Stop Believing These Lies About Delivery
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Join RSG contributor Tyler as he debunks common lies about making deliveries.
Almost every day, I get a notification telling me that it’s busy in my area and that I could make money if I turned on an app.
When I decline an order that is too low, some of the apps tell me that I’ll get better-paying orders if I keep my acceptance rate higher.
Many drivers have said that you can’t make any money doing deliveries and that passengers are the only way to make real money.
Are the things we are being told accurate??
How can we make sure that we are doing what’s best for us and still be able to make money?
Here are some things that companies, and even some drivers, say are absolutely true but aren’t.
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You Make More Transporting Passengers Than Deliveries
This one comes mostly from other drivers.?
Maybe they tried delivery in their area when it first came out, or they tried it late at night instead of driving passengers and didn’t have good success.
Maybe they have tried many things, and in their area, it is 100% true that you can’t make as much with delivery as you do with passengers.
Whatever the case, this statement is not always true.
What is true is that many do make more with passengers than they do with delivery. But there are delivery drivers that make as much or even more.?
There’s a big difference in what time and where you drive.
I will not make more if I do deliveries from 11 at night until 2 in the morning. Most restaurants are closed, and a lot of people are asleep.?
Those who aren’t are typically out partying and requesting rides.
However, between 11 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, you aren’t likely to get many ride requests, but you’ll get a lot of lunch orders.?
This one isn’t an outright lie, but it isn’t an outright truth either.
Keeping Your Acceptance Rate High Is Important
Acceptance rate matters, but not for the reasons you think.
Some drivers will say that in order to get high-paying orders, they have to keep their acceptance rate high.?
Even if it’s true, how many low-paying orders do you have to take to get the high-paying orders?
If I take 10 orders that are $2 to $4 each (which makes my hourly rate less than $10 before expenses) just to get that one $20 order, it doesn’t balance out.
Some drivers swear they make more because of having a higher acceptance rate, and if that’s true in your area, I’m happy for you. It’s not in mine.
Uber Tells You The Best Times To Drive
I haven’t gotten one in a while, but I used to receive text messages from Uber saying, “Tonight is going to be a busy night to drive.”?
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I would never drive when I got those messages.
It’s not that I doubt Uber is busy; I’m sure they are getting tons of order requests, but by sending that message out, they just also got a ton of drivers to hit the road.
So, though I would get some orders when Uber said it was busy, I never got enough to make it worth going out.
The same is true if I try to get into the red zones or hot zones in different apps. Every time I do, my requests seem to stop.
All of this is due to the fact that so many drivers are in those same spots because that’s where Uber says it’s busy.
All of these companies are focused on what makes them money, not the drivers.?
It doesn’t matter to them if they have 100 drivers online for 50 orders. They only have to pay for the 50 orders. By telling us when to drive, it could benefit us, but it will benefit them.
Mondays Are The Worst For Deliveries
Maybe it isn’t Monday for you. Maybe it’s Tuesday, Saturday, or any other day of the week. For me, it’s Friday.
For whatever reason, I very rarely have a good day on Fridays when it comes to delivery.
My thought is that it would be an awesome day for it. People would be ready for the weekend and, therefore, would be ordering food to get them started.
That is typically not the case for me. Even catering deliveries are hard to get for a Friday.
For me, that means Friday is my day to work on other things, like freelance work, housework, or just taking the day off.
There are two things to consider, though, about what day is the “worst” in your area.
First, it won’t always be a bad day. I still keep an eye on the apps and see if they will work or not, and sometimes, I do go driving on Fridays because it will be good.
Second, find out what day your area has its “worst day.” And what is bad for you won’t be for another driver.?
You have to take the time to track things, so you know what days work and what don’t for you and the way you drive.
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People Appreciate Good Customer Service
Providing good customer service is important. And people will, at times, tip you more because of how well you do.
Sending update messages when you get to a restaurant, when you’re leaving, or sending funny memes letting them know you’re on the way are all good.
However, some people are not going to increase a tip no matter what you do.?
Does that mean you stop doing it? No.
Because it feels good to do good work, and making sure that customers get their food the way you would for your grandmother is never wrong.
It can get frustrating at times when people don’t appreciate it or treat you poorly, but even if you don’t get a monetary benefit from giving good customer service, you can at least feel good.
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