From DoorDash’s very start, we’ve seen Dashers as one of our key customers. We aim to provide the best possible experience every day and take every aspect of the Dasher’s role seriously. Pay is obviously a big part of the Dasher equation. In this spirit, over the past few months we’ve slowly been rolling out an updated pay model for Dashers: one that is designed to make pay for every delivery more fair and more consistent, while providing more information about the delivery ahead of time. After months of testing and thanks to feedback from thousands of Dashers, the vast majority of Dashers are already on the new pay model and it will be enabled for the few remaining Dashers by the end of the month.
We’re excited about this new pay model for a number of reasons. First, Dashers now earn more for deliveries that are more complex. As a result, over time, our tests showed that more Dashers earn more money under this new pay model. In fact, our data showed that average Dasher pay increased 24% for deliveries with subtotals less than $20 and average Dasher pay increased by about 15% for deliveries that took more than 35 minutes to deliver.
Second, the new pay model offers more clarity around total pay. Dashers now not only know how much money they’ll make for each delivery before they accept it, but they will also see the total estimated driving distance on a map of their route. With these key pieces of delivery information presented ahead of time, Dashers are free to accept or reject any opportunity with more complete information about how much they will earn.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we’ve found that most Dashers prefer the new model. The feedback from thousands of survey respondents across the country shows that the vast majority of Dashers like or love the new model. And we’re confident that we’re taking the right approach, after hearing feedback such as this:
“It’s fairer, and I am making more money per delivery on average.” – Orange County Dasher
“The transparency is great and it lets you know exactly what to expect.” – Dallas Dasher
“With the new model, I feel like I’m truly earning the equivalent of how hard I work.” – Washington D.C. Dasher
“I like knowing upfront what I will make and the new model seems to pay better based off distance which makes it worth it for longer trips.” – Atlanta Dasher
So how does the new pay model work? With the new approach, we’re doing away with flat delivery pay, which was the same no matter the size, distance, or complexity of the order. With DoorDash’s updated pay model, DoorDash shows Dashers the guaranteed amount they will earn for completing a delivery before they choose to accept or reject that delivery. The guaranteed amount is based on a variety of factors including the size of the order, whether the Dasher has to place the order in person, and the projected driving distance, traffic, parking, and wait time at the store. For each delivery, the Dasher will always receive at least $1 from DoorDash plus 100% of the customer tip. Where that sum is less than the guaranteed amount, DoorDash will provide a pay boost to make sure the Dasher receives the guaranteed amount. Where that sum is more than the guaranteed amount, the Dasher pockets the extra amount. In addition, each market has a minimum floor that Dashers will make on every delivery no matter the complexity ($6.00 in most cases).
We’ll continue surveying the Dasher community and monitoring feedback in the weeks and months to come, and will use this information to keep improving Dasher pay and the dashing experience as a whole. We’re hopeful that a fairer and more consistent Dasher pay model will encourage those considering becoming a Dasher to jump on board. If you’re thinking about joining the Dasher community – or if you haven’t yet done a delivery with DoorDash – sign up today.
(Updated 12/21/17 to describe how guaranteed pay is calculated in the second to last paragraph.)
