# Cherry Picking Doordash- Tale of Two Cities



## Driving With A Purpose (Jul 28, 2020)

I have a good friend in the Portland, OR area and I live nowhere near that (my location is being kept quiet). My friend and I both started DD in July. I've done UE for a few years and Amazon Restaurants even before that, so this isn't my first rodeo. 

We've both done about the same number of deliveries, but he's done a lot more high paying deliveries. I asked for his criteria, and this is what he accepts:

$10 or more being offered initially
3 items or more
Less than 5 miles to be driven
Preference for avoiding areas with apartments
Preference for high end restaurants (steak, seafood, sushi- the 3 S's and other hi-end stuff)

First let me mention that I live in a moderate or even somewhat lower than average cost of living area. Portland is MUCH MORE expensive than my area and I've traveled there enough for decades (business and pleasure) to understand that.

I painstakingly went through screenshots of the nearly 400 deals I've been offered by DD. I was taking just the first 3 items of his criteria ($10+, 3+ items, less than 5 miles driven) and only found 4 of the deals offered to me which matched the first 3 of his 5 requirements. That is only the top 1% of deals offered. Can you imagine a 1% acceptance rate?

If I take it one step further, I noticed that of those 4 items were deals were offered to me that partially met his criteria:

2 were fast food
1 was 7-11 (close enough to fast food)
1 was Papa John's (not fast food, but not exactly a fancy restaurant either)

Also, the three I did accept ALL WENT TO APARTMENTS. One I turned down because I was heading home. 

Bottom line: If I truly did what my friend was talking about in my area, I'd be starving right now!

I'd add UberEats to the mix, but they don't tell you upfront how many items you will be delivering, so I can't screen UE like I can DD.

What are your requirements for Doordash? Also, what is the cost of living like in your area? If you want to keep your location private, I understand. Thanks for any constructive comments.

P.S. Not planning to move to the Rose City to get more expensive gigs!


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

Driving With A Purpose said:


> Can you imagine a 1% acceptance rate?


Yes I can. @Rickos69 has been at 0%! When DD rates took a nosedive it became my secondary app. My AR dropped as low as 6% but is now 17%. Important to note it’s supplemental income for me and not my main app. Also I’m in a busy market outside NYC so I guess I can be more selective.

My DD criteria is basically $7.50 minimum and $1.50/mile minimum. There’s more to it than that I.e. time, geography, restaurant, etc.etc. But that’s the basic.

Personally, after approaching 7500 deliveries I think the lower your acceptance rate the more money you make and better offers you get. It’s counter intuitive but I seriously believe this.


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## Driving With A Purpose (Jul 28, 2020)

Seamus, just a thought about your counterintuitive comment. If you’re working a busy area at a busy time, I’d think you wouldn’t get many good deals.

If, on the other hand, you are in a high crime area, working deep nights or dealing with bad weather, I’d think there is a point where the algo would say “Hey, this guy doesn’t take crap from anyone, even us. We don’t have enough drivers right now. So let’s pay the ones with low acceptance rates to get them off their easy chairs and take part of the workload for a change.”


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## Mad_Jack_Flint (Nov 19, 2020)

One dollar a mile for me and DD and UE are not my prime apps.

I use Grub as my prime app and do UE five times a day and DD is sprinkled in to add more money when Grub is slow.

I also do not play the Top Dasher, Premium Driver or Diamond Driver game at all because none of them do me any favors here in H-Town.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Sounds about right for my area as well. Also hospitals pay more (I live in an area with LOTS of retirement communities, so 3 large hospitals in the area and a bazillion care facilities). I avoid those, too - though they are not bad pricetags, they take a LOT more time and, frankly, too close to the Rona.


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## ColonyMark (Sep 26, 2019)

In my area I’d be waiting a long time to get that kind of offer. Maybe I’ll try it one day to see how it works


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## Beninmankato (Apr 26, 2017)

The type of restaurant doesn't matter as much as the specific restaurant does. If it's a problem one it will take a higher tip to get me to accept. Miles are not as important as time to me. Also where does the destination lead? If it's near other restaurants (or my home) that gets factored in as well. If the destination is a secured apartment complex (or some other difficulty, guess what, bigger tip. I admit I get tired and often only go big, but I also know that the right $5 or $6 order will be profitable as well. I have no limits on how far I will drive if the price is right.


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## jaxbeachrides (May 27, 2015)

I maintain 0% at times.

Homeowners spend more money on orders, higher net worth and bigger households, whereas renters are poor.

I don't need it to be high end, I need it to be ready with a tip. Most of the high volume places are too busy to ever have orders ready.

Places that have a pickup shelf or counter, and a decent tip. 

You lose alot of money by taking non paying orders as there is simply no profit. Let them get declined over and over as it's the company's problem, not yours.


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