New found respect for dashers

Yesterday was my first time dashing. I won’t say it’s necessarily hard but it definitely takes it out of you. I did 8 deliveries and half of them were almost late because the app was directing me to the wrong location or wouldn’t calibrate to display my location correctly.

Three places didn’t have the food ready when I got there and it’s a little stress inducing that the app says “pick up by this time” like you have any control over how long it takes for the restaurant to bring the food out. Each place has a different manner of pickup verification which is irritating. There’s also the “deliver by this time” thing which puts pressure on you to get there as fast as possible. I’m a very safe driver but I found myself speeding well above what I’m comfortable with and getting angry at other drivers for simply existing.

Some of the restaurant employees seemed miffed that I was even there while others were super fricken nice. Realizing now as I’m typing this that all the cool people were fast food workers around my age. I guess it’s an understanding that I wouldn’t be dashing if I had another option the same way they wouldn’t be working at a McDonalds for the same reason.

I don’t have an insulated bag, or pizza bag so I kept my passenger side seat warmer on and secured larger bags with the seatbelt lol. I haven’t figured out the best method of getting in and out of my car upon delivery. I’ve found the need to turn off my car and lock it at certain addresses like apartment complexes while in neighborhoods I feel safe leaving the car running while I hand off the food. While picking up food I turn my car off every time. It can’t be good for my car to be started and turned off that many times.

All in all, it wasn’t bad. 8 deliveries, about 4 hours and I made $102 (after tax). I have the app set up for weekly deposits. I’m wondering if dasher direct would be better. I know a lot of what I’ve mentioned is a “me problem” and not necessarily an issue surrounding the act of dashing. This is somewhat of a rant and kinda just to discuss my experience. I’d appreciate any tips and tricks more seasoned dashers have to offer. I was dashing in the Frisco, tx area. Any insider knowledge would be greatly appreciated.