‘So you’re already two orders in and you’re losing money…’
The topic of declining DoorDash orders is one that is oft-discussed among employees of the popular delivery app. There are some folks who state that for financial reasons they draw a hard line on the orders that they accept in order to maximize their income potential during their work shifts.
However, some say that this has adversely affected their ability to receive orders as their acceptance rate takes a hit as a result.
There appear to be conflicting reports on whether or not a lower acceptance rate actually affects a DoorDash driver’s ability to receive orders. Ridester writes that this is not the case; however, there are DoorDash drivers who have posted what they call “proof” of drivers being penalized once they dip below a certain acceptance rate percentage. There are others who have said that acceptance rates do matter and have an impact on Dashers’ bottom lines.
A DoorDash driver by the name of Kay (@kaylacobi) wanted to document her time accepting every single order that came in through her DoorDash application during a shift to see if it would be worth her time and to boost her acceptance rate in the process.
Kay says that after reading comments from other users on the platform in another video, she saw a few suggestions from folks who recommended that she accept all DoorDash orders that come in through her account. The reason for doing so, theoretically, is that it will boost her acceptance rate — which then in turn presumably gives her access to even more orders, plus a greater variety of customers to choose from whenever she fires up the app to start work.
She states in the video: “We’re gonna to take all orders and see what happens. Okay so we have our first order, going to McDonald’s for $7.75 to go 7.8 miles so let’s go pick it up and drop it off.”
Kay then shows off the McDonald’s bag she picked up from the restaurant, which she attaches a sticky note to with a special message for the customer. Her next order is from Starbucks, which she doesn’t seem too thrilled about — stating that she typically doesn’t like to get DoorDash orders from the popular coffee chain. For this particular order, she said that she was being offered $6.50 to travel 6.3 miles for the order.
Once at the location, however, she said that she was “surprised” to see that the customer’s order was ready. The next clip in the video is of her filling up her vehicle with gas. According to DoorDash, as of March 17, 2022, DoorDashers can receive 10% cash back rewards on all gasoline that they purchase.
She then discusses her third order of her shift, which is an $8.25 order to travel 5.3 miles. She shows off a bag containing part of the order, along with a coffee beverage that she says looks delicious despite the fact that she doesn’t really drink coffee.
Kay’s next order was a first for her, in that she was picking up food from a local Thai restaurant. However, she had to place the order herself for the customer and pay for it with what she refers to as a “red card.”
According to the app: “The Red Card is a prepaid card that Dashers use to pay for some (but not all) DoorDash orders. Each Dasher receives a Red Card during orientation or when they receive a Welcome Kit.” DoorDash goes on to say that the red card is not linked to a Dasher’s personal bank account, nor does it have any connection with their earnings. That is to say, the money that they make on orders will not be placed on that red card; it is exclusively used to fulfill payments for orders that they pick up in situations that necessitate the Red Card.
The fifth order she was asked to place was from a Safeway. Although she says that she usually enjoys fulfilling orders placed at this store, and that she was earning a rate in line with her $1 per mile of travel rule, the four items she was asked to deliver to the customer filled the remaining empty space she had in her vehicle.
After fulfilling that order, she then hopped on the camera again in another part of the video to state that she received other orders that were “super hard to find” so she didn’t film them. At this point in her delivery shift, she said that she earned $47.53 — which she says isn’t the best payout she’s received commensurate with the amount of work that she’s done, but it’s also not the worst amount of cash she’s earned as a Dasher either.
Kay also said that she hit a bit of a slow period at this time, which she theorized was due to more DoorDash employees performing deliveries in her area. She eventually does secure another order, which she is excited about because she doesn’t need to drive out of town to complete it, and says she will receive $5.50 to drive 2.2 miles to pick up an order from Blaze Pizza.
To close out her video, she uploads a clip of herself speaking into the camera from the following morning, stating that she tipped out at $53.05.
Kay states that after trying the experiment of accepting every single order that comes her way, she will not be doing it ever again, as she was asked to drive out of town numerous times which made her very tired.
There was one commenter who said that consistently accepting all orders proved an ultimately positive experience for them. That person claimed, “we accept all orders. our acceptance rate is high & we consistently get good tips and priority on bigger tip orders!”
Someone else said that after drivers put into perspective how many total miles they’ve clocked in upon accepting all orders, they soon discover that taking every single gig DoorDash throws at them is ultimately not worth it: “When people do this, they should also say how many total miles they ended up driving. Once you see the numbers, you NEVER do it again.”
Another seemed to echo that having a high acceptance rate has ultimately been a boon to their DoorDash earnings: “I was wondering why all my larger orders that have the 20-25% tip on it always go to the premium drivers. on ubereats tho — but good!”
One commenter thought “$1 per mile is crazy” before adding: “It just seems like so little! After gas, maintenance, and your time. I have never used door dash, but that just seems like nothing for you guys”
The Daily Dot has reached out to DoorDash via email and Kay via TikTok comment.
