is what I learned last week when I tried driving for the app maker for the first time.
First, let’s get to the why.
Keeping busy
People who know me might wonder about my reasoning for taking a crack at food delivery.
I make great money at my 9-to-5, and my other side hustles — writing on this platform, affiliate marketing, passive income investing — are really starting to take off.
The thing is, at my core, I’m a really restless person. I have undiagnosed ADHD, which means I’m not great at sitting on the couch — or sitting still in any way, shape or form, really.
I need to keep busy and keep my brain active and engaged, otherwise it will push me toward less healthy alternatives. My trap is alcohol, which I quit 45 days ago.
I also do enjoy making money.
Do I need the money from DoorDash deliveries? No, not necessarily, but I also feel that, with a likely recession on the horizon, it would be nice to have some extra cash on hand to start snapping up some dividend-paying stocks and create more passive cashflow should the market continue to tank. The best time to buy stocks is at the bottom of a recession.
Again, idle time is not great for me either.
So, putting it all together, I thought: how can I fill any spare hours that I might have with something productive and engaging and maybe make a buck or two along the way?
If I could reach what DoorDash said drivers in my area make ($26 per hour) that would be $26 I didn’t have an hour before.
I like driving around listening to music, and this would give me a novel income source when I needed a break from writing.
Opportunity knocks
I had signed up maybe six months ago to the app’s waiting list for drivers, and it just happened that a slot became available at the perfect time for me.
Having just quit alcohol and caffeine, I had a lot more positive, consistent energy on my hands.
I got my notification on Sept. 3 that the spot was open. I signed up and consented to a background check, which cleared in about three days.
I was ready to go.
But for some reason, I just … didn’t.
I was keeping myself very busy writing here and, as with anything new, sometimes you need a little push to get started.
That push came via DoorDash, which offered up a $300 bonus to drivers who made 15 deliveries between Sept. 23 and Sept. 30.
After the gym one night last week, I decided it was now or never time. For curiosity’s sake, I’d try one delivery at least and see what it was like.
I think I also had to get over my own arrogance. Like I said, I have a great career and I was worried that someone would see me making a delivery and be like “what’s he doing this for? Is he in trouble?”
Some people see making deliveries as a low task, but I reminded myself that I wasn’t one of them. I always thought it would be kind of fun!
You get to see areas of the city you don’t normally see, you get to listen to your tunes, and you get to make money on your own terms at times that are convenient for you.
What’s not to like?
My first delivery
I opened the app after my gym trip and finally hit the “Dash Now” button. The app is very simple and easy to use, showing a map of the city and which areas are busy at the time.
It was about 10:30 p.m., and I got a notification about a delivery request at Dairy Queen.
My brain finally compelled me to push the accept button and off I went.
Google Maps is integrated into the app, so it was just like following directions to get anywhere else.
The app also provides specific instructions re: what to do at every location. So here, it explained what the parking situation would be. It also explained what to do when I arrived — go to the counter, identify yourself as DoorDash, and give the name of the person who made the order.
The process was easy and the employees are used to gig delivery people now so everything went smoothly. Everyone was kind and professional.
I got back in my car with the food and hit “Confirm Pickup” on the app. I drove for about 10 minutes and pulled up at the delivery location.
The app told me that the person had requested that I leave the food at the door for contact-less delivery, so all I had to do was put it on the doorstep, take a picture, and then confirm delivery in the app.
Easy-peasy, and I had a fresh $11.50 in my pocket (there was a $3 bonus for delivering later at night)!
My activities have been very limited since, though not by choice. I really did intend to go after that $300 bonus.
I think other drivers are very active right now because of the bonus week, however, which has really limited the opportunities. Normally I could open the app and make a delivery at any time almost anywhere in the city, but it’s been very quiet lately.
I’ve only made one other delivery — from a McDonald’s this time — bringing my first-week earnings to $18.50.
Final thoughts
At this point, I think I’ll stick with it a bit longer and see if things open up again when the bonus period closes. I was looking for something to do when I had random spare time, and my spare time doesn’t generally line up with the opportunities that are currently available.
At some point I would also have to consider the opportunity cost of making deliveries vs. my other side projects. Two deliveries made = one or two articles not written.
I also think it only makes financial sense to make deliveries in your own area and to stay busy at home while waiting for orders.
If you have to drive to other neighbourhoods or sit around on the road waiting for a request to pop up, I’m not sure that the mileage and time cost make it worthwhile.
Overall, however, it was an interesting new experience and I’m looking forward to continuing with it for now when I can!
Thank you so much for reading this post all the way to the end! If you enjoyed it, please do give it a clap or two so others can find it!
My most-read stories:
- Why I finally decided to quit drinking alcohol
- What musician James Taylor taught me about sobriety — and myself
- How alcohol tricks us into coming back (⬆)
- The one priceless book that kicked off my quit alcohol journey (⬆ — new to the chart)
- Cheryl Burke reveals key to avoiding alcohol (⬇)
New from me:
- Macklemore has an important message on faltering during sobriety
- The Hockey News 2023 Stanley Cup picks are wrong
- You’ll fail at quitting alcohol if you get this question wrong
Have you found Medium via this story but aren’t yet a member? Did you know membership starts at just $5 a month (and you can cancel any time)? There’s no risk and you get access to all Medium has to offer. To continue reading stories like this and give me a ‘lil kickback, please consider supporting this publication directly by using my link to sign up! You can also leave a tip using the button below if you enjoyed this article!
Interested in others writers’ experiences with DoorDash?