by on Leave a Comment

DoorDash Corporate Asks Dashers’ Input on New Pay Structure

In the midst of some not-so-great news for DoorDash (or Dashers), DoorDash has been trying to improve its image and be more transparent. Dasher extraordinaire Dash Bridges recently took part in a discussion about DoorDash pay, transparency and more. He shares how the discussion went and how it may impact Dashers going forward below.

Recently, DoorDash founder and CEO Tony Xu wrote a blog post about improvements to the Dasher Experience. It was newsworthy enough that I wrote about their attempts at pay transparency here. Xu’s post contained a defense of its controversial tipping payout policy, so we assumed it was full steam ahead.

Drive with Uber 1

Then on Wednesday, July 24, us Dashers woke up to an email that said, in part:

“While we continue to hear from Dashers that the model generally works for you, to serve Dashers well over the long term, we also have to serve the consumers who use our platform. I did not think that we could continue to do right by you if there were some customers who felt like their tip did not matter.

So what does this mean for you? It means we will soon announce a new pay model where any customer tip will be independent of DoorDash’s contribution for that delivery. It also means that we’ll need your input as we develop other details. Stay tuned for ways to continue to have your perspective heard.”

Apparently the tips-as-DoorDash-subsidy narrative filtered its way to enough customers that it created a problem on the consumer side. And THAT, as opposed to Dasher outrage, led to the policy revision. Weird how the world works, right?

Deactivated after a background check?

f&m logo

You can fight back. The Fair Credit Reporting Act entitles you to accurate information for backgound checks. Contact The Consumer Law Firm of Francis & Mailman for a free case review if you've been deactivated by Uber or Lyft due to an error on your background check! Contact Francis & Mailman here!

Interested in learning more about DoorDash? Check out our latest articles, including:

[Read more…]

by on Leave a Comment

DoorDash Pledges Pay Transparency and More for Dashers

Recently, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu announced new changes coming to DoorDash. Senior RSG contributor and Dasher extraordinaire, Dash Bridges, tackles what these changes to transparency and more may mean for Dashers.

DoorDash also recently announced a change to their tipping policy. Are you a DoorDash courier and would you be willing to share your story with reporters? Fill out this form if you are willing to be contacted about your experience and thoughts.

If you’re into reading about DoorDash, you may have seen DoorDash CEO Tony Xu’s blog about DoorDasher pay. In it, he discussed a variety of initiatives and updates to their driver policies, including pay transparency and changes to the pay boost algorithm. While this updated commitment to Dashers wasn’t this dramatic, there’s a lot to digest, and various writers brought up topics they felt were worth exploration.

As Xu said in the blog, they began this effort in March. Not coincidentally, that was shortly after the Great $0.80 Instacart Payment Debacle that occurred around the same time. Labor, media, and the government were soon to scrutinize these platforms, and they wanted to get ahead of it. And to their credit, I think a lot of people put in great effort to better understand the needs of their Dashers. How much will it ultimately benefit the driver? I’m not so sure.

However, let’s break down what this means for Dashers, including pay transparency and clarification on time vs. distance orders.

Related: Can DoorDashers really make $17.50 an hour in 2019?

[Read more…]

by on Leave a Comment

Can DoorDash Drivers Really Make $17.50 an Hour?

In the good old days of rideshare driving and delivery, drivers could make some good money, especially if they coupled their earnings with bonuses and referrals. Not so any longer! By 2019, those opportunities are long gone.

However, recently DoorDash founder Tony Xu claimed DoorDash drivers, aka Dashers, still could make $17.50 an hour. Is this true? Can DoorDash drivers really make $17.50 an hour? Let’s break it down.

Ready to sign up for DoorDash? You can sign up with DoorDash here!

doordash make $17.50 an hour

[Read more…]

by on Leave a Comment

Tipping Points: How Delivery Services Encourage You to Tip Your Drivers (and Earn More for Themselves)

Do you get tips as a delivery (DoorDash, Postmates, etc.) driver? Have you noticed something off about your delivery tips or pay after you’ve received tips? RSG contributor Dash Bridges uncovers the murky way tipping is factored into delivery pay.

As you know, there’s a murky quality to the methods by which delivery services pay their drivers. The simple ‘flat fee + 100% of tips’ policy from the Days of Yore (i.e. Spring 2017) is gone. It’s been replaced by guaranteed minimums, mysterious pay boost algorithms and the faint hope of a payment over and above what’s promised. The recent outrage over the $0.80 Instacart payout incident brought a lot of scrutiny to these methods. Certainly, these payment policies sow distrust to the relationship between driver and services.

Most of this scrutiny centers on the tipping portion of payments. Americans understand tipping as an act that supports labor over and above their compensation for the job. Cabbies earn a certain percentage of the fare, but a tip goes fully into their pocket. We assume wait staff, hotel employees and baggage handlers all make consistent hourly wages, and our additional cash all goes into their pockets, independent of their employer compensation.

However, how does tipping truly work when it comes to delivery companies? How are people encouraged to tip, at all, and how do those tips get distributed to delivery drivers? I took a look at the different delivery apps just to see how delivery apps do (or don’t) encourage people to tip.

[Read more…]