Now more than ever, the food delivery industry is booming. You download an app, enter your credit card information, choose an item, and bingo. A complete stranger is on their way to meet your needs.
It's moderately easy to earn a full-time income by signing up for these services alone. Although many delivery drivers make decent money delivering food, groceries, and accessories, they aren't all doing it the most efficient way. To maximize the amount of money you make and become a side gig superstar, you'll need to do a few things.
1. INCREASE YOUR RANGE
When signing up to be a delivery driver, most people choose one of the big three, Door Dash, Uber Eats, or Postmates. However, if you want to really bring home the bacon, it's a much easier process if you sign up for all three.
Depending on what part of your city you live in, one service may be larger in presence than others. So you may start in an area with many people who prefer to order from Postmates, but then an hour later, you end up in a town of people who like Uber Eats. The best thing to do to make extra money is going online for all three simultaneously, and when you get an order, you want to accept, pause, or go offline for the other two.
Now, Door Dash works differently than merely turning on or off the app. Initially, you have to schedule a time period to "dash," and once it's over, you have to schedule another one. That introduces the problem of pausing. DD only allows you to pause your scheduled time for around thirty-three minutes before you are booted off your session.
The answer to this side gig problem is to pick as long as of a session as possible, and then when you pause it to accept other offers, be sure to unpause and re-pause before your time limit runs out. Also, it wouldn't hurt to turn the other apps on just a little bit early before your drop off. You may get lucky and score another delivery.
2. LEARN WHAT NOT TO ACCEPT
There will be instances when the juice simply isn't worth the squeeze. These apps charge (and pay) based on how busy an area is, and if you happen to dash while there's not much going on, you could end up doing a very time-consuming task for very little money.
Except for Postmates, you'll be quoted a minimum amount of cash that you'll make when you receive a delivery request. Pay attention to the distance that you'll have to drive to pick up and deliver the product. Is it worth your time? If not, it's worth considering passing up the opportunity for a better one.
3. LEARN WHEN TO WORK
There are two main times you should aim to work to make extra money:
Food rush hours: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are when earning potential is typically at its highest throughout the day. That's 7 a.m - 9 a.m, 11 a.m - 1 p.m, and 6 p.m - 9 p.m.
When no one else is: You should aim for times that the average person would likely not want to deliver things. During big sports games or festivals, early in the morning, and during bad weather are times when prices spike and tips go up.
A FEW TIPS:
• A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY
Tips can add up significantly over time. If you want to make extra money, try to be truly deserving of it. Be sure to be friendly, gentle with the merchandise, and call if you have any questions that would make things easier or create a better customer experience.
• DON'T WASTE TIME
Don't go through the long drive through lines if walking in will do. A few extra minutes here and there could be the difference between a great day and a lousy one.
• FIND THE REAL HOTSPOTS
You live in your city; the algorithm doesn't. The hotspots on these delivery driver apps are hardly accurate representations of what's actually going on. Find where everyone will be eating at certain times a day and try to stick around those places.
• GAS EFFICIENT CAR
Having a vehicle that won't cost much as you drive around the city is a game-changer in the side gig industry. It's simple--the less you have to spend, the more you get to keep.
• TRY TO HAVE FUN
Working independently means no one is going to make you put in the hours. It can become problematic if you're bored driving around and not having a good time. Listen to music, call a friend--do whatever you can to make sure you stay out and making money.
START TODAY
If you're still contemplating whether or not you should take the plunge into delivery driving or wondering if you should put forth the extra effort to succeed, do it! Even if you only do it on Saturday mornings and spend it all that night, it'll be worth it. A little bit more money in your pocket is a win any day.
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