# DELIVERY ONLY: Return of the $1 mile?



## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Not that long ago I posted about vividly remembering that when I first began looking into deliveries, the standard was $1/mile, and using this standard all the time.

I’m not sure when it happenned, but after I started the amount went to $2, and I got seduced into adopting it.

Coincidentally that’s when my take-home dropped dramatically. There’s just not enough $2/mile offers in my market to support a healthy income. People are asking about $200/day, and I make that in an entire week-end - breakfasts, lunches and dinners, 7 am to 9 pm.

And every time I probe, most claim they take nothing below $2/mile, and nothing below $20, and nothing over 3 miles.

I’m sorry, I’m at the point when I smell BS. There is no way.

In addition, I’m again seeing the $1/mile popping up more frequently. And it actually is more believable to me.

So lets do an honest poll. No showing off and no exaggerating. I’m asking about real offers, not ideal ones. Every one of us ideally wants the 4-mile max, $20 minimum ping. But those just don’t happen every hour.

Sure, there will still be those who mark their unicorns as regular dashes - not sure what this flexing is for. But I’m confident most will be frank.

What is your TRUE minimum?

PS: We don’t care what your PAX minimum is. We just DON’T. 😂


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Disclaimer: For myself, I marked what I have actually been taking - $2+/mile. Which translates to great per mile, and terrible per hour: I’m barely clearing $8 most days.


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## FL_Steve (Dec 17, 2021)

$1/mile is my rock bottom absolute minimum, but I usually decline <$1.50/mi. 

Knowing that tip hiding is a real thing on DD and UE, I sometimes roll the dice on $6.50+ offers which are <$1.50/mi. It has to be from a decent restaurant and going to a good dropoff area.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

FL_Steve said:


> $1/mile is my rock bottom absolute minimum, but I usually decline <$1.50/mi.
> 
> Knowing that tip hiding is a real thing on DD and UE, I sometimes roll the dice on $6.50+ offers which are <$1.50/mi. It has to be from a decent restaurant and going to a good dropoff area.


Yup, my DD “hiddens” are also at the $X.50 pings. Never on weird numbers, like $X.97 or $X.14


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## Rickos69 (Nov 8, 2018)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> Yup, my DD “hiddens” are also at the $X.50 pings. Never on weird numbers, like $X.97 or $X.14


Where do your hiddens start? Mine start at $6.75.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Rickos69 said:


> Where do your hiddens start? Mine start at $6.75.


I’ve not noticed a pattern. I’ll keep an eye out.

See, I have this handy-dandy contraption called “Intuition”. It’s a Deluxe model - not just “Women’s”, which is a real thing as anyone will tell you, but “Slavic” and “Family”, too. We’re pretty much all witches at some point in our Generational Memory, and we didn’t burn ours at the stake or drown them - we cherished and respected them.

I’m only half joking. I really do have an uncanny intuition and have learned to not question it. So have all my friends and loved ones. If I feel something - I just do it. 😂


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## Rickos69 (Nov 8, 2018)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> I’ve not noticed a pattern. I’ll keep an eye out.
> 
> See, I have this handy-dandy contraption called “Intuition”. It’s a Deluxe model - not just “Women’s”, which is a real thing as anyone will tell you, but “Slavic” and “Family”, too. We’re pretty much all witches at some point in our Generational Memory, and we didn’t burn ours at the stake or drown them - we cherished and respected them.
> 
> I’m only half joking. I really do have an uncanny intuition and have learned to not question it. So have all my friends and loved ones. If I feel something - I just do it. 😂


No tip orders are at $2.75 in my area.
So its $4 up.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Rickos69 said:


> No tip orders are at $2.75 in my area.
> So its $4 up.


If there’s anything below a 5 at the beginning, it’s a no-go.

I _might_ do a $4.75 going UNDER 1 mile (I’ll do 0.9, but not 1.0) if it’s really REALLY slow.

Nothing. Ever. Below. $4.75. Not even as an add-on from the same restaurant going to a neighboring house. Just NO.


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## Rickos69 (Nov 8, 2018)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> If there’s anything below a 5 at the beginning, it’s a no-go.
> 
> I _might_ do a $4.75 going UNDER 1 mile (I’ll do 0.9, but not 1.0) if it’s really REALLY slow.
> 
> Nothing. Ever. Below. $4.75. Not even as an add-on from the same restaurant going to a neighboring house. Just NO.


Like I said. For me it's nothing under $6.75
As an addon $6 and up and 1-2 extra miles. No more.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

My rock bottom is $1.50/mi end of story. Many drivers (as well as DD reps) use $1 per mile but there is a fatal flaw with that. The fatal flaw is that most drivers don't really consider enough all their "dead miles". If you take a delivery at $1.00 per mile and go 7 miles to nowhere, if you drive back to your staging area you are now at 50 _cents _a mile.

Truly considering "dead mile impact" I have developed the following per mile minimums based on _where they are going_! All delivery miles aren't the same if you properly take into account dead miles:

Delivery going to another good area to get an offer= $1.50 per mile.
Delivery going to a moderate area where I "might" get another offer somewhat nearby= $2.00 per mile
Delivery going to the desert where I'll have to "dead mile" back=$3.00 per mile.
Realistically you also have to take into account time, so nothing less then $7.50
The only exception I'll ever make is if it's my last delivery of the night and it puts me near my house then I may take less per mile and go down to $6.50.

"Dead miles" is the silent killer of profits. It's possible to "gross" less but "net" more.


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## NauticalWheeler (Jun 15, 2019)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> If there’s anything below a 5 at the beginning, it’s a no-go.
> 
> I _might_ do a $4.75 going UNDER 1 mile (I’ll do 0.9, but not 1.0) if it’s really REALLY slow.
> 
> Nothing. Ever. Below. $4.75. Not even as an add-on from the same restaurant going to a neighboring house. Just NO.


Cmon, you would take that as an add-on if it were going very near the first drop-off.

Especially if it was a quick enough add-on that there is no additional wait time at pick up.

Cmon now.


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## NauticalWheeler (Jun 15, 2019)

C'mon


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

For me it depends on the platform.

For Uber I will do any delivery for any price so that I can get my UberPro points for free Tuition at ASU. In general actually I prefer double deliveries and fast restaurants to maximize the number of points per hour

For DoorDash or GrubHub I will do $1/mile for my car (28 mpg), or $0.70 per mile for my motorcycle (56 mpg). At $6/gallon, including costs beyond just gas also, the cost to operate my car is 44 cents a mile, while the cost to operate my motorcycle is 15 cents a mile. 

Sometimes I do deliveries for less if they are taking me in the direction I want to go, or if it is in the middle of the day and I'm overheating sitting still.

This is all assuming also that it isn't a peak time for rideshare. You probably won't catch me riding my motorcycle on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday nights, and if I do a food delivery on these nights I'm probably looking at $2-3/mi to make up for the opportunity cost of lost Uber/Lyft surge.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

NauticalWheeler said:


> Cmon, you would take that as an add-on if it were going very near the first drop-off.
> 
> Especially if it was a quick enough add-on that there is no additional wait time at pick up.
> 
> Cmon now.


No. I honestly would not. 

I’m not claiming I never did - I did when I just started.

But not anymore.

Only exception is when one customer is asking for pick ups from 2 places. Say, a lunch from Mike’s (mine is great!) and a beverage and chips from a closeby Wawa. If the total makes sense - I don’t care how they break up their tip, they can dump the entire amount into just one store. I treat these as a single order.


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## pvtandrewmalone (Oct 2, 2016)

In my opinion $1 a mile should be the minimum standard the app companies pay before tip.

The people that were knew what they were doing, multi-apping and cherry-picking food deliveries using old versions of the Doordash app then Para during the pandemic were probably in the $4 a mile range. Only doing the $20+, 2 mile or less rides within the downtown core. Back when most of the people on this board were collecting government cheese. Before the greedy companies started increasing their fees and lowering the tip suggestions, $200, 50 mile nights were the norm. And that was before Biden inflation.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

pvtandrewmalone said:


> The people that were knew what they were doing, multi-apping and cherry-picking food deliveries using old versions of the Doordash app then Para during the pandemic were probably in the $4 a mile range. Only doing the $20+, 2 mile or less rides within the downtown core. Back when most of the people on this board were collecting government cheese. Before the greedy companies started increasing their fees and lowering the tip suggestions, $200, 50 mile nights were the norm. And that was before Biden inflation.


This is unneccessarily harsh.

I was not delivering. I wasn’t even shopping for my own self. I wasn’t ordering delivery, either. I lived completely isolated, off of what I stocked up I closed down in February through late May - I watch more World News than I do US News - I have my reasons. Being the proud Momma to several serious health conditions that put me smack dab in the Severe Danger Zone, I was well beyond just careful. I was hopeful for the vaccine, but once I saw how that progressed, I decided against it - and am happy I did.

Most people weren’t working NOT because they were lazy and living off checks. Vast majority was NOT happy. I don’t know about you, but those checks weren’t very helpful with my lifestyle. I’m thankfully not crazy about designer bags 1 I happen to think they’re ugly - but I’m used to other things that aren’t exactly cheap. So my savings suffered. Big Time.

As I mentioned - I didn’t order delivery. But if I had - I, too, would be extraordinarily generous. Because at THAT time, it was borderline heroic.

Today it is not. Hence the payments are lower. Supply and demand.


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## Mad_Jack_Flint (Nov 19, 2020)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> Not that long ago I posted about vividly remembering that when I first began looking into deliveries, the standard was $1/mile, and using this standard all the time.
> 
> I’m not sure when it happenned, but after I started the amount went to $2, and I got seduced into adopting it.
> 
> ...


In certain parts of Austin two hundred a day on the weekend and Friday and Monday can be done…


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## pvtandrewmalone (Oct 2, 2016)

Mad_Jack_Flint said:


> In certain parts of Austin two hundred a day on the weekend and Friday and Monday can be done…


Back then $200 was just a dinner shift every night of the week. You could probably get the $400 on a weekend if you really pushed it.



Ms. Mercenary said:


> This is unneccessarily harsh.
> 
> I was not delivering. I wasn’t even shopping for my own self. I wasn’t ordering delivery, either. I lived completely isolated, off of what I stocked up I closed down in February through late May - I watch more World News than I do US News - I have my reasons.


I'll stop you there. A lot of the old time drivers on this board, especially in the New Jersey forum, got more free money than they ever made doing Uber, Lyft, Doordash, GrubHub etc before the pandemic. They watch a lot of FOX NEWS!


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## Mad_Jack_Flint (Nov 19, 2020)

Back then but today not so much but if I just drive X I make two bills to three bills…

Been playing in Austin for three weeks and the Dash App crashed so I am thinking to go home…


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Mad_Jack_Flint said:


> In certain parts of Austin two hundred a day on the weekend and Friday and Monday can be done…


My question wasn’t whether it _can_ be done - it can, even in a crappy market on an exceptionally good day.

My question is - in reality, what is your bottom day-to-day line. Not your “happy place”. I, too, prefer >$5/mile. Everyone does. But I also understand I am not getting 10-15 pings like that a day. Not even 1 an hour.

So do I sit there 14 hours waiting for 2 pings like that? No. I do not.

My question is - what’s the bottom line? Realistically, sans bragging about a good day, what’s one’s per mile?

But boys will be boys… I’ve lived long enough in this World to make appropriate adjustments. 😂


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## Mad_Jack_Flint (Nov 19, 2020)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> My question wasn’t whether it _can_ be done - it can, even in a crappy market on an exceptionally good day.
> 
> My question is - in reality, what is your bottom day-to-day line. Not your “happy place”. I, too, prefer >$5/mile. Everyone does. But I also understand I am not getting 10-15 pings like that a day. Not even 1 an hour.
> 
> ...


I ain’t bragging at all and stating it is done on the Weekend in Austin in about six hours because of the people and the tips.

Dash Does well here along with UberX, so I use both of them and make my change here.

It is not hard to get two dollars a mile and heck speaking of five, well one night I got one for eight dollars a mile, and yes I am bragging…

Starting tomorrow I am ending my delivery days for awhile and just doing X for awhile because it ain’t the pay but just how I hate delivering food…

I am just burnt out…


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Mad_Jack_Flint said:


> I ain’t bragging at all and stating it is done on the Weekend in Austin in about six hours because of the people and the tips.
> 
> Dash Does well here along with UberX, so I use both of them and make my change here.
> 
> ...


I wasn’t suggesting YOU were bragging. I think you know I’m always interested in your points. I was speaking generally. 

See you at the July 4th Last Day Strike Party!!! 😂


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## Nats121 (Jul 19, 2017)

Given Metro DC traffic and parking woes I seldom accept offers that pay less than $3 per mile, and during rush hours $5 per mile may be my minimum if there's a lot of traffic roundtrip. 

A $5 total payout is usually my rock bottom minimum for short trips but if it's really slow I might accept $4.50 if I can complete the order super fast and get back to my staging area.

I always focus on how long the trip will take ROUNDTRIP and base my acceptance of offers on that.


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## Rickos69 (Nov 8, 2018)

Nats121 said:


> Given Metro DC traffic and parking woes I seldom accept offers that pay less than $3 per mile, and during rush hours $5 per mile may be my minimum if there's a lot of traffic roundtrip.
> 
> A $5 total payout is usually my rock bottom minimum for short trips but if it's really slow I might accept $4.50 if I can complete the order super fast and get back to my staging area.
> 
> I always focus on how long the trip will take ROUNDTRIP and base my acceptance of offers on that.


I really don't remember ever having seen $5 or $4 / mile, unless you are referring to 0.9 miles for $5.50. I don't accept those because they are less than my $6.75 lower limit.


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## Be Right There (9 mo ago)

Factoring in dead miles as explained by Seamus, I find it difficult to average $2/mile over the course of an entire day. 

On most days I deliver, I'm consistently around the $1.40-$1.60/mile range. Did delivery only all day yesterday and averaged $1.30/ mile, and I declined a lot of garbage to do even that well. 

My rock bottom offer is usually $7, though I may go as low as $6 _only if _the following criteria is met:


3 mile max total
from a restaurant with a track record of being fast with orders
it's really slow

In short, a $6 offer I can realistically knock out in about 15 minutes


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## Judge and Jury (Oct 19, 2019)

Seamus said:


> My rock bottom is $1.50/mi end of story. Many drivers (as well as DD reps) use $1 per mile but there is a fatal flaw with that. The fatal flaw is that most drivers don't really consider enough all their "dead miles". If you take a delivery at $1.00 per mile and go 7 miles to nowhere, if you drive back to your staging area you are now at 50 _cents _a mile.
> 
> Truly considering "dead mile impact" I have developed the following per mile minimums based on _where they are going_! All delivery miles aren't the same if you properly take into account dead miles:
> 
> ...


So many drivers that accept every offer.

Used to be me years ago when I started with PostMates.

But then I experimented, learned and adapted, and became profitable.


Now, so many drivers have hard and fast rules.

My only goal is two bucks per mile from my domicile until I return to my driveway.

Almost any offer that helps me achieve that goal may be accepted, no matter how noxious.

The seemingly unprofitable offers from out of zone back to my shade tree become profitable because otherwise I would be dead heading.

(By the way, I discovered a new trick to get offers back to my shade tree.)

Further, u-shaped routes from shade tree to restaurant and finally to the customer need to be evaluated differently than straight as an arrow offers from shade tree to customer.

Also, possible hidden tips need to be factored when reviewing offers from DD and UE.

Seems to me that every offer needs to be evaluated on a case by case basis, within 30 to 45 seconds.

Seems many drivers use third party apps to filter the offers they see. Seems like a loss of the driver's ability to determine the profitability of an offer at that specific moment.

So, I review every offer and accept some crap offers if it helps me achieve my ultimate goal.

Strict offer acceptance rules seems counterproductive, in my opinion.


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## Nats121 (Jul 19, 2017)

Rickos69 said:


> I really don't remember ever having seen $5 or $4 / mile, unless you are referring to 0.9 miles for $5.50. I don't accept those because they are less than my $6.75 lower limit.


The 0.9 miles you referred to is one example of $4 or $5 per mile. So is a 3 mile trip with shitloads of red lights during rush hour. I'll usually decline those unless they pay at least $12 because they usually result in dead miles coming back. If the restaurant is a slow one my minimum for that trip goes up to at least $15 or even higher if the wait is long enough.

If business is very slow, which is has been lately, I'll suck it up and lower my normal requirements. Reduced pay is better than sitting idle for 30 minutes.


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## Judge and Jury (Oct 19, 2019)

Nats121 said:


> The 0.9 miles you referred to is one example of $4 or $5 per mile. So is a 3 mile trip with shitloads of red lights during rush hour. I'll usually decline those unless they pay at least $12 because they usually result in dead miles coming back. If the restaurant is a slow one my minimum goes up to at least $15 or even higher if the wait is bad enough.
> 
> If business is very slow, which is has been lately, I'll suck it up and lower my normal requirements. Reduced pay is better than sitting idle for 30 minutes.


It's not about pay, it's about profitability.

Sitting idle is better than losing money on a trip.

No wonder you are clamoring for part time, minimum wage protection.


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## Nats121 (Jul 19, 2017)

Judge and Jury said:


> Sitting idle is better than losing money on a trip.


There aren't many offers that actually lose money. They're simply unprofitable. You obviously don't know the distinction between unprofitable and losing money. All money losing trips are unprofitable, but not all trips that result in a profit are profitable. The value of a person's time and effort is an important factor in determining profitability.

A 60 minute trip that nets a driver $2 after all expenses and taxes is unprofitable even though on paper he made a $2 profit. There may opportunity cost involved but no actual loss of money occurred on that trip.


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## Judge and Jury (Oct 19, 2019)

Nats121 said:


> There aren't many offers that actually lose money. They're simply unprofitable. You obviously don't know the distinction between unprofitable and losing money. All money losing trips are unprofitable, but not all trips that result in a profit are profitable. The value of a person's time and effort is an important factor in determining profitability.
> 
> A 60 minute trip that nets a driver $2 after all expenses and taxes is unprofitable even though on paper he made a $2 profit. There may opportunity cost involved but no actual loss of money occurred on that trip.


So,

You are accepting the unprofitable offers and declining the money losing offers?

Losing money and unprofitable offers are the same thing.

OMG.

A 60 minute delivery that nets a driver two bucks?

Part time, minimum wage status ain't gonna help you.

Time to move on to the fast food industry where teenagers will monitor your actions.

Again, OMG.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Judge and Jury said:


> (By the way, I discovered a new trick to get offers back to my shade tree.)


Do share! I do Dash along the way, as I deliver in the next area. Target arrival home is 9ish these days, so I flip on the DATW 8:30-45ish. I’m usually 3-4 miles away. But it’s important to not overshoot in my case.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

I’m tempted to just do McD’s for a full day, staying within my parameters (no more than 2 miles, no less than $5.25) just to see how that works out.


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## Judge and Jury (Oct 19, 2019)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> Do share! I do Dash along the way, as I deliver in the next area. Target arrival home is 9ish these days, so I flip on the DATW 8:30-45ish. I’m usually 3-4 miles away. But it’s important to not overshoot in my case.


Gave you trade secret regarding the Widget.

However, here is another.

I used to immediately drive back to my shade tree from offers out of zone. Rarely got a dead head offer.

Now I am driving a vehicle with no smoking allowed.

So, I find a shade tree and have a smoke break.

Back to zone offers magically appear within five minutes.

Not only one, but two or three back to my shade tree.

Not the best offers, but paying for dead head miles.


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## Beninmankato (Apr 26, 2017)

$7.50 minimum, means a $5+ tip usually. The amount per mile will depend on the drop off location. In most cases if you use the easy formula of total miles + 3 you'll be alright.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

Judge and Jury said:


> Strict offer acceptance rules seems counterproductive, in my opinion.


I agree, sort of. At least in my case these really aren’t hard, fast rules, but more like guidelines, outlines, or roadmaps.

The most important income booster on DD is the ability to “read” the offers for the hidden tip potential. That variable makes hard rules null and void. I don’t subscribe to magic numbers to read these but rather experience.

For example I got an offer on DD for $5.50 for 4.3 miles. If I followed only my guidelines I’d reject it. But my offer “read” was that experience shows the offer value _always_ grows from that restaurant because of their order values and clientele so I accept it. $5.50 grows to $13.50.

Experience and the ability to read the offer always over rides “rules” so they are a guide rather than an absolute.


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## Hexonxonx (Dec 11, 2019)

Depends on the pay. I had several tonight that paid me $18+ and they were going about 7-8 miles. As long as the pay is higher, I don't care about the miles so much. I made $164 tonight on 7 deliveries, one was $20 on UE.


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## Hexonxonx (Dec 11, 2019)

Tonight I only got to $164. I didn't work lunch so I was a bit short. I just went out at 5 and came home at 12am. 

I think things are getting better in my area. I even accepted a Pizza Hut order for $15 that paid me $25. It felt good to get lots of orders tonight, I did 7, one on UE.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Rickos69 said:


> I really don't remember ever having seen $5 or $4 / mile, unless you are referring to 0.9 miles for $5.50. I don't accept those because they are less than my $6.75 lower limit.


Every time I see these statements, I’m really curious - why? Don’t get me wrong - I suggest those pings are good more so than I actually take them; but at the same time I can’t help but wonder what is this mental block that prevents me from taking them. And this is what makes me question it:

1. Those 1-1.5 mile pings frequently really do end up $5/mile. One can easily do 2-3 of those in the same time as one $2/mile ping going 6 miles.

2. The shorter bouts also allow better for picking up an occasional Unicorn ping. If you’re only going 1.5 miles, you’ll be able to start a new ping sooner than if something good pops up right when you start a 4-mile delivery. You’ll be on time for pick-up for sure.

I’m more so talking myself into being more open to these than anyone else. There is definitely a stigma there.

When we say “it has to be a $5 tip minimum”, are we not actually underselling ourselves? A $5 tip for 3 miles is not better than a $3 tip for 1 or 2. It’s just not.

Sure, if you’re not sure of wait time - that’s different. But when you’re pretty sure of the restaurant, it makes sense.


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## nosurgenodrive (May 13, 2019)

I have a few different criteria: per mile in the 1.50-2.00 range; $4 minimum tip; no drop offs to dead zones with dead miles required to get back--unless it's a slow hour and a guaranteed large upfront tip.

Two factors come into play on all orders: is the restaurant in driver thru only hours? am I delivering to an apartment/condo?
A yes on those factors can negate everything listed above.


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## reg barclay (Nov 3, 2015)

I've tried coming up with a minimum. But for me, there are just too many variables.

Most restaurants where I drive are in one area. Sometimes I'd rather take 1.50/mile and stay in that area or close, than $2.00/mile and spend 10-15 minutes driving back.

As a general rule though, I'd say $2/mile. At least at busy times (which is when I try to drive).

Also bear in mind that $2/mile is really $1/mile if I have to drive back to same area to get another ping (which sometimes happens).

I'll often take $1/mile if I'm heading home and it's on the way.

Some other factors that affect things one way or another are drop off location, such as apt buildings, gated communities, schools, etc, Also, does it involve only highway driving (better)? Is it a restaurant that's usually ready or takes a long time? Etc, etc.


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## Beninmankato (Apr 26, 2017)

Why not take small orders? Easy, because the customer did not have the decency to tip properly and has a higher potential for causing me trouble. I only like to serve those who show appreciation for the service.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Beninmankato said:


> Why not take small orders? Easy, because the customer did not have the decency to tip properly and has a higher potential for causing me trouble. I only like to serve those who show appreciation for the service.


But why is $3 or $4.50 not a decent tip for 1-1.5 miles? Particularly if we feel $10 is decent for 5?

I get that we don’t take non-tippers and those who tip $2 for 4 miles and over. But I’m speaking specifically about those who tip $3 on small orders going under 2 miles. Addedto a $2-2.50 base, it’s quick and easy.

I am guilty of this myself, so to a large degree this is self-therapy. I can’t wxplain it to myself. I advocate for these trips, but when they pop up - I automatically hit decline. There IS a stigma attached to them, but when I do the math it just doesn’t make sense.

Even if we think in terms of amortization - it’s fewer miles for the same pay or arguably considerably more.


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## Rickos69 (Nov 8, 2018)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> But why is $3 or $4.50 not a decent tip for 1-1.5 miles? Particularly if we feel $10 is decent for 5?
> 
> I get that we don’t take non-tippers and those who tip $2 for 4 miles and over. But I’m speaking specifically about those who tip $3 on small orders going under 2 miles. Addedto a $2-2.50 base, it’s quick and easy.
> 
> ...


Just making sure everyone understands what your talking about. 
Amortization is *paying off a debt over time in equal installments*. Part of each payment goes toward the loan principal, and part goes toward interest. As the loan amortizes, the amount going toward principal starts out small, and gradually grows larger month by month.


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## Ms. Mercenary (Jul 24, 2020)

Rickos69 said:


> Just making sure everyone understands what your talking about.
> Amortization is *paying off a debt over time in equal installments*. Part of each payment goes toward the loan principal, and part goes toward interest. As the loan amortizes, the amount going toward principal starts out small, and gradually grows larger month by month.
> View attachment 665617


You know what I meant. Remember, I’m a gurl! I’m allowed to sometimes confuse technical terms. I meant car armortization.


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## Beninmankato (Apr 26, 2017)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> But why is $3 or $4.50 not a decent tip for 1-1.5 miles? Particularly if we feel $10 is decent for 5?
> 
> I get that we don’t take non-tippers and those who tip $2 for 4 miles and over. But I’m speaking specifically about those who tip $3 on small orders going under 2 miles. Addedto a $2-2.50 base, it’s quick and easy.
> 
> ...


Take whatever you want. Shit, my sister takes almost everything to maintain Top Dasher. I think it's silly but it's not my call. As far as math goes, figure out how much a mile costs you in fuel etc and go from there.


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

I have no hard set rule, I evaluate each offer for what it is, where I am, and where it is taking me. Generally speaking I won't take any offer under $1.00 per mile, however if it is close enough to $1.00 and taking me close enough to where I want to go I will take it.

I include distance to restaurant, distance to drop off, and distance to nearest key area in my decision to take it or not. Living on an island chain has an advantage to where trips can take you.


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## Hexonxonx (Dec 11, 2019)

What I don't get is why DD is allowing people to order when they live so far out of my zone that it will possibly take 90 minutes to do the roundtrip. I used to live in an apartment near Bayaud and Washington in Denver. Last night, there was an offer going to that exact building where I used to live. I lived in apartment 309, this was apartment 311, right next door. Takes about 20 minutes to get there on the interstate from where I live now. I also got another a short while ago for $4 going all the way out on east Colfax avenue. Again that's too freaking far out of my zone. WTH is DD doing?


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## nosurgenodrive (May 13, 2019)

Ms. Mercenary said:


> But why is $3 or $4.50 not a decent tip for 1-1.5 miles? Particularly if we feel $10 is decent for 5?
> 
> I get that we don’t take non-tippers and those who tip $2 for 4 miles and over. But I’m speaking specifically about those who tip $3 on small orders going under 2 miles. Addedto a $2-2.50 base, it’s quick and easy.
> 
> ...


$3-$4 used to be a decent tip until Doordash kept decreasing driver pay, so now that $6-$7 order is a $5.50 order that could potentially take you 30 minutes to complete.


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